Summary of key points

• An adult's learning disability has a psychosocial, a technological, and an educational impact. Practitioners need to: consider learners' needs for support and the types of strategies that may meet their needs; acknowledge their previous experiences of frustration; and consider possible accommodations and access to appropriate assistive technology. All of these factors need to be considered and recognized to develop the best training plan possible.
• The same learning disability that makes it difficult to process language also makes it difficult to process social information effectively. This can affect learners' abilities to understand what is heard and/or their abilities to express their thoughts. Practitioners need to:
  • Help adults recognize their social disability
  • Provide learners with instruction and self-monitoring techniques for the social skill challenge areas
• Weak organizational skills can affect how adults approach tasks, conversations and overall life-management skills. Unless adults become aware of their limited organizational abilities and how they impact all aspects of their lives, the continued frustrations they experience can lead to withdrawal from social settings and reluctance to try new activities or tasks.
• Transition planning needs to be incorporated right from the beginning of the training process. Transition planning is the identification of the skills and supports that are required to reach learners' goals. These skills and supports could include choice/decision-making, goal-setting/attainment, problem solving, self-evaluation/management, and self-awareness.