Adult Learning Disability Screening (ALDS)

More than eighty screening instruments reviewed by the National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center were deemed inappropriate and/or unreliable. Citing this lack of a valid reliable screening instrument, researchers at the University of Kansas (in collaboration with practitioners from a variety of agencies) developed an instrument that is "89% accurate and takes less than 12 minutes for most participants." http://www.swadulted.com/workshops/ld/intro-ld.html

ALDS is an entirely empirical instrument with respectable reliability and validity. Development of the ALDS started in 1996 and was completed recently. It is very affordable and easy to administer. No training is needed and the instrument takes about 15 to 20 minutes to administer. The ALDS consists of three parts: Self-Rating Scale, Inventory, and a brief Interview. All three taken together have been shown to be a very effective tool in finding indications of LD. The ALDS items are organized into five major sections.

(1) Demographic information

• Has 15 questions
• Elicits descriptive information about client's age, gender, racial and ethnic membership

(2) Rating scales

• Is a standa rdized, criterion-referenced measure
• Has 25 questions
• Clients rate the degree to which the statements accurately describe them or the frequency with which they complete activities
• A score is calculated to determine if a referral for further testing should be considered
• Item content covers self-attributions, spelling, reading, organization, and social skills, one's work efficiency, and sense of direction