People, young or old, who return for their GED after being out of school for a time are going to have difficulty because of the skills they have lost over the years or perhaps never developed. However, those who have learning disabilities are going to struggle even more. Many of them left school because they were not successful due to their disabilities or because of teachers who could not meet their needs. Now, in the GED program, it is imperative that instructors use the right strategies to keep these individuals motivated and acquiring the skills necessary for productivity in the workplace and in life.

In the Quinsigamond program, once the student has self-identified, she/he is referred for an evaluation. Quinsigamond employs a retired school psychologist who worked for over 20 years in the elementary school system.

The evaluation of the students involves testing in two areas. First, the WAIS-III, an intelligence test, is given. The results indicate what a person's intelligence is relative to academics. This test is essentially divided into two areas: Verbal and Performance (visual-motor). These two categories include four sub-divisions: Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Organization, Freedom from Distraction, and Perceptual Speed Indexes. Second, from the identified weaknesses on the WAIS-III, further testing usually occurs with the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery. This test detects specific learning disabilities such as auditory process-ing, attention, language, memory, visual perception, and visual-motor. The Woodcock-Johnson is an excellent test to determine a person's cognitive strengths and weaknesses as well as to check levels in reading, writing, and arithmetic. If there are still questions or concerns in the evaluator's mind, parts of other tests such as Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition or Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude are given to support or discredit the findings on the WAIS-III and Woodcock-Johnson.

When an individual is having difficulty in reading, writing, and/or mathematics, it is most likely that she/he has a weakness in at least one of the cognitive skills that is needed for success in the corre-sponding area. The Woodcock-Johnson can be helpful here. It offers four subtests that involve different skills to determine where a student's deficiency in reading lies. Memory for Sentences shows if one has difficulty with short-term auditory memory. Vocabulary is important for reading and Oral Vocabulary is given to show how well one knows definitions by asking for synonyms and antonyms to words. Sound Blending is another subtest that checks a person's phonetic ability by requiring him/her to combine sounds to make words. Finally, visual perception, including speed, is tested in an activity that requires finding two numbers that are the same in an array of six repeatedly. Similarly, for each of the other cognitive areas there are subtests that can focus on specific abilities that may be causing problems.

However, testing is just one of the early steps in the program to help the learning disabled student in the classroom. The results of the evaluation are discussed at a meeting includes the learning support specialist, the teacher, the student, and the school psychologist. At that time, recommendations are presented for the teacher and the student. If the teacher can be encouraged to include one or two of these recommendations in her teaching style, not only the learning disabled student but the entire class will benefit. Examples of common suggestions include the present-ation of new or important inform-ation at the beginning of each class or just after the break; the teaching of mnemonic devices for assisting students to memorize important facts; the teaching of specific pro-cedures in solving problems; or the encouraging of students to explain the concepts that are being taught in class and to employ them in solving a specific problem.

In addition to teachers adjusting their programs to meet the needs of the LD student, at Quinsigamond the student meets one-on-one with a tutor once a week. During these sessions, the student tries to under-stand rules and procedures and applies them in both real and academic contexts. In addition the student improves his/her comprehension skills by completing homework assignments in reading. (Homework usually entails at least three to four hours between sessions.) Special education teachers in the surrounding communities would be especially well-qualified tutors for the learning disabled.

At Quinsigamond, several students with major learning disabilities have earned their GEDs following the previous procedure. One student in particular had been working for eight years without success. After having the evaluation and following the resulting recommendations, which included much work on her part to compensate for her weaknesses, she passed.

It has been a challenge for all: the teachers have had to change their style to a degree; the students have had to spend many hours doing homework between sessions; and the tutors have had to spend much time preparing required work.

The end results for those who have persisted have been worthwhile. The students have their GED in spite of the odds against them.

Wallace M. Perkins is a licensed educational psychologist and has worked for 20 years as a school psychologist in the Shrewsbury (MA) School system. Other interested communities may contact the special education department in their local or surrounding school districts to learn if present school psychologists would be interested in an additional part-time position or to secure the names of retired school psychologists. One can also write to the Massachusetts School Psychologists Association to obtain a list of its retired members.