The policy guide, Guidelines for Serving Students with Learning Disabilities and Other Special Learning Needs Enrolled in Adult Education and Family Literacy Programs, starts with legal and ethical justifications for serving adults with learning disabilities. It covers disability definitions, characteristics, and impacts on learners. Although written for the State of Illinois, the majority of the information is widely applicable to adult education programs in any state. The guidelines include full explanations of the ADA legislation, the rights and responsibilities of both Adult Education programs and learners, and the best practices for instruction.

The section on testing accommodations processes and procedures for all three high school equivalency exams would be particularly useful for any program preparing learners for the HiSET, GED, or TASC. The appendices contain many resources that programs could directly utilize in their practices, such as: 

  • Appendix C: Learning Styles Checklist 
  • Appendix D: Characteristics of Adults with Learning Disabilities
  • Appendix P: Ten Minute Interview
  • Appendix Q: Recommendations for Learning Styles
  • Appendix R: Disability Resource List, (categorized by disability type)
Topic Area
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
ADEI (anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion)
Family Literacy
Learning Disabilities / Differences
Media Type
Book
Resource Type
Research/Evidence-Based Practice
PD Center
SABES Program Support PD Center - ADA Resources & Training