A Workshop & Lecture on:
Addressing the Challenges of the Transition to College for the Disabled

A workshop and lecture On Addressing the Challenges of the Transition to College for the Disabled was held in cooperation between the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR) and Prince Sultan University (PSU), during the period from Sunday – Tuesday, 24 – 26 February 2008G (17-19 Safar 1429H).

The lecture was held on Sunday 17 Safar 1429H.; February 24, 2008 from three thirty to five thirty PM in PSU auditorium, while the workshop, which lasted from Sunday to Tuesday, 24-26 February 2008, was held in Prince Salman Centre for Disability Research; Riyadh; Diplomatic Quarters.

The lecture began with verses read from the Holy Qur’an by student Ahmed Al-Nasser, and then a translation in English for the same verses was read. Following that, Dr. Ahmed Yamani; Rector of PSU; gave a welcome speech for all the attendees and the participants in the lecture. In his speech; Dr. Yamani mentioned that PSU is one of best universities recognized in the kingdom, and that the university has a lot of challenges to compete for the first rank in the Kingdom. He focused on the implementation of programs for persons with special needs in PSU to help them to be good members of society and to contribute to the development and advancement of the society. Dr. Yamani said that the aim of establishing such a workshop and lecture is to raise awareness of the importance of the integration of interested students, such as those in the community, pointing out that these opportunities will have a successful implementation and provision of assistance to them. He added that the clear commitment of PSU and PSCDR towards this category of students was expressed through such workshop and lecture.

Then Dr. Sultan Al-Sudairy; Executive Director of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR); gave his speech in which he thanked PSU for the contribution in such programs and lectures to help in the rehabilitation of the disabled to work and participate in the society. Dr. Al-Sudairy pointed out that the PSCDR main responsibility is to address disabilities and to provide a suitable environment for students who suffer from learning difficulties to enable them to integrate into the general education and to give them the opportunity to get university education along with other students as well. He added that PSCDR collaboration with PSU seeks to make development in the ways and methods of modern education to students with special needs based on innovation, creativity and diversity and to benefit from the modern skills and techniques in the field. Dr. Al-Sudairy also explained that; students with special needs are ordinary people and resourceful citizens not lacking anything; and some of them are involved in building community through trade, and others have obtained high educational degrees, and that they only need support in education. Then he talked about the college of Landmark and mentioned that it is one of the main educational institutions that are working and specialized in the field of Understanding and addressing Learning Disabilities issues. He concluded by inviting PSU to benefit from the long experience of Landmark in this area.

After that, the two international speakers submitted their lecture which was centered on learning difficulties as follows:

The Main Topics Discussed were:
• Understanding Learning Disabilities (LD)
• Effective Approaches to Assessment, Diagnosis, and Intervention
• LD Struggles due to Environmental Barriers
• The Universal Design Approach

The Two International Speakers were:

Mr. MacLean Gander, MA
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dean of College
Landmark College, USA

Brief Biography – MacLean Gander
MacLean Gander has been the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College at Landmark College since 1997. In addition to being the college’s chief academic officer, he has also overseen student life (1999-2005) and Landmark’s institute for research and training in an earlier stage of its development (1998 – 2001). During his time at Landmark, he has led developments in a number of areas, including the creation of the Landmark College approach to writing instruction, the development of a First-Year Experience program focused on issues of transition, an integrated model of collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs, and the integration of assistive technology across the college curriculum.

Mr. Gander joined Landmark in 1987, two years after it was founded, and has served as English Department Chair and as Associate Director of Evaluation and Planning. Before that, he worked as a researcher, writer, and reporter for Newsweek International in New York. He holds an undergraduate degree in English from Harvard College, and a Masters in Creative Writing from Boston University, where he was the Hoyt Fellow in Creative Writing. He is an Ed.D. candidate with the Fielding Graduate University, where his dissertation research has focused on the history of learning disabilities in the United States and the emergence of best practices at the postsecondary level. He lives in Brattleboro, VT, with his wife Lynne Shea, professor of English at Landmark College, and their two daughters, Bridget and Michaela.

Lecture Summary (Mr. Gander): Learning Disabilities and Universal Design
The concept of “learning disability” (LD) is a relatively new notion, and theorists continue to debate about what exactly constitutes LD.
Understanding LD is challenging because it does not represent a single trait that can be studied in isolation. Instead, LD is multidimensional, reflecting factors associated with biological development, the environment, and social influences. To effectively serve students with LD, a number of approaches to assessment, diagnosis, and intervention have been developed, and it is important to understand which assessments and interventions are effective and grounded in learning theory and effective practice.

Over recent decades, there has been a shift in how educators think about intelligence. Intelligence is no longer thought of as a single capacity that can be measured by one number, but instead is conceived as a multidimensional construct—every individual has some intellectual strengths and weaknesses. With this shift has come a change in thinking about LD. Rather than considering LD as a learning deficit, it is seen as a lack of fit between one’s ability profile and the educational system. Therefore, students do not struggle with learning because they have a disability; they struggle because the environment poses barriers to learning. The Universal Design (UD) approach to instruction has emerged as a result of this shift in thinking. The basic belief behind UD is that education can be developed to minimize barriers to learning.

Principles of UD can be applied across the educational continuum, from classroom configuration, to resource allocation, to curriculum design and instructional practices.


Dr. Steve Fadden, Ph.D.
Director, Landmark College Institute for Research and Training
Director of Research
Landmark College, USA

Brief Biography
Dr. Steve Fadden is the Director of the Landmark College Institute for Research and Training. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has over 14 years of research and development experience related to investigating the interaction between human attention, cognition, and the design of complex systems to support training and performance. His research interests include eye movement studies to investigate the role of perception and attention in reading and comprehension, conducting experiments to evaluate professional development and tools to enhance decision making, and investigating how design influences the accessibility, usability, and effectiveness of instruction and understanding.

Dr. Fadden has developed and delivered courses and mentorship experiences in Introductory Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Learning Disabilities, Human-Computer Interaction, User-Centered Design, Usability Testing, Task Analysis, System Design, and the Use of Eye Movement Measures in Research and Design.

Prior to joining Landmark College, Dr. Fadden worked as a cognitive psychologist and human factors engineer for Booz Allen Hamilton, PeopleSoft, Intel, and Lockheed Martin. In these roles, he participated and led projects to evaluate the performance of operators in complex, high-risk systems. Dr. Fadden has developed software tools and training systems for air traffic controllers and pilots, and created computer decision-support systems for intelligence specialists, air traffic controllers, network administrators, finance personnel, and consumers. He maintains his connection with industry through developing partnerships to improve the design of systems for people with learning disabilities, and serving on industry committees dedicated to developing standards to support the effective design of systems for people with disabilities.


Lecture Summary (Dr. Fadden): Learning Disabilities and Universal Design
In conventional educational settings around the world, there have always been students who struggle with learning. The concept of “learning disability” (LD) is relatively modern, and what exactly constitutes LD continues to develop in many countries. Understanding the nature and impact of LD is particularly challenging because LD does not represent a unitary trait that can be readily studied in isolation. Rather, LD is a multidimensional construct, influenced by neural development and chemical composition, environmental and behavioral factors, as well as social and emotional implications. Therefore, to truly understand LD and how it influences a developing student, the concept must be considered in the context of the “whole student.”

In order to best serve students with LD, a number of approaches to assessment, diagnosis, and intervention have been developed. Many of these approaches are well-intentioned, but they are not grounded in research. Instead, they play on the desperation felt by an individual student or the student’s family and extend important to have an understanding of the assessments and interventions that are grounded in learning theory and sound research, with a record of positive results over the course of a student’s academic and social functioning.

As the concept of LD has developed over recent decades, there has been a shift in thinking about intelligence as a unitary variable. Intelligence does not represent one single capacity that can be measured by one single number. Instead, intelligence is multidimensional, and every individual has a series of strengths on some areas, and weaknesses in other areas. With this shift has come a change in thinking about LD, from a learning deficit within a student to a lack of fit between ability profile and system. Thus, students do not struggle with learning because they have a learning problem, they struggle because the learning environment is not tailored to their unique needs and strengths, and is poses barriers to learning for some students.

Reflecting this shift in thinking, the Universal Design approach to instruction has emerged. This approach has its roots in architecture, and it holds as a basic tenet that instruction and education can be developed so as to remove barriers to learning. Universal Design proponents assert that educational services can be created to meet the needs of a wide and diverse profile of students who represent an array of different intellectual strengths. As a framework, Universal Design principles can be applied across the entire educational continuum, from the development of classrooms, to the creation of curricula, to the provision of institutional supports to learning, and the implementation of effective instructional practices and services.