RISK, RESILIENCE, AND ADJUSTMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH LEARNING-DISABILITIES

This article uses the concepts of risk and resiliency to frame our und erstanding of how having a learning disability affects nonacademic out comes such as emotional adjustment, family functioning, adolescent pro blems of school dropout, substance abuse and juvenile delinquency, and adult adaptation. The presence of a learning disability is viewed as a risk factor that, in and of itself, does not predict positive or neg ative outcomes. Rather, other risk and protective factors, as highligh ted in the literature, interact with the presence of a learning disabi lity to facilitate or impede adjustment. These risk and protective fac tors may be internal characteristics of the individual or external cha racteristics of the family, school and community environments. Implica tions for the development of proactive interventions and areas for fut ure research are discussed.