(Dis)ability-informed mentors support occupational performance for college students with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders through problem-solving and a focus on strengths

Abstract

Introduction

Students with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are well represented on college campuses. However, they experience challenges to meeting occupational and role expectations associated with being in college. Mentors serve as natural supports for young people within college environments. This study investigates the ways in which graduate-student mentors, who were supported in understanding learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their mentee’s strengths and challenges through an occupational lens, provided problem-solving supports for undergraduate mentees with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Methods

Thematic qualitative analysis was used to investigate problem-solving supports provided by mentors (n = 57) of undergraduate mentees (n = 52) with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Results

Three themes, executive functioning, adult life skills, and academics, represent areas in which mentors worked with mentees in guiding and co-creating strategies to address academic, social, and daily life challenges. Mentors’ understanding of their mentees’ disability-related challenges and strengths within everyday life situations was important for fostering the occupational performance of mentees.

Conclusion

The inclusion of biopsychosocial approaches is needed in the development of disability-related mentorship interventions where occupational therapists can leverage disciplinary understanding of disabilities and the fostering of occupational performance to support social functioning and participation in college.

Keywords

Learning disorders mentors problem-solving social support occupational therapy qualitative research

Introduction

Students with learning disabilities (LD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are well represented on college campuses (Newman et al., 2011). However, while students with LD/ADHD attend college at rates equal to those without disabilities, their college completion remains lower (Cortiella and Horowitz, 2014; Showers and Kinsman, 2017). College students with LD/ADHD experience challenges in executive functioning and information processing (DuPaul and Volpe, 2009; Johnson et al., 2010), emotional regulation (Asherson et al., 2014; Elias, 2004), social performance (Asherson et al., 2014; Kavale and Mostert, 2004), and academic performance (Asherson et al., 2014; DuPaul et al., 2013). These varied behavioral and functional challenges in LD/ADHD can exacerbate difficulties in the performance of occupations and participation in current and desired social roles (Kreider et al., 2015). Development of supports at both the individual and environmental levels is important for improving the outcomes of young people with LD/ADHD who are transitioning to adult roles through college pathways (Wolf, 2001; Kreider et al., 2018).

College mentorship has been linked to positive impacts on students’ persistence, academic achievement, and professional development (Coles, 2011). However, sparse research informs on the specific ways in which mentorship can facilitate the coping strategies, career development, and academic and occupational performance of students with LD/ADHD. The combination of challenges related to (a) executive functioning challenges, (b) managing emerging adult roles, and (c) navigating LD/ADHD symptoms increases the risk of poor personal, academic, and career outcomes (Gerber, 2012; Kreider et al., 2015).

We used the Person Environment Occupational Performance (PEOP) model (Baum et al., 2015) as a theoretical lens in conceptualizing how mentors can support college students with LD/ADHD in progressing toward personal and professional goals. The PEOP model includes three essential components: (a) person characteristics (physical, motor, cognitive, etc.); (b) environmental factors (social support, physical environment, cultural aspects, etc.); and (c) the characteristics of the activity, task, or role. Within the PEOP model, the interaction between the person, environment, and task demands can facilitate or hinder an individual’s performance toward their desired goals (Baum et al., 2015). Consequently, in order to enhance performance in everyday life activities and contexts, students with LD/ADHD may benefit from supporters that are knowledgeable about (a) LD/ADHD symptoms, strengths, and challenges; (b) career trajectories; and (c) holistic mentorship approaches. Mentors serve as natural supports for young people within college and workplace environments. Mentors are able to provide emotional and social support while offering important understanding through provision of the school or workplace’s cultural or normative framework (Kreider et al., 2018). Mentorship is a dynamic, long-term relationship whereby the primary goal is the professional and personal development of the mentee (Eby et al., 2011). While mentorship interventions are typically able to offer supports for academic and career competence and socialization (Coombs-Richardson, 2002), mentors who are also knowledgeable about their mentee’s disability-related challenges are able to provide needed holistic support – support that considers the whole person, with a focus on strengths and abilities (Kreider et al., 2018). We refer to this strengths-based understanding of the disabling condition as (dis)ability-informed mentorship. This type of support can be considered a biopsychosocial support whereby the mentor is able to offer psychological and social support with regard to the mentee’s disability-related biological considerations.

There exists a gap in the literature about how mentors, especially those who understand about LD/ADHD conditions, could assist undergraduate students with LD/ADHD in fostering the occupational performance needed to progress toward personal, academic, and career goals. This study investigates the ways in which neurotypical graduate-student mentors, who were (dis)ability-knowledgeable, provided problem-solving supports for their undergraduate mentees with the developmental neuropsychological conditions of LD and/or ADHD for the purpose of informing development of a biopsychosocial mentorship intervention that supports young people’s occupational performance across the broad range of young adult contexts and roles.

Methods

Thematic qualitative analysis was used to investigate problem-solving supports provided by mentors. This research was a part of a larger study that tested a multi-component model of holistic support for undergraduate students with LD/ADHD pursuing science-related fields of study, of which LD/ADHD-informed mentorship was one component; details regarding the larger study are published elsewhere (Kreider et al., 2018). This study reports on a post-hoc analysis of existing data that were collected to inform program development and to monitor mentee and mentor outcomes.

Study procedures were approved by the university’s Health Science Center Institutional Review Board and all participants provided written informed consent prior to engagement in study activities. Participants were 52 undergraduate student mentees with LD/ADHD and 57 graduate-student mentors who were matched based on the mentee’s field of study. Graduate-student mentors were recruited on campus during a time when the university was encouraging faculty, staff, and students to engage in mentorship activities. The university has several mentoring opportunities, among them are peer, undergraduate research, and first-generation student mentorship programs. Further, as part of the University of Florida Graduate School’s professional development initiatives, a graduate-student mentoring award is offered yearly for graduate students who engage in mentorship. The university’s pro-mentorship culture was helpful in graduate-student recruitment, which resulted in an ample number of students that were interested in study participation. Undergraduate and graduate student participants were compensated for study-related activities.

All study activities took place on the campus of a large, research-intensive university in the southern United States. Undergraduates were enrolled for four semesters (2 academic years) and engaged in one-to-one mentorship and monthly group meetings that included focused discussion about student-related experiences. Mentors also met as a group two to three times each semester to receive ongoing training regarding LD/ADHD and to engage in discussions regarding their mentorship experiences.

Members of the investigative team included engineering researchers, food science and human nutrition researchers, and researchers with clinical expertise in occupational therapy (first author), psychology, and health education. The occupational therapy researcher and the health education researcher worked together to lead development of the content delivered in the group meetings during the first 2 of 4 years, with the occupational therapy researcher leading content development for the group meetings in the final 2 years. Discussions during group meetings were primarily led by the occupational therapy researcher, with facilitation contributions from all members of the investigative team. Research assistants, who were primarily occupational therapy students or pre-occupational therapy students, were also present during group meetings to assist with note-taking and meeting debriefings. A combination of techniques was used to focus the discussions within the mentor and undergraduate group meetings, which included knowledge sharing (that is, knowledge articulation) (Toglia et al., 2012), reflective prompts for bolstering self-awareness of performance (Toglia and Kirk, 2000), and guided discovery probes (Overholser, 2013). Techniques used were selected as useful therapeutic strategies for fostering performance through learning (Babulal et al., 2016) and strategy development (Toglia et al., 2012).

Textual data were drawn from (a) transcripts from the group meetings held with undergraduates (n = 30 undergraduate group meetings) and mentors (n = 20 mentor group meetings); (b) written responses to focused questions posed within mentee and mentor group meetings; (c) mentors’ open-ended responses on end-of-semester surveys; and (d) mentor logs, which were short surveys completed every 2 weeks by the mentors, and reported on during the one-to-one mentorship meetings.

Thematic analysis was used to identify and describe conceptual areas of problem-solving topics provided by mentors (Sandelowski and Barroso, 2003). Data were structurally coded to identify passages containing information regarding communication and interaction between mentors and mentees (Saldana, 2013). Structural codes were then topically coded to categorize problem-solving topics covered. Data were reduced to conceptual themes around problem-solving (Sandelowski and Barroso, 2003).

Themes were developed through the use of constant comparison of the data to emerging conceptualizations. Researchers’ prolonged engagement with participants supported the credibility of the analysis. Weekly meetings between the coding team and the senior researcher involved discussion and verification of codes and developing conceptualizations, which contributed to the dependability of findings.

Results

Three themes were identified regarding problem-solving support provided by mentors: executive functioning, adult life skills, and academics.

Mentors provided supports for problem-solving that ranged from facilitating the development of specific academic skills, such as organizing class notes, to fostering the mentee’s personal development, such as problem-solving social situations. Mentors often co-created strategies and solutions for problems that mentees experienced across their various life contexts, which included academics, daily life, career, and social situations. Supports went beyond academic and professional enculturation within the mentor’s and mentee’s shared fields of study to include holistic supports. Holistic supports fostered the undergraduate mentee’s transition to college and adult roles and contexts, which also included learning how to understand and manage one’s LD/ADHD.

Mentors worked with their mentees in guiding and co-creating strategies for overcoming challenges experienced by mentees in areas of academics, social situations, and daily life. Mentors provided direct suggestions of solutions, prompting of the mentee to create their own solutions, and discussions with the mentee whereby the mentor and mentee together talked through strategies for problem-solving challenges experienced and/or anticipated.

Executive functioning

Problem-solving supports were carried out in the context of the mentee’s capacity to evaluate, synthesize, and critically think about the demands of a multifaceted college setting, as well as the mentee’s capacity to make adjustments when faced with difficult situations. Problem-solving supports are delineated by six sub-themes, which are detailed in Table 1. Sub-themes include: (a) big picture thinking, (b) breaking things down, (c) LD/ADHD-specific coping strategies, (d) organization, (e) stress management, and (f) time management. Discussions regarding challenges related to executive functioning necessitated problem-solving supports related to academics, personal life, and the mentees’ general responsibilities.

Table 1.

Topical categories representing types of problem-solving assistance provided by mentors, category definitions, and representative quotations.

Themes and sub-themes	Description	Representative quotation
Executive functioning	Problem-solving supports for helping mentees manage tasks and expectations. These supports were needed related to mentees’ challenges with higher level thinking related to their LD/ADHD
Big picture thinking	Discussion of strategies useful to people whose preferred cognitive style is more wholist; some strategies helped the mentee take a more holistic approach to resolving a conflict/challenge	“We tend to have alotta discussions about just overall perspective and trying to come back around to what that bigger picture is. I mean, I think it might have something to do with her LD…I think sometimes she gets these gaps and then gets stuck in all the muddy details instead of pulling herself out” [M95]
Breaking things down	Discussion of cognitive strategies targeted at breaking down the mentee’s responsibilities into workable chunks in order to make them less overwhelming	“She was like, I feel overwhelmed and if I try to do any of this type of research…So then we spent about a half hour like breaking down like what kind of troubles you’re having with doing that” [M61]
LD/ADHD-specific coping strategies	Discussion targeted at relieving symptoms specific to the mentee’s LD/ADHD-related anxiety	"We talked about his struggles in the classroom and what he has done to help himself. For instance, he likes sitting in the front of the classroom in order to focus better. We talked about always being able to get a front seat and if he cannot, he should talk to his teacher” [M80]
Organization	Discussion of organizational challenges and solutions	“Created outline chart for organizing application” [M68]
Stress management	Discussion of stress related challenges and strategies to manage stress	“Apparently, he felt so burnt-out last week he felt he had to leave town, so we discussed more healthy stress-management strategies” [M94]
Time management	Discussion of time-related challenges and strategies for more efficient allocation of time	“We are very focused on scheduling going over time management what do you have planned, how are you going to lay it out, how are you going to manage…so just letting her know like to pace yourself don’t get overwhelmed” [Y2MM4]
Adult life skills	Problem-solving supports pertaining to mentees’ emerging adult responsibilities in the college setting
Communication with others	Discussion regarding initiating communication, tools for more effective communication, and practicing for interactions with professors, teaching assistants, bosses, and other students	“I would discuss with my scholar how comfortable they are approaching professors or bosses to discuss problems. I would help my scholar role play why she needed more time. I would help her come up with different ways to say ‘slow at processing.’ I would discuss how she could discuss this without sound[ing] like she was trying to make excuses or just did not do the task.” [M68]
Employment	Discussion of challenges and strategies related to undergraduate’s current employment	“Talk about the part time job she worked and give some suggestion for future” [M107]
Finances	Discussion of financial issues faced by the mentee	“Emailed mentee information regarding student financial management strategy workshops offered through UF [University of Florida]. Plan to attend the biweekly workshops with mentee once she registers.” [M102]
Life skills	Discussion regarding challenges faced by mentee in balancing and carrying out day-to-day activities	“I think there’s a lot of overlap in that her academics seem very effective but outside factors and life skills of like going to bed at a reasonable hour so that you can wake up and get to class and conflicts…and how they are effecting or hampering her succeeding in classwork” [Y2MM5]
Academics	Problem-solving supports pertaining to education, academic performance, course-related responsibilities, and/or plan of study
Academic support	Discussion of challenges related to general academics and coursework, such as difficulty with comprehension of the course material and challenges with assignments and exams	“One thing I encouraged her to do was to break things down as much as possible…and after a few weeks she noticed some improvement in her abilities to solve such problems [in Calculus class]” [M103]
Accountability	Discussion of mentors checking in on their mentee’s progress in order to make them feel accountable to remain on task with their school-related responsibilities	“So I’m sure her asking me and sending me texts asking how it was going made me actually, like, gave me some incentive to actually go do it” [U33]
Campus resources and accommodations	Discussion of difficulty obtaining necessary resources from the university to support disability-related academic challenges	“My mentee is a freshman and hasn’t declared a major and feels like she’s floundering a little bit not knowing which direction she wants to go. I suggested she go to you know the career resource center” [M3]
Course load	Discussion of problem-solving around challenges faced by the mentee based on their course load or combination of courses	“Discussed decisions to limit the number of classes taken in order to do better in each class” [M78]
Graduation	Discussion of and strategies to manage graduation concerns, requirements, and timeline	“…look at the course catalog of the other universities and then work through the petition process within the department to make sure that course will count as the same credit as it’s taught here…. I think to everyone else’s point, graduating and sequencing out classes to take when and where” [M57]

LD/ADHD: learning disabilities/attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Mentors fostered the development of skills that worked to address challenges in executive functioning. Mentors used the ongoing support provided in the mentor group meetings to (a) discuss and gain deeper understanding of their mentee’s LD/ADHD-related challenges, (b) gain ideas for how to support and strategize with their mentee about their challenges, and (c) discuss experiences in working with their mentee to identify the mentee’s strengths and the situations and contexts that may match strengths.

Occupational performance in the area of adult life skills

Supports involved undergraduate mentees’ abilities to handle the additional challenges associated with living with new adult responsibilities within the college context. Discussions around these challenges were not as closely related to the student’s disability, but rather, dealt with skills that young people need as they transition to the college environment. Adult life skills included problem-solving supports in four areas (sub-themes), which are detailed in Table 1. Sub-themes include: (a) communication with others, (b) employment, (c) finances, and (d) balancing life and responsibilities. Graduate-student mentors, as older students who had likely experienced similar challenges in their transition to adult and college-based roles and contexts, were able to provide guidance and support for problem-solving across the wide range of situations experienced by their mentees.

Occupational performance in the context of academics

When strategizing about academics, mentor–mentee pairs collaborated to identify strategies that fostered the mentee’s abilities to manage courses, improve performance within the courses, and plan future coursework. Problem-solving supports for occupational performance related to academics are categorized into five sub-themes, which are detailed in Table 1 and include: (a) academic support, (b) accountability, (c) course load, (d) campus resources and accommodations, and (e) graduation. While academically focused guidance and problem-solving were largely informed by the mentors’ understanding of the mentee’s LD/ADHD, some discussions relied on the mentor’s experiences in recently overcoming challenges related to being on a similar academic path.

Discussion

This study delineates key areas of challenge experienced by undergraduate student mentees with LD/ADHD and the resultant problem-solving supports that were provided by mentors. We found that mentor and mentee dyads often worked together to co-create strategies for overcoming difficulties and heading off potential and future anticipated challenges. Within this study, whole-student (dis)ability-informed mentorship entailed mentors understanding their mentee’s strengths while also supporting the mentee’s engagement in occupations across varied contexts and social role expectations; it involved support for mentees’ academic, career-development, psychosocial, and disability-related needs and challenges. These findings are consistent with mentorship programs within higher education that identified problem-solving as a major emphasis of the mentorship relationship (Kilcullen, 2007; Komaratat and Oumtanee, 2009).

Problem-solving supports from mentors were important for learning how to navigate new adult expectations and contexts, and balance the multiple roles that college students engage in.

This finding elucidates the ways in which mentors provided supports that extended beyond academic and professional development to the supports that aided in the young people’s transition to college life and adult responsibilities. Moreover, because problem-solving and executive functions underpin abilities to meet occupational challenges that arise with current and future anticipated social contexts, mentorship can be an important strategy for supporting the social functioning of young people as they transition to new adult roles and contexts.

Problem-solving within the context of the mentees’ LD/ADHD symptomatology and everyday life challenges required the mentors to develop a depth of understanding about mentees’ strengths, interests, and disability-related challenges. This understanding was supported by mentors’ ongoing engagement in the group mentor meetings, which focused on supporting their understanding of LD/ADHD-related challenges and strengths through an occupational lens. This strength-based (dis)ability-informed mentorship provided a framework for supporting the whole student, which is consistent with positive psychology literature and strength-based therapeutic practices (Mills and Kreutzer, 2016; Smith, 2006). Through use of a (dis)ability-informed frame of reference, mentors were able to provide needed guidance and problem-solving across the breadth of young adult roles and contexts, including their mentee’s disability context, which we refer to as whole-student mentorship.

Study mentees needed guidance from mentors across a broad range of areas. As such, our (dis)ability-informed mentors were able to provide problem-solving support that was important for facilitating their mentee’s occupational performance and participation in current and future anticipated roles (Kreider et al., 2018). We found that mentors were able to provide problem-solving supports within the context of the mentee’s everyday life experiences. The provision of ongoing support that focused on the mentors’ application of an occupational lens when supporting their mentees was an important aspect of the mentorship.

The mentor–mentee relationships that developed among study participants were consistent with published descriptions of successful mentor–mentee relationships; relationships that are long-term, dynamic, and have the shared goal of the holistic development of the mentee though the provision of advice, counseling, and social support (Coombs-Richardson, 2002; Eby et al., 2011). Notably, we found that some of the areas of problem-solving supports that were provided by our mentors resulted from the mentor being able to take on an additional role beyond the roles typically described in the mentorship literature (for example being an advisor, or providing counsel or social support).

Because mentor–mentee matches were based on field of study, our mentors were also able to provide problem-solving support for their mentee’s academic challenges. This was an important aspect of the mentor selection as interventions that provide academic problem-solving strategies are effective for improving the educational outcomes of students with LD/ADHD across educational age-ranges (Hutchinson, 1993), including in higher education (Zawaiza and Gerber, 1993).

We found that the mentors’ role in the co-creation of strategies for problem-solving around mentees’ executive dysfunctions and LD/ADHD-related challenges had similarities to existing models of executive functioning coaching. Coaching for executive functioning provides tailored supports for improving skills and strategies for regulating executive functioning, such as complex problem-solving and sustaining effort across time (Parker and Boutelle, 2009). While similarities existed, the problem-solving discussions among dyads in our study were less goal-oriented than supports provided within coaching models for support.

Our mentorship was disability focused, which is not uncommon on college campuses. However, campus-based disability-focused mentorships are often provided by mentors with a disability or with expertise in disability; these disability-focused mentorships provide assistance with advice, campus resources, academics, approaching authority figures, and self-advocacy (Harris et al., 2011; Patrick and Wessel, 2013; Zwart and Kallemeyn, 2001). Our selection of mentors, which was based on field of study rather than on disability experience, necessitated the provision of ongoing supports for the mentors in understanding LD/ADHD, which were integral in fostering the mentors’ abilities to provide supports for problem-solving the breadth of their mentee’s challenges.

Limitations

Although three conceptual themes emerged from the data, these themes may not represent the full range of areas of problem-solving needed within (dis)ability-informed LD/ADHD mentorship relationships. Additional investigation as to the process and efficacy of (dis)ability-informed mentorship interventions that support the whole student with LD/ADHD is warranted.

Implications for future studies

Within occupational therapy and rehabilitation fields, problem-solving interventions are effective in improving the functioning and performance within everyday life situations of individuals from clinical populations (for example traumatic brain injury; Dawson et al., 2009) whose symptomatology include executive functioning difficulties (Cogan, 2014). Mentorship interventions supporting the occupational performance of young people with LD/ADHD should test the incorporation of evidence-based strategies from clinical problem-solving interventions, such as the use of guided discovery for strategy generation and adaptation.

Conclusion

Mentors are supports commonly found on college campuses. Mentors, whose mentorship training included supports for understanding the LD/ADHD conditions, were able to provide problem-solving supports for the challenges experienced by the undergraduate mentees within their everyday lives and the college context. Mentors’ ability to understand their mentees’ disability-related challenges within the broad range of situations and contexts experienced by the mentees was important for supporting mentees’ multifaceted needs through the mentorship. Occupational therapists can leverage disciplinary understanding of disabilities and the fostering of occupational performance to advance mentorship interventions that support the whole person. The inclusion of biopsychosocial approaches is needed in the development of disability-related mentorship interventions; such interventions can support social functioning and may improve the college experience and persistence of young people with LD/ADHD pursuing higher education.

Key findings

Mentors, whose mentorship training included a focus on understanding LD/ADHD, were able to provide problem-solving supports for challenges experienced by mentees within their everyday lives and the college context.

What the study has added

Occupational therapists can leverage disciplinary understanding of disabilities and foster occupational performance to advance mentorship interventions that support the whole young person transitioning to adult roles and contexts through college.

Footnotes

Research ethics

This research was approved by the University of Florida’s Health Science Center Institutional Review Board.

Consent

Informed consent was obtained from the participant prior to participation in the study. This study was initially approved on August 20, 2012; continued approved was obtained on December 2, 2019.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Funding

This research is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant Number (HRD-1246587). This work is also supported in part the National Institutes of Health, National Center Medical Rehabilitation Research (NICHD) (K12 HD055929). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health.

Contributorship

All authors contributed to the work presented in this paper. Study conception and design: CK, HK. Acquisition of data: CK, SM. Analysis and interpretation of data: CK, HK. CK, HK, and SM worked together to draft the manuscript and all authors provided final approval of the version submitted for publication and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work as presented.

ORCID iDs

Consuelo M Kreider

Sharon Medina

References

Asherson

Manor

Huss

(2014) Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults: Update on clinical presentation and care. Neuropsychiatry 4(1): 109–128.

Babulal

Foster

Wolf

(2016) Facilitating transfer of skills and strategies in occupational therapy practice: Practical application of transfer principles. Asian Journal of Occupational Therapy 11(1): 19–25.

Baum

Christiansen

Bass

(2015) The Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model. In: Christiansen

Baum

(eds) Occupational Therapy: Performance, Participation, and Well-Being. Thorofare: Slack Inc, 49–55.

Cogan

(2014) Occupational needs and intervention strategies for military personnel with mild traumatic brain injury and persistent post-concussion symptoms: A review. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health 34(3): 150–159.

Coles

(2011) The role of mentoring in college access and success. Research to practice brief. Institute for Higher Education Policy. Available at: http://www.ihep.org/research/publications/role-mentoring-college-access-and-success (accessed 1 July 2020).

Coombs-Richardson

(2002) Mentoring and constructivism: Preparing students with disabilities for careers in science. In: Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 465641).

Cortiella

Horowitz

(2014) The State of Learning Disabilities: Facts, Trends and Emerging Issues. New York: Report, National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Dawson

Gaya

Hunt

, et al. (2009) Using the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) with adults with executive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 76(2): 115–127.

DuPaul

Volpe

(2009) ADHD and learning disabilities: Research findings and clinical implications. Current Attention Disorders Reports 1(4): 152–155.

10.

DuPaul

Gormley

Laracy

(2013) Comorbidity of LD and ADHD: Implications of DSM-5 for Assessment and Treatment. Journal of Learning Disabilities 46(1): 43–51.

11.

Eby

Rhodes

Allen

(2011) Definition and evolution of mentoring. In: Allen TD and Eby LT (eds) The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring: A Multiple Perspectives Approach. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 7–20.

12.

Elias

(2004) The connection between social-emotional learning and learning disabilities: Implications for intervention. Learning Disability Quarterly 27(1): 53–63.

13.

Gerber

(2012) The impact of learning disabilities on adulthood: A review of the evidenced-based literature for research and practice in adult education. Journal of Learning Disabilities 45(1): 31–46.

14.

Harris

Markle

, et al. (2011) Ball State University’s faculty mentorship program: Enhancing the first-year experience for students with disabilities. About Campus 16(2): 27–29.

15.

Hutchinson

(1993) Effects of cognitive strategy instruction on algebra problem solving of adolescents with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 16(1): 34–63.

16.

Johnson

Humphrey

Mellard

, et al. (2010) Cognitive processing deficits and students with specific learning disabilities: A selective meta-analysis of the literature. Learning Disability Quarterly 33(1): 3–18.

17.

Kavale

Mostert

(2004) Social skills interventions for individuals with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 27(1): 31–43.

18.

Kilcullen

(2007) Said another way: The impact of mentorship on clinical learning. Nursing Forum 42(2): 95–104.

19.

Komaratat

Oumtanee

(2009) Using a mentorship model to prepare newly graduated nurses for competency. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 40(10): 475–480.

20.

Kreider

Bendixen

Lutz

(2015) Holistic needs of university students with invisible disabilities: A qualitative study. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics 35(4): 426–441.

21.

Kreider

Medina

Lan

, et al. (2018) Beyond academics: A model for simultaneously advancing campus-based supports for learning disabilities, STEM students’ skills for self-regulation, and mentors’ knowledge for co-regulating and guiding. Frontiers in Psychology 9: 1–17.

22.

Mills

Kreutzer

(2016) Theoretical applications of positive psychology to vocational rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 26(1): 20–31.

23.

Newman

Wagner

Knokey

, et al. (2011) The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 8 years after high school. A report from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2011-3005). Menlo Park: SRI International. Available at: www.nlts2.org/reports/ (accessed 10 January 2019).

24.

Overholser

(2013) Guided discovery. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy 43(2): 73–82.

25.

Parker

Boutelle

(2009) Executive function coaching for college students with learning disabilities and ADHD: A new approach for fostering self‐determination. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice 24(4): 204–215.

26.

Patrick

Wessel

(2013) Faculty mentorship and transition experiences of students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability 26(2): 105–118.

27.

Saldana

(2013) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

28.

Sandelowski

Barroso

(2003) Classifying the findings in qualitative studies. Qualitative Health Research 13(7): 905–923.

29.

Showers

Kinsman

(2017) Factors that contribute to college success for students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 40(2): 81–90.

30.

Smith

(2006) The strength-based counseling model. The Counseling Psychologist 34(1): 13–79.

31.

Toglia

Kirk

(2000) Understanding awareness deficits following brain injury. NeuroRehabilitation 15(1): 57–70.

32.

Toglia

Rodger

Polatajko (2012) Anatomy of cognitive strategies: A therapist’s primer for enabling occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 79(4): 225–236.

33.

Wolf

(2001) College students with ADHD and other hidden disabilities: Outcomes and interventions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 931(1): 385–395.

34.

Zawaiza

TRW

Gerber

(1993) Effects of explicit instruction on math word-problem solving by community college students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 16(1): 64–79.

35.

Zwart

Kallemeyn

(2001) Peer-based coaching for college students with ADHD and learning disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability 15(1): 1–15.