Questions Used

- Participants consisted of 8 university students
- Data was collected through a series of interviews in which the researchers asked open-ended questions, and occasionally follow up questions when the participants’ answers warranted further discussion
- This qualitative data was then analyzed based on similarities and differences of the answers, and grouped accordingly for more detailed analysis

Macalester College

Quality of Life refers to an individual’s overall satisfaction with life circumstances, and includes life satisfaction, self-esteem, health, and functioning. 
This study found that the quality of life for students with learning disabilities suffered particularly with regards to the following five factors in comparison to their non-disabled counterparts:
- Stress and anxiety
- Self-esteem
- Time available for other activities
- Personal relationships
- Financial pressures

Quality of Life of Higher Education Students with Learning Disability Studying Online

Lambert, D. C., & Dryer, R. (2018). Quality of life of higher education students with learning disability studying online. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 65(4), 393–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2017.1410876


Quality of life of higher education students with learning disability studying online.

Participants reported a range of challenges that resulted in significant frustration, stress, and anxiety
- Persistent feelings of fatigue and exhaustion
- Being penalized for poor expression in writing assignments 
- Losing points on assignments due to writing quality
- Concern about how their writing ability would cause others to perceive them
- Delay in completing assignments due to anxiety over the quality of their work
- A range of sleep difficulties, which were linked to time pressures, anxiety about test performances, and general anxiety over difficulties with studying

Stress and Anxiety

Students reported the following points in relation to self-esteem issues:
- Use of online forums was reported to be “ really intimidating” and “terrifying”
- Self-consciousness about spelling and grammar sometimes prevented students’ participation
- Self-consciousness also sometimes prevented students from reaching out when they had questions or needed help
- Felt especially self-conscious when their grades did not reflect the time and effort spent on assignments
- Fear of failure and constant worry that they were not good enough to participate in higher education

Self-esteem

Participants reported spending a significant amount of time compensating for learning challenges in their studies, which resulted in:
- Significantly less time available for leisure activities
- Reducing potential down time
- Finding ways to incorporate their studying into time that they had to spend with friends and family (half reported involving their families in academic support activities such as proofreading)
- Difficulty maintaining personal relationships, which added to their stress and anxiety

Time Available for Other Activities

Financial stressors relating to the challenges of dealing with learning disorders included:
- The costs related to obtaining a formal diagnosis, which is required to get access to any kind of accommodations and assistive technologies
- The costs of having to print most of their work due to difficulties reading on computer screens
- Difficulty balancing the time they needed to study against the need to work for income

Financial Pressures of Studying

- Overall, the results of the study stressed the importance of providing study accommodations that can help students with learning disabilities manage their workloads without being overwhelmed. It also stressed the need to address misconceptions about learning disabilities that may contribute to the challenges that these students face with their peers and even their professors. 
- Especially important because some of the ways students attempted to cope with learning challenges resulted in long-term consequences. For example, taking smaller course loads and graduating after more than 4 years resulted in long-term financial consequences after graduation. 
- Overall, the study reported that online education had a negative impact on quality of life for students with learning disabilities, but the researchers noted that several of the analyzed factors were unlikely to be unique to online learning. 

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