The present study describes the self-reported learning strategies and study approaches of college and university students with and without dyslexia and examines the relationship of those characteristics with reading ability. Students with (n = 36) and without (n = 66) dyslexia completed tests measuring reading rate, reading comprehension, reading history, learning strategies, and learning approaches. The results indicated that students without dyslexia obtained significantly higher scores than students with dyslexia in their reported use of selecting main ideas and test taking strategies. Students with dyslexia reported significantly greater use of study aids and time management strategies in comparison to students without dyslexia. Moreover, university students with dyslexia were significantly more likely to report a deep approach to learning in comparison to university students without dyslexia. Reading ability correlated positively with selecting main ideas and test taking strategies and negatively with use of study aids. The authors interpret the learning strategy results as consequences of and compensations for the difficulties that students with dyslexia have in word reading.

Building on a recent work of Harrison, Armstrong, Harrison, Iverson and Lange which suggested that Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) scores might systematically overestimate the severity of intellectual impairments if Canadian norms are used, the present study examined differences between Canadian and American derived WAIS-IV scores from 861 postsecondary students attending school across the province of Ontario, Canada. This broader data set confirmed a trend whereby individuals’ raw scores systematically produced lower standardized scores through the use of Canadian as opposed to American norms. The differences do not appear to be due to cultural, educational, or population differences, as participants acted as their own controls. The ramifications of utilizing the different norms were examined with regard to psychoeducational assessments and educational placement decisions particularly with respect to the diagnoses of Learning Disability and Intellectual Disability.

Staff at campus-based counselling and disability centres in 15 of Ontario's 24 community colleges completed 3,536 surveys on 1,964 individual students querying the presence of mental illness and academic challenges as reported by students accessing these services. Survey data were analyzed to determine prevalence rates of mental disorders and investigate for the presence of a relationship between specific mental illnesses and any associated academic impacts. More than half of these students had diagnoses with mood and anxiety disorders being the most common individual and comorbid diagnoses. The academic challenges reported by students with mental illnesses occurred in particular patterns relative to specific diagnoses; alertness/attention challenges were associated with mood disorders, whereas memory/executive function problems were linked to anxiety disorders. Implications for training and service practices of counselling and disability staff are reviewed as are future research directions for accommodating the academic needs of students with mental illnesses.