Youth with specific learning disorders: attitudes and clinical decision-making among mental health trainees

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities often face discrimination due to negative attitudes from others around them. This is true for youth with specific learning disorders (SLD), whose experiences of discrimination can increase the risk for developing mental health concerns. The current study explored whether the presence of an SLD comorbid with mental health concerns and attitudes toward SLD may have an association with clinical decision-making in counselor trainees. The study additionally investigated the role of contact and experience in attitudes and decision-making patterns. Seventy graduate students enrolled in mental health-related programs at a public university in the southern United States participated in the survey study. Findings showed that SLD had an association with clinical decision-making, with counselor trainees rating a vignette depicting a youth with SLD as having more severe mental health concerns than a vignette without an SLD.