ERIC Number: EJ1481555
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1937-6928
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Exploring the Interconnections between Learning Disabilities and Sexual Orientation
Lauren D. Goegan; Lucy Delgado
Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, v23 n1 p49-63 2025
In various spaces in society, there has been increased advocacy for greater equity, diversity, and inclusion for individuals from historically and systemically marginalized groups. One step toward supporting these individuals is to consider how they understand and make sense of their self-concepts. As such, we explored the self-concepts of individuals who identified with two specific identities: learning disability (LD) and sexual orientation (SO) diversity. The current study examined participants' (n = 120) perceptions of their LD and SO through word associations and an open-ended response question. Overall, participants provided 310 unique words when reflecting on their LD and 272 words when considering their SO. The most frequent words associated with LD highlighted the challenges these individuals face, whereas the words associated with SO emphasized the diversity of sexual orientations. Nevertheless, 15 words overlapped between these two identities: different, unique, misunderstood, struggle, hard, understanding, creative, confusing, judged, lonely, difficult, shame, special, annoying, and challenging. These overlapping terms highlight both the differences and similarities in how individuals make sense of their LD and SO. This was also evident in their openended responses, wherein some participants indicated that there was no connection between their LD and SO, while others believed the two were interconnected. The findings from this research provide an opportunity to better understand the complexity of the experiences of individuals within these two marginalized groups. In closing, we discuss the study's limitations and offer recommendations for future research.
Descriptors: Learning Disabilities, Sexual Orientation, Correlation, Self Concept, Beliefs, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, LGBTQ People
Learning Disabilities Worldwide, Inc. P.O. Box 142, Weston, MA 02493. Tel: 781-890-5399; Fax: 781-890-0555; Web site: http://www.ldw-ldcj.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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