Psychological Intervention for Adolescents Diagnosed with Learning Disorders - “I Can Succeed” (ICS): Treatment Model, Feasibility, and Acceptability

Abstract

This study describes a manual-based psychological intervention for adolescents diagnosed with Learning Disorders (LD), "I Can Succeed" (ICS), and reports on the feasibility of the treatment as an intervention to promote adaptive academic and emotional functioning. The intervention consisted of acute and follow-up phases, over 18 months. ICS focuses on developing skills in three major areas: intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills and school/community skills. The intervention was administered to 40 adolescents with various types of LD and other co-morbid psychiatric disorders (aged 11-15 years) who were consecutively enrolled in an outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric department. Pre-post changes in outcomes showed significant decrease in adolescents’ psychopathology (both externalizing and internalizing problems scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)). In addition, significant improvement was shown in hope and effort levels. Fairly high satisfaction was demonstrated, with 97% of the participants reporting that ICS was helpful and that they would recommend it to a friend. The modules most often used were the interpersonal ones. The discussion is focused on understanding the feasibility of this manualized psychological intervention in terms of acceptability, adherence and preliminary changes.