My son would like to play lacrosse (class of 2019) in college. He’s been diagnosed with ADHD and his grades have been adversely affected. His GPA heading into his junior year is 3.0uw/3.4w. He will take the SAT for the first time next month. We’re expecting 1200+. We’ve recently hired an executive function coach and the early results this semester so far are promising. Nothing concrete in terms of a major - history, music, anything to do with automobiles, etc. There are 50+ schools that we’ve found that have special help/programs for ADHD kids. Four that we’ve pinpointed that are geographically feasible (we’re in the DC suburbs) and a good fit (we think) for lacrosse - Davis & Elkins (WV), Muskingum (OH), Georgian Court (NJ), and St. Thomas Aquinas (NY). He’s reached out to coaches at two of these schools and the response has been very positive. Does anyone have any suggestions for other schools that we might look into? Thanks in advance.
You might want to look at Mercyherst. Great lax and I know there’s some good learning support for kids on the spectrum - not sure what resources they have for ADHD.
Allegheny has good learning support. Not sure about lax.
Not sure if either has the academic programs you want but I do know that they serve their students well.
Thanks, @gardenstategal. I have a colleague whose daughter went to Mercyhurst and did very well there, and it’s actually on our list. Their lacrosse team is pretty highly-ranked in D2, so I’m not sure my son is good enough to play there. It’s worth a shot, though. No men’s lacrosse at Allegheny. Thanks for your help!
@sschickens , I hope the next suggestions bring you some new ideas!
What about Elizabethtown College in PA? My neighbor’s son with disabilities caused by a stroke did well there. Small LAC school in a beautiful area near Hershey with lacrosse. Right down the road is Lebanon Valley College. York College is also in that general area, not sure about support services but they have lax and are affordable.
Definitely visit - I live NJ and Georgian COurt doesn’t have a great academic reputationand the area isn’t great. It’s known as a commuter school.
Good luck!
+1 on LVC for disabilities and lax.
In general, a small sized school (which is what D3s typically are) can help a lot with LDs.
@NJWrestlingmom Elizabethtown has a top 10 lax program so is probably out of reach from a lax standpoint. Same with York. LVC looks promising, I will definitely do some more research there. Thanks for the insight re: Georgian Court, that’s good to know. I really appreciate your help on this!
@sschickens if you like the school, try contacting the coach or having his coach reach out. My son was debating D3 wrestling - York has a very good team but he would have been able to walk on. Depending on the team, some are more relaxed than others. I also just thought of Lycoming- very small, good merit, nice campus and lots of athletic teams.
UPDATE - SAT scores are in. 1260 (610 English/650 Math)
@gardenstategal FYI, Allegheny announced addition of field hockey and men’s lax in 2020! http://alleghenygators.com/news/2017/10/27/allegheny-college-to-add-field-hockey-mens-lacrosse.aspx
Look at the schedule of the team. Some D2 teams travel a lot, and far, on buses. It makes a big difference in the spring semester. My daughter’s first year she had 3 weekends in a row with 10 hour/each way bus trips and a few other trips that were the entire day on a bus. It was the first year for this team and the coach learned very quickly that that schedule didn’t work. The kids were exhausted. The next year they took one trip, by plane, on Easter weekend. Last year and this year, it’s one weekend bus trip, and yes the dreaded 10 hours on a bus. One weekend is do- and two on the weekend trip. My daughter rarely misses a class to travel to a game. If they have to travel, the coach tries to leave campus on Friday afternoon and the departments allow them to take Friday quizzes with the first section of the day or attend a lecture with an earlier section. She can even switch a lab if she needs to.
Her coach is willing to play lower ranked teams and even scrimmages with NAIA teams, but they need to travel to us. We are (now) a higher ranked team and have a little power to make demands. We also have weather on our side, so teams will travel to us.
The PA conference has a lot of games instate but it’s a big state. Lots of time on the Turnpike. NJ and NY are close as the crow flies but can be 5 hours on a bus.
Also, consider how much you can watch your child play. If I have a regret, it’s that I can only see her play once a year (usually spring break) and the rest of the games I have to watch by streaming. I miss being able to watch her play. There are several families who travel to every game, from Maryland or Maine or NY to Florida. $$$$. I just can’t do that, but I wish I could.
@twoinanddone Thanks, this is very helpful. I’ve often wondered about these long trips and how it affects classes/studying. And, yes, I’m hoping he stays close enough to home to allow me to watch him often. Hopefully, I’ll be retiring after his sophomore year so I’ll have more flexibility to travel to watch him play. Thanks again for you insight!
Alfred University is a small, private university in rural Western NY state. It has a D3 Men’s Lacrosse team as well as a “center for academic success” which “provides support services, consultation, and advocacy for students with learning, physical, and/or psychological disabilities.” My son is a freshman there.
Thank you @FlippersMom we’ll take a look at Alfred.