My middle school aged child is diagnosed with ADHD and is taking medication. Child is in public school in integrated classrooms and has an IEP with some accomodations. Grades are A/B and is considered above average in some subjects and average for others. Child has zero disciplinary or behavioral issues and is a model student. Child has good extracurriculars and we believe child could possibly be able to get accepted to middle tier private schools on merits alone. We are considering applying to schools that have no special programs for learning disabled and schools which give some limited support to the learning disabled.
What is the best way to approach the application process? Fully disclose child’s ADHD? Or do not say anything? For schools with some limited support for learning disabilities, would it improve child’s chances of admission to not specifically apply as a learning disabled student?
I do not have personal experience with this (so my advice is not rooted in experience), but there are a number of schools that are well-equipped to serve a child with ADHD. It sounds like it’d be helpful to your child to be in a place that can support him/her – even if it’s through a learning center that’s catering to students without LDs, and it’s going to be hard for them to figure out if they can do that if you don’t share what your needs are.
In addition, this may provide some helpful perspective on the school record to date. (To have a record of A/B shows that you already have found a lot of accommodations that work, and you’re going to get off on the wrong foot if after you’re accepted, you tell the school that you need these accommodations going forward but never disclosed the issue in the first place.) My personal bias is that this should be disclosed in the search. If a school reacts negatively, it may be an early sign that it’s a bad fit. You want your child to be accepted and nurtured for whomever he/she is.
I would research BS that offer learning centers in the area you want to be in. Several we looked at had accommodations, including St Andrews in RI, Christchurch in VA and Pomfret in CT.
Mercersburg has a robust learning center, is well-equipped to assist such students, and has been a real help to DS, who is ADHD (inattentive). We were up front in the admissions process, and submitted his ed testing with his application. Once school started, the learning center staff met with him and over the course of 1-2 months worked with him to figure out what he needed in terms of support. He is working fairly independently, but does get a school-provided (parent-paid) tutor. He also takes full use of the school’s writing center; all students are encouraged to use that resource to help refine and edit written work. He is going to take honors pre-calc, physics, and AP spanish next year, among other required 11th grade courses. I.e., he’s keeping his head above water and managing well with the support of the LC.
@locoparentis, do you know how to locate past threads? There are several on this subject which should give you insights from parents in similar situations.
I know students/families that disclosed and others that did not. Disclosure makes more sense to me.
Per other comments here, there are schools with advanced support systems for students with ADHD or ADD issues. Some other schools have support systems for learning disabilities. A few schools do both. You can research these at boardingschoolreview.com. The list is by no means inclusive; Mercersburg, for example, isn’t on it!
There are several schools like Mercersburg with excellent support systems and still others that have no particular support systems for ADHD but still accommodate students - extra test and essay time, making sure they take their meds, etc.
I have noticed a definite shift in attitude/approach to ADHD in recent years. As more students become more open about their condition, the schools seem to be accepting and more informed about how to help.
I think it is better to disclose. Even when a kid has ADHD under control it is always a factor that they have to deal with and probably even more so at boarding school. If you disclose and the school chooses not to take you because of it, maybe it wasn’t the right place for your kid in the first place. I also think these days ADHD is not such a rare thing in BS, even at top schools.
I have a similar child now a senior in BS. We disclosed and she was offered study skills support but she did not really need it and she dropped it after the first few weeks. We were also able to get extended time on SATs which was needed (not ADHD but has slow processing speed). She did not require any accommodations to her regular classwork but we have hired a tutor for her in classes that are problematic for her due to her learning difference. This was supported by and arranged by the school.
I have mixed feelings re disclosure. I would say if your child does not currently receive any accommodations and you are confident they will not require specialized support above what is available to everyone, and ADD is well managed with just medication, there is no need to disclose - lots of kids are on medication.
On the other hand, if your child’s grades and performance are significantly impacted by the ADHD and you want to have the option of having accommodations such as extra time, study skills support, tutoring etc. then you are better off disclosing. If you disclose, schools will require that you provide a recent evaluation and an IEP if you have one. Some schools charge extra for learning skills support and it is only available to students who disclose a need when they apply (Berkshire for example offers a lot, but you need to apply to access this support). Some schools offer help to any student who requests it at no extra charge and at these schools, if your child is a good self-advocate, you may not need to disclose a very mild learning difference that does not impact classroom performance.
Schools that are more supportive - but also have a healthy mix of kids who don’t need support- are Proctor, Berkshire, Pennington, Solebury, Brewster? NMH is often mentioned as offering support, and it is available, but due to the class structure (90 minute blocks, lots of independent work) it often isn’t a good fit for a child who struggles to finish assignments or stay focused in class. Most BS are going to have a heavier work load and faster pace than your child may be used to currently and that is something to consider as well.
Also, let’s understand that there is a distinct difference between ADHD and “learning disabilities”. ADHD may be helped with medication; not necessarily so with LDs.
To @chemmchimney’s list add Hill and Hun. Both Hun and Pennington have dedicated institutes for LDs but, yes, there are extra charges for these. Choate has taken a superior position regarding ADHD.
Gifted/advanced students with ADHD or LDs often figure out compensatory strategies and go on to success (Einstein was a very slow learner). Truth be told, many boarding schools maintain a high pressure, deadline driven learning environment that strongly favors the “normal” student over the “unusual” ones. Thus “successful” BS grads tend towards bankers, lawyers and accountants. Steve Jobs would have been kicked out in year one.
TIL that ADHD is not a LD. I suppose that’s because child actually has ADHD and LDs too and it never occurred to us. But to keep thing anonymous I don’t want to get too specific.
We live within commuting distance of several schools with day students in and around central New Jersey. I think we would not go the boarding route, at least not initially. We actually have a number of options, including (in A-Z order):
Hun
Lawrenceville
Lewis
Peddie
Pennington
Princeton Day School
@locoparentis , What I have heard from friends is that Lewis is fabulous with visual processing issues, including profound ones. Have heard that they excel on many fronts, but it sounds like your child may not need that much support. Definitely worth a look, though
Pennington and Hun both have very good learning support and also attract a lot of kids who don’t need it. This could be the perfect fit for you, as it sounds like DC needs academic support but otherwise needs/wants a normal high school experience. You should visit both and check out the culture – not quite the same. Both have a middle school program, but the bulk of students start in 9th grade, so it doesn’t have the social issues associated with breaking into a group of kids who have been together for the last 9 years.
Lawrenceville tends to be a pressure cooker for high performing kids who learn the way they teach so sounds like a poor fit.
I don’t know if PDS offers learning support or not.
Peddie is a terrific school, but I’m not sure how supportive they can be. A neighbor who teaches there (so gets the faculty rate on tuition) did not send DC there because of mild LDs. Felt like it’d be a bad fit. Both Lawrenceville and Peddie have Saturday classes, so you may also want to think through whether that would be good for your child. (Could be an issue if you take a break from meds on weekends.)
I have a friend whose child is at Notre Dame where he’s getting a lot of support – probably more than you need. It might be an option to consider depending on why you’re leaving LPS.
Depending on where you are in NJ, you might want to pop across the river into PA and look at Solebury (which has great learning support) and George. The latter’s learning center might be enough for you; I would definitely disclose to them your situation. Sometimes by exploring options, even if they’re not right, you’ll find your radar gets better tuned to how your needs might be met.
George does not have a well developed learning support center. It has improved dramatically in the past two years, but Solebury is significantly better for support.
I agree with @cindylwho in terms of solebury vs. George for learning support. I was only suggesting it because op felt DC was borderline in terms of needing support, and this would be a way to consider that minimal option. It might also help clarify how strong of a resource center they feel they need. Most of the kids I’ve known who have used the learning center at George have done so because they’ve needed help in a specific subject or occasinal help with organizational skills, but that’s anecdotal.
I would suggest to disclose the ADHD. Some schools have structured programs and behavioral interventions, and others are more ‘sink or swim’ atmospheres. You want to be sure your child can handle the environment, so it is only in your interest to disclose.
There are many schools with learning centers which serve to focus on the needs of LD/ADHD students. There are extra costs, but is probably worth it.
Within the central NJ area, I agree with the posters above: Hun and Pennington both have well regarded learning centers. For kids with dyslexia the Lewis School in Princeton has a good reputation.
Even schools that don’t have formal learning centers can often accommodate special needs/LD students. This all depends upon what type of accommodations are being requested: extra time, large print, e-notes, distraction free testing, are all fairly standard. My son attends a well known boarding school that doesn’t have a learning center, but he tells me that lots of kids have accommodations.
Wouldn’t you assume that “disclosure” would happen via current school recommendations & transcripts? Just curious about what would show up on school reports.
I don’t know about learning disabilities, but ADHD shouldn’t be mentioned anywhere on a child’s transcripts or recommendations. These are considered medical diagnoses and are private information. Look at it this way, if a child has depression, or epilepsy which has been disclosed to the school. That would absolutely not be included in a transcript. Also, many of these kids are able to get accommodations when taking the SSAT. The fact that the kid took the test with accommodations is not available to schools which get the results.
Interesting. I’m asking because I have a kid in this situation - and he receives additional support at school, as well as testing accommodations, because he has ADHD.
I have one as well. He recently took the SSAT as a practice/benchmark and had extra time accommodations. After checking the SSAT website it was clear that they do not report that the child had accommodations. The other thing that I found interesting is that schools don’t know how many times a child has taken the test. I remember there was talk on here a couple of years ago about whether schools would question why a child had taken the test numerous times.
When application time comes around we plan on being upfront right away with the diagnosis. When my older son applied I remember that there was a question about this on the application and they want to know if the kid has an IEP or a 504 plan. That is the place where the information will be disclosed, but it shouldn’t come from the school. I think that there are so many kids with this diagnosis and shouldn’t make much of a difference. Personally, I think that a kid with ADHD who is functioning well on meds and getting good grades shouldn’t worry about it. I know that at every school there are plenty of kids who have to go to the health center for their medications, even at the “so called” top schools. If the child is struggling, then this might be different, but we aren’t going to just look at schools with learning differences support.
Hi – My son is in a similar situation. He has ADHD, is on medication, no behavioral issues, very good athlete, decent grades, generally tests high average to superior on most subjects (average in a few). We are in a different geographic area but have focused on schools with learning centers where he can get the support he needs, which is generally on organization. Currently he doesn’t really use all the accommodations that he’s entitled to at his school. He meets with a tutor once weekly really just to help organize long-term assignments, make sure he’s on track, and sometimes help organize/clean out files, notebooks, etc. However, he took the SSATs last year with extra time (and will again this weekend), and it was more than sufficient.
The advice we’ve gotten from our school’s placement director and consultant is to disclose the diagnosis and whatever report you have, whether during your parent interviews or in the SAO parent questions. It’s important to know if the school has the available support your son will need and an important part of finding the right “fit.” We’ve heard that being on ADHD medication is not the least bit unusual (and I have found that in general outside of the BS process), and that at the right schools, it’s really not a big deal. From visiting schools and talking with students, we’ve found that there are plenty of kids with ADHD (or who just struggle with organization/executive function, regardless of any diagnosis) or other issues (e.g., dyslexia), and it’s not something to hide. I have also heard anecdotally of kids with ADHD and learning disabilities thriving at certain BSs. For my son, it’s significant that he didn’t have a formal diagnosis till after 6th grade, and his grades and overall performance improved once he was on medication.