We’re quite a ways off from seriously looking at colleges (S is only a freshman), but I was wondering if any of you had experience and suggestions for kids with LD. What type of colleges did you look for, were you happy with the support your child received, and what types of classes or activities would you recommend? This is my second child going through the process, but the first one was a genius with no issues so I’m completely lost as to how to guide this child. He may struggle through regular classes, even with learning support (not many accommodations except for test taking), rather than taking Honors and AP’s. I’d say he will most likely end up as a B student in a highly competitive private school, although it’s hard to predict at this point. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s gone through this before.
I would wait a year or two and see where he is at that point. My S with learning issues really took off in HS and ended up needing very little support during college and grad school.
When the time came to really consider colleges…
—I had my S re-tested junior year to get a good handle on where he was and what type of help he might need in college. I spoke to my S and his resource room teacher about this as well. I had a good idea but wanted it confirmed and not just to be a gut decision. Fortunately everyone agreed he would only need extra time on exams.
–I was sure that a LAC with small classes would be ideal but he really didn’t like the small schools. I listened and didn’t push when it was clear he felt that a LAC was not the right environment for him. We continued to search and found that for him a mid-sized university with small classes was a perfect choice. (Ironically my D with no learning issues is now at a LAC and is loving her experience – but it wasn’t right for my S). So I’d say to not push your ideas and listen to your S (advice for anyone, not just someone with a LD child ).
–There are some special ed colleges and some program within regular colleges to help meet needs of kids requiring more support. Again, you will need to wait and see what he needs when the time comes.
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colleges-Students-Learning-Differences/dp/0804125570/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442508654&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=college+learning+diabiliteis .
–When we visited the schools he was accepted to and considering attending we made appointments at the Office of Disabilities to speak to people there. This knocked out one college for us which had kids who needed extra time on exams taking tests next to a noisy boiler room. I don’t think a lot of people do this and we found it was worth the extra time and effort to find out exactly what services were available at the school.
–There are tons of excellent schools for B students. Be sure to look for good matches both academically and socially.
—And you may be surprised at where he is in a couple of years so I would not spend too much energy on it now.
We have been going through this process the last several years. D is now a freshman at a small LAC. She is thriving, although struggling with the reading load. My two strongest suggestions are to be positive his testing is up-to-date (within 3 years of beginning college) and to meet with the disabilities office at his college visits.
Thus far I have been extremely happy with the support at her college. Her disabilities advisor was in contact throughout the summer, had her audiobooks set up, meets with her weekly, is supportive, and has run interference with the few issues that have arisen. Transition into freshman year is difficult for lots of kids, but it’s especially worrisome with a LD child. Good luck!
Thanks to both of you for your help! 
I know it’s really early, and we have no idea where he’ll be in a couple of years. I just wanted to see what experience others had on this journey. I don’t think Swill be happy at a small LAC, just knowing his personality, but then again, he may surprise us. We will definitely check out their learning support departments when we do go visiting colleges - thanks for that advice! We will definitely be getting him reevaluated as well in a year or so.
My daughter left college after one year, did community college for a year p/t and worked, then applied and now attends a small LAC with an adult learner/degree completion program that includes in class and online classes, and is flexible on how many classes to take (she takes 2 at a time). She doesn;t live on campus and has a full life. The program is perfectly suited to her interests and she does a performing art outside of school that is a strength for her (professional). Our state university also allows just two classes at a time, and withdrawal and then reentry for a fee without another application. Believe me, this post reflects a hugely positive development for her but I understand it may not fit what you are looking for at the moment.
You can look at Landmark, Curry College, and New England College as examples of schools good for LD’s (Landmark is specifically for LD’s, the others have supports, but many colleges will have accommodations and support through the disabilities office, with documentation.
It will work out!
Thanks for the encouragement, compmom. And I’m glad that your daughter found something that worked for her.
Definitely read that guide listed above at the library to learn the main ways different schools address LD supports. They’re not all the same approach.
Another option: S’s best friend attended our State U but consciously chose to complete the curriculum in 5 years instead of the usual 4. That meant a lighter workload each semester. It cost an additional $20k for the extra year, but was well worth it for the reduced stress all around. He graduated with solid grades as a result and his self-confidence bolstered.
@compmom , Actually, all colleges and universities that take federal financial aid (and maybe even the handful who don’t? Not sure.) are required to have a staff member who coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.
^^ but that does NOT mean they all actually do a good job of working with kids who have LD’s.
i.e. they talk the talk but dont walk the walk.
some colleges really are better than others for LD kids.
Schools receiving federal aid must have staff to handle accommodations but some don’t have disability ofiices.
If a disabilities office and/or administration grants an accommodation of reduced course load, then financial aid should pay for the extra time.
psych_ You are absolutely correct in saying that all colleges that receive federal funding have LD coordinator. But from what I saw, there is huge variation in the quality of services a school chooses to offer. We saw some LD offices that were well staffed, well-located, and very helpful and others that were poorly staffed, appeared to do the minimum required by law, and had offices that were literally located next to a boiler room or laundry facility.
Does anyone have any experience with Curry College. My son is very bright- high SAT’s poor executive functioning- ADHD and dysgraphia. He was accepted to Curry and the Pal Program but I am not sure that it is worth the enormous tuition. I have seen student comments that the content of classes is not rich and that it is a high priced junior college. I am trying to weigh having him go to more academic schools without a formal LD program and just disability supports.
Thank you
Oh I should mention that he is interested in the Computer Science Program and App Development. I am not sure if these are viable programs leading towards a career versus the other colleges he has gotten into.
Sorry I don’t know much about the Computer Science program. My DD attended the PAL summer program but ruled the school out because it was so rural; she has multiple LD’s. If your son can hyper focus on computer science/App development type courses, you may want to consider a school without many general education requirements. You might look at @shawbridge posts–he has a son who found a school that allowed him to pursue his ambition without a lot of gen eds, which would help some with executive function concerns. Best of luck.
I just saw that I was mentioned in a thread that @megan12 started. I have two kids with LDs, one more severe than the other. The younger one – who is ADHD and anxious – just finished (at age 22) her MSN and board certification to be a nurse practitioner. Both have also had serious health problems. But, in the younger one’s case, extra time on tests, Ritalin and maturation really did the trick. Her GPA went up by one whole grade upon the use of extra time/Ritalin.
The other one, whom @Maystarmom was discussing, is severely dyslexic (reading and writing used to hurt him physically) and also somewhat ADHD, though not to the same extent as his sister. Elementary and middle schools were a struggle but I knew that he was exceedingly bright (and IQ tests confirmed this). In addition to being extremely bright, he is extremely driven and ambitious. He succeeded in HS largely because we did partial home-schooling – the school was not teaching him how to write and the honors math courses were trivial to him. He has become the poster boy for the Special Ed team at the HS because they could see how big his deficits were, how hard he tried, and how well he did (probably ranked #3 in his HS class). He taught himself to do well on standardized tests with lots of practice (and extra time that was granted – after a year – by The College Board and the ACT folks). He went to a small LAC with no distribution requirements at my suggestion rather than an Ivy. We picked the school in part because post-acceptance, they were clearly more cooperative than the the Ivy in terms of real willingness to be accommodating. He developed a very good relationship with the disabilities services office and administration. Overall, it turned out to be a very good choice and he did extremely well.
The following post shares some of my observations about how to handle college for kids with LDs: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/11350464#Comment_11350464.
Thanks, what a useful post. My son is also in 9th grade, and dyslexic and dysgraphic. FL is his nightmare, and he will have two years of foregin Lang and not a day more. It isn’t worth the stress. I hope this isn’t high jacking, but are some colleges okay about waiving requirements for kids with documented LDs?
@Lindagaf I’m thinking that you will have to check with each college to see what they are willing to waive. I have heard that some kids with dyslexia have an easier time with ASL (which does count for college admissions as a foreign language) so that may be worth looking into/asking professionals at the school about (even if it means taking it outside of the HS).
@happy1 we have throughly explored all options and in fact, months ago I had a thread about it with lots of suggestions. He will have completed his minimum requirement of two years of FL and it’s done forever, as far as he is concerned.
If it’s even a possibility to get requirements waived, we will explore that option when time comes. Meanwhile, I already have a little list in my mind of where he can apply: Hamilton, Rochester, and Evergreen State are all sounding appealing:-)
My son hates FL. He took exactly one semester of Italian at the local community college in high school. He had planned to take second semester, but just couldn’t stomach it, so took a different CC class. He’s required to take 2 years of FL in his college. Ugh. 
He just got retested for disabilities. We’ll see what they show and if he can get it waived. He has a unilateral hearing loss, but it’s probably not severe enough to use that for the waiver. While I’ve heard ASL is good for dyslexics, I think it could be very hard because of the finger spelling.