My daughter has auditory processing disorder and was severe when she was in grade school, she is better; however, she will (according to our Audiologist) carry this disorder into adulthood. School has always been a huge struggle for her, but she really wants to go to a big 12 college to experience the sorority life, ballgames, etc. My son, her cousins, and many of her friends are going to a big 12 state college, but I’m very concerned she isn’t bold enough to stand up for herself. My other concern is the large class sizes. Can anyone point me to colleges in Oklahoma that are accommodating? Also if there is any person on here with Central Auditory Processing Disorder or anyone for that matter that can tell me what people with this disorder excel at typically? Thanks for any input
I can’t advise you as to what schools have programs for this, but I can tell you that going to a big 12 college may not be the best choice. If she hasn’t learned how to advocate for herself in high school, which is a necessary skill to have in order to succeed in the future, then that’s a strike against her already. And for her to be in a large university with hundreds of kids in a lecture hall is very risky. The professor lectures at you from far away, and there are literally hundreds of distractions. For a child with an auditory processing disorder, that’s difficult to handle.
My son has SPD so I’m familiar with the limitations these kids face. He has always struggled in school, but the number one thing, besides finally receiving academic support in middle school and high school, is that he has learned the art of self advocating. It has made a huge difference. He is not afraid to ask questions when he doesn’t understand something in class, and he seeks after school help from teachers very often.
That being said, I still don’t think the best place for him would be in a large university where no one knows your name, and you’re pretty much on your own. My feeling is that he’d probably fair much better in a smaller school that can accommodate more personalized attention. He loves Michigan, but I can’t see him doing well in the school of LS&A, which has thousands of kids in it. However, if he was in one of the smaller schools within the university, it might be less of a challenge so that might be an option to look into.
I don’t know how much help this has been, but I just wanted to give you some of my thoughts from a perspective of a parent dealing with similar issues.
What accommodations does your DD have in HS?
At most colleges, it is not difficult to get accomodations to take a test in a quiet place.
Also, can the prof where a device where it transmits via FM to the student with headphones?
Does she need a note taker?
Does she need to record the lectures?
Talk the Disability office at potential schools
Also try this thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/799354-colleges-with-programs-for-students-with-learning-auditory-deficit.html
My friend’s daughter has NlD and started at a smaller school with lots of support from the school - her own room, use of laptop in classes, counselors. It wasn’t enough. She needed to be living at home. She now attends a local school where most students are commuters. This school is very busy, with thousands upon thousands of kids taking trains and buses to school every day, going to classes with many adjunct professors who have limited office hours. It somehow works for her now because it was more important for her to be close to home than to be at a small school.
Many large schools do have smaller classes. Not every class is a lecture with 200. You can know your professors at a big school, but you have to make the effort. You can also hide at a small school.
I’m not familiar with that particular issue but my gut says that a smaller school with smaller classes might be best.
You might want to look at this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Colleges-Students-Learning-Differences/dp/0804125570/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455737373&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=college+leaning+disabilities
No matter where she goes I would look into the FM system. This is a device that connects a mic on the speakers collar to a hearing aid in the students ear. My son uses one (he is not in college yet) and it helps. It will cut through distracting sounds in the classroom and allow the professor’s speech to go directly into her ear. Most people don’t mind wearing the divice as the mic is small and out of the way.
I teach math at a CC. Our disability services office works with students and gives them a form to give to professors listing their accommodations - for example: preferred seating, shared notes, extra time on tests, quiet testing, ability to record lectures etc. I am required to provide all accommodations. HOWEVER, it is the student’s responsibility to ask for the accommodations. If they choose to sit in the back of the room - I cannot make them move to the front. If they don’t ask for the shared notes or work out a system to receive them - I am not required to do it for them. If they don’t arrange for extra time on the test - for each and every test - they do not get the time. I explain this to my students when they give me their form and most say OK, but then don’t ask for or make use of their accommodations. Especially for extra time. Sometimes there is another class coming in immediately after ours so I would have to arrange for another room for extra time - if the student doesn’t ask me before hand then it is too late once class starts. Sometimes I ask the student to arrive early to get extra time in the beginning of the test so they can finish with everyone else - and they don’t. The takeaway from this is how good is your daughter in advocating for herself? Is she willing to talk to her professors consistently and remind them of her accommodations? In HS - the accommodations are owned by the school. In college the accommodations are owned by the student.
@ylimekcaj My S used extra time on some of his college exams (some exams he did not feel he needed the extra time) and I agree that in college the student’s need to “own” and ask for their accommodations. My S found the professors (both undergrad and grad school) to be generally very kind about it. Different professors handled it differently and sometimes how the accommodations were handled were based on my S’s and the professor’s schedule. It is important for students to be flexible. A few if the different scenarios were:
–Taking the entire exam in a testing area within the Office of Disabilities proctored by the staff there.
–Starting the exam with the class and finishing in the professor’s office (proctored by professor or a secretary).
–Starting the exam with an earlier class and finishing with his class.
I imagine with any type of accommodation the college student must work with the professor and find a mutually agreeable way to make it work. And while the professor is required to meet the accommodation, my S found that a well placed thank you never hurt.
Hi - my boys both are deaf and I’m also familiar with CAPD. I agree that an FM system would likely help - ditto note takers, extra time on tests, preferential seating, etc. Both our boys attend/attended small LACs and it was perfect - smaller classes which I think is an accommodation in and of itself. My younger son is a science major - his largest class had about 45 students in it.
Before our boys graduated from HS, they both had an extensive evaluation by a neuropsych who’s also an expert on kids with hearing loss (I know that CAPD doesn’t usually involve hearing loss but I think a lot of the accommodations are similar). The evaluation was invaluable in that it spelled out accommodations they need, the fact they have a documented disability, etc. In both cases, documenting the disability with their college was very easy because of it.
We also made sure when we visited colleges,our sons met with the disability coordinator just to be sure the school was ready/willing/able to accommodate. A good friend was ready to enroll her daughter in one college but when they dug deeper, they found that even though her daughter had been language exempt because of her hearing loss, the school insisted on a language. When pushed, the school said they would provide ASL. The daughter has a condition where she’s deaf and is losing her sight so learning a visual language wasn’t really the way to go. The disabilities office kept insisting - proving they really didn’t have a clue - so fortunately the daughter enrolled at another college and has had a really excellent experience there. It’s really important to probe, particularly with our kids who have issues that aren’t as common.
Good luck to you!
@happy1 That’s great that your son is able to manage his accommodations. I go out of my way to accommodate my students who take ownership of their accommodations using some of the very same scenarios you described. I live near campus and have even come in on a day that I don’t teach (I am an adjunct) just to make things work. I am under certain legal obligations as well both to extend accommodations but also not to give anything “extra” that would make it unfair to the rest of my students. It is a fine line. It makes me sad to see students who I know could and should be accommodated who don’t make the most of it but my hands are sometimes tied. Best of luck to you son!