Colleges with good LD support ??

Parents Forum
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<p>I am just starting down the path with my junior son...having taken a bit of a breather (ah!) with a now college freshman. We are in Texas, and I understand University of Arizona, Texas Tech, and University of Arkansas have good programs for LD kids....dyslexia, ADD, 3.0 student who is not a "passionate" student. Interested in Engineering, interested in rowing/crew (have another thread on athletic recruits) but am not sure that rowing is what he needs to be doing at school. So, really, leave that aside, what schools have good LD support and engineering.</p>

<p>Parts of the country? Flexible...south makes sense for our location... Size? not under 2,000.... all the rest of the criteria are really open...just looking for options.</p>

<p>thanks so much!! overwhelmed by the options!</p>

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<p>First you need to consider what support he will need in college. Every school has a Disability Office which helps kids arrange for extra time on exams etc. But fewer schools have a full blown program for LD students like SALT at U of AZ. If you want a program like that you may want to try to get your hands on this book to see some options. And one off topic comment which you can feel free to ignore – engineering is an extremely demanding major and might be a difficult fit for a “non-passionate” student so you might want to consider talking about that with your S before he applies to engineering programs. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Colleges-Students-Learning-Differences-Edition/dp/0804125570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414447647&sr=8-1&keywords=learning+disability+colleges”>http://www.amazon.com/Colleges-Students-Learning-Differences-Edition/dp/0804125570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414447647&sr=8-1&keywords=learning+disability+colleges&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Take a look at Gonzaga U, in Spokane, WA. About 5K undergrads, happy, happy kids with great school spirit, especially for their beloved Zags Basketball team. No football, however. </p>

<p>They have an excellent and well-funded LD office: acronym is “DREAM”. Each student has their own LD advisor to meet with as regularly as they want, help navigate registering for classes, arranging for tutors, arranging for test-taking accommodations, and to just be an all-around academic/social/career mentor. Recent major private donations will only make the DREAM services even better in the next few years.</p>

<p>Rowing is a varsity sport, but I think they may have club rowing also. My LD son is in their Comp Sci major within the school of engineering, and they have been wonderfully accommodating so far. He is playing a club sport, and it works.
It’s the kind of school you really have to visit to appreciate.</p>

<p>U Denver’s LD support is a lot like Arizona’s SALT program. You pay extra for it, but it’s very comprehensive.
We were also impressed with what U Redlands had to offer.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

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<p>I’ve heard good things about Oklahoma State from the parent of one of my more significantly LD students. This mom is VERY on top of LD support, and I’m certain she’s heavily vetted all of the schools on my student’s list. Not sure they have engineering, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t! Most of the other LD friendly schools (other than Denver and Arizona) I know are much smaller and probably don’t have engineering departments. Going to follow this thread because I’m always on the lookout for suggestions for my students!</p>

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<p>In the Northeast, Landmark in Vt., Curry in MA, College of New England in NH. Not your preferred area but those are the ones I know.</p>

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<p>Lynn University in Florida is another - very expensive though.</p>

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<p>what kind of help does he get in school now? </p>

<p>My oldest is dyslexic. She wasn’t really getting any help, but she did need to use technology to write, and was allowed to take her essay tests in a separate room. That was pretty much it. She could have gotten books on tape through the blind and dsylexic group, but by college she didn’t really use that anymore. </p>

<p>If he uses a lot of help in high school, you are going to have to think about what he really needs and how to get it. Have him make you a list of what he needs and make your own, since he’s ADD. Once you have the list, try to find that. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that even if colleges say they offer a lot of support, it is only available to the kind of kid who will go and get it. Nobody will come and get him to “help” him organize himself… I only say this because the two ADD kids I know who went to college and finished ended up doing it from home. There are a lot of moving pieces in the college day. </p>

<p>Here’s an example: My daughter was allowed to take her essay tests in a separate room and write the test on a computer. In order to do this, she had to fill out paperwork for every test at least two weeks in advance. She had to get permission from the professor for every test as well. So, it was a lot of paperwork. Sometimes it was more work just to get that set up for finals or mid-terms than the paper she had to write as well, particularly if she had a professor who decided he/she didn’t believe in dyslexia. Just a heads up. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Wherever he goes, he might want to plan to always take two community college courses in summer that could transfer back into his school to enable him to take a lighter load in fall and spring semesters (if transfer credits are permitted in this way). Financial elements to this plan, however. </p>

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<p>Both my kids have learning differences. It was easier for the one that attended a private LAC, because it was a small campus and well funded.
Daughter who attended a public university had to do much more advocacy for herself, which was difficult, and at least one prof made it much more difficult than need be.
But after she got over that hurdle, she did quite well, although she did find outside support with teaching experience, rather than using peer tutors that were more available.</p>

<p>You might consider schools that have TRIO programs.
I qualified for support services at my college, but I used the TRIO support more often, I was actually in there daily.
<a href=“TRIO Home Page”>http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/trio/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Emerald, not familiar with Trio…will check this out. Good to read about your experiences at both schools…my worries of a LAC are the extra focus, I presume, on reading and writing…the kid just wants to build…and do engineering/physics type stuff. But I do agree that a smaller school is a better option in general. I will link into the Trio asap…thanks. </p>

<p>dyiu. yes, good plan, even in HS, he does summer school just to lighten the load. an enormous help!!</p>

<p>poet. mainly extended time and writing on a computer. he does books on tape, too. I will make a note, as that is a good point, if the “line up” to get the accommodations in a way prohibits it from ever getting done, then it is not a deal…i will check into that. thank you.</p>

<p>readytoroll, I will read about Lynn…he doesn’t seem to need to break the bank on school…it is a means to an end for him, i think…punch the ticket, get the degree, then you are free to move on…</p>

<p>compmom, i will look these up…if they have crew, it could be a match…lots more crew up there.</p>

<p>swans. yes, OSU is also on our list, and a crew school as well. and close!! whats not to like, glad to hear an uber mom approved!! i love those, tend to follow in their footsteps!! love to connect with her if possible, just to discuss what she learned…nbd, but a thought. thanks, OSU is on the short list!! </p>

<p>Jane, well that is a new one for me…but i will investigate. as well as denver. and redlands…these are all good options. thank you for adding them. what kind of support does your son use? extra time, computer, tutoring…that seems like what we will need. thanks so much for mentioning this!</p>

<p>happy, just ordered the book, only one review, but can’t hurt. I really need to learn more about the different programs and what the basic public school has to, by law, offer. And yes, engineering is a tough major, but what else to you do with a kid who has been passionately building and flying airplanes, and designing stuff since he was crawling!! Mechanical engineering at a “reasonable” school ought to be an option, I hope. Any other department would be a joke to him…but, I hear you loud and clear. Used to say he would end up at MIT (if he could ever spell it)…that kind of kid, but academics without a direct purpose he can see just don’t work for him…thanks!!</p>

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<p>Hi, again,
To answer your questions, my son needs extra time on some tests, not all. MANY college kids get tutoring for some classes, but he arranges regular sessions for at least one or two courses each semester. For example, he’s meeting twice weekly with a tutor in CompSci this semester, and he attends office hours in other courses religiously. (He’s learned the value of showing professors he cares about the work, AND he gets a better read on what content the prof thinks is most important. Plus, most of these profs are terrific people to get to know. All good) </p>

<p>He’s eligible to have other students take notes for him, but he hasn’t used that too often. That can be kind of cumbersome, and most professors put their lecture notes on the college internal academic websites these days. He’s eligible to get text books converted to audio, but again, that process has proved mighty cumbersome and not ideal. </p>

<p>He’s definitely become more pro-active about using the services provided by the LD office. I wish he availed himself of even more, but it’s really up to your student to do this. Our goal was to make sure that the college he attended had a variety of easily accessible services, offered in a friendly, non-stigmatizing environment. The vibe of the department is really important. It can’t feel like a visit to the dentist! But in the end, it’s up to him to avail himself of the services. </p>

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<p>@nettiK4137‌ I’ve heard of a number of kids who just went through HS with no real passion and then found a college major they loved and became dedicated students. Hope that will be true for your S. Good luck finding the right school. </p>

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<p>Not sure if they have crew, but if you’re FA-eligible, Denver does give good aid to its engineering students, and they’re building a gorgeous new facility. It’s an expensive private school, but they give decent merit scholarships to a lot of kids, and this year (2014-15) they met full (CSS) need for all new engineering students. It’s a top-100 university, not tippy-top but decent academically, and the mech-E program is ABET-accredited. A little over 5000 undergrads, IIRC. (My son, who is not LD, started there in CS this fall, and he likes it and seems to be finding his peeps. I have heard very good things about the LD support. )</p>

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<p>Just want to add a bit: The standard for accommodations at the college level is lower than high schools. Also accommodations cannot be a financial or administrative burden for the school, or substantially change the academic program. However, over time, colleges are becoming more and more accommodating, partly through precedents established legally.</p>

<p>Your son has the right to go anywhere he wants to go and be accommodated. Info on the Americans with Disablities Act through the Federal Dept. of Education, Office for Civil Rights, can be helpful. It is up to him whether he wants a school with an actual program for dyslexia, ADD or any LD he might have. Landmark is exclusively for kids with LD and also has transitional programs to prepare students for other colleges.</p>

<p>Once admitted, your son can register with the disabilities office. We researched accommodations online, then wrote our own letters for the MD or neuropsych. to sign. All the colleges we have dealt with (3) provide letters in the fall for the student to take to professors. Some schools will list accommodations, others will simply write “this student has registered with the disabilities office”. In either case, self-advocacy, particularly with professors, is necessary. And some aspects of classes are at the discretion of professors.</p>

<p>Accessing extra advising and tutoring, psychologist or therapist, and help with time management can be helpful, on campus or off. Coaching is expensive, but can be done in person or online.</p>

<p>The concept of a level playing field so that the student can do the work her or she is capable of, can be hard for some professors to grasp. Generally it seems to help if the student tries not to use accommodations unless clearly needed.
And getting notes from the MD just like everyone else can help too.</p>

<p>Possible accommodations might be: single room, extra time on tests, extensions on papers, excused absences (for appointments), use of technology, and reduced courseload (WITH financial aid for the extra semesters). Any organization or website on dyslexia, ADHD, or any particular LD will often have lists of accommodations to request.</p>

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<p>Charles Schwab discovered later in life that he was dyslexic. He was an alum of Stanford and Stanford’s Business School. For 10 years, his foundation funded a very helpful website/bulletin board for parents of kids with LDs. He funded Stanford’s office of disability services and they seem to be strong on assistive technology. Stanford is pretty strong on engineering, so maybe Stanford would be good for your son (although it is pretty difficult to get into).</p>

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<p>

My suggestion is that you cast a wide net without any restrictions at all – especially the size not being under 2,000. It is very likely that he can get the most help at a small college, where almost everybody will know him.</p>

<p>I have heard, but cannot confirm, that the following schools have had success with students with dyslexia:

  • Ohio Wesleyan University
  • Hiram College
  • St. Andrews Presbyterian (works well with physical disabilities too)
  • Cornell College (not the Ivy “university”, this one is in Iowa)
  • Austin College (there in Texas)</p>

<p>In addition, Hope College in Michigan, is one of the smaller colleges (about 3,300 students) which also has an accredited engineering school. So does its in state rival, Calvin College. Both have strong connections to a Christian denomination (which you might or might not like).</p>

<p>Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a great little school in Indiana. Almost exactly 2,000 students. Very much worth checking out.</p>

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<p>Just my opinion but it was valuable to have our kids within a day’s drive.
They also benefitted by taking a gap year.
One of my kids found this book helpful but I don’t think the other one read it.
<a href=“http://www.jonathanmooney.com/frames.pl?path=/learningoutsidethelines.html”>http://www.jonathanmooney.com/frames.pl?path=/learningoutsidethelines.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>As the mom of two boys with special needs - different from your son - we found that the two small-ish LACs they ended up attending have been perfect. My boys both are deaf (they listen and speak thanks to cochlear implants) and my older son also has ADHD. They both have greatly benefitted from the small class size and a more intimate relationship with their professors and the disability services folks. We made sure and visited with the disability services offices for schools the boys were interested when we were visiting schools as well. Good luck - it really adds an additional layer of complexity in the search process.</p>