<p>I'm interested in learning more about FDU's Regional Center for College Students with Learning Disabilities. If anyone out there has had experience with it, I hope you'll tell me about it. </p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Alex</p>
<p>My son attended FDU and also got admitted to the Regional Center,which he used a lot. It was FABULOUS! They make the kids sign contracts that they will attempt all homework, attend the regional center a certain number of times a week etc. In return, the tutoring and help was extraordinary. I HIGHLY recommend this school for LD kids.</p>
<p>I should note that the only catch is that your child must be admitted to both the university and the regional center. If they do, all the totoring and help is free as part of the normal tuition.</p>
@taxguy - I came across this post and I see it is 10 years old. My son is in 11th grade with some LD issues. We hope he will be able to finish 11th grade and 12th grade with a 3.0. His 10th grade GPA was 3.0. We are (son and his parents) interested in the residential Madison campus - not a commuter campus. Can you give me some insight into your son’s issues and how he did at FD ? Did he graduate?
@dspflyer thought I would share our experience since original post was a while ago. My son graduated FDU cum laude Madison in May. He was accepted to the Regional Center after he was accepted to the college. He really liked FDU and it was a good fit for him. He had been classified LD since preschool and had mostly in class support through high school. He is high functioning Aspergers. The regional center was very helpful for him just to know he had a more personalized place to seek help. They seemed to focus mostly on academic help for the English courses. They did not offer support in math or science. My son did utilize the academic support tutoring offered to all FDU students for math classes. He struggled with math but was able to pass. The regional center tries to make students as independent as possible and the goal is to reduce the need for support. They have many resources as far as software and a place for regional students to go even if it is just to work in a quiet area. It is housed in the Mansion(what a beautiful building!). My only disappointment was they really do not do anything to assist in job seeking skills. It would be nice if they had a program in the regional center to prepare for interviews or sources for finding job openings or internship placements. My son is not one to sell himself and could have really benefitted from something that helped him gain confidence. The university does have a career department but our experience was that they basically reviewed resumes. I think they had more opportunities for business majors than others.
My son did not live on campus so I can not speak to that area. The downtown area has plenty to offer and I know the school runs a shuttle bus. Train to NYC is a short walk from campus. I would suggest if you have not attended the info session at the regional center you sign up. It was very helpful and go with a list of questions.
@Bzylizy thank you so so much for this very informative and helpful review of FDU - Madison. We are going to take a college tour April 13th and your review is going to really help us out. My son is working hard to keep a 3.0 GPA but it may slip down to a 2.9 and his first ACT was not good at 17, but he is prepared for the long haul of taking it a few more times as he continues his ACT prep course. We know usually after 2 tries your score doesn’t change but the goal is to get him to an ACT 19 or I pray a 20.
My son’s LD is definitely academic related - he has had an IEP since 4th grade but there has never been a true
pin point to his comprehension issues. He has a weak short term memory and visual processing deficit. We have found over the years that on a 3rd or 4th try he can get something but overall - he is a B- student with effort.
That being said, we are going to find out about the Regional Center but I am concerned about your comments regarding their lack of career and job preparation. It also sounds like you meant that to be for both the Regional Center and the main Career Development office. We will definitely be asking about this when we take the tour. Your response has been invaluable. Thank you!
@Bzylizy - I can’t find my original post but my son is junior and will complete his first semester at the end of January. I know that really gives him the 2nd half of junior and hopefully something into early senior year.