Looking for schools with one-on-one support/coaching for a kid with ADHD and anxiety

I think my high school kid with ADHD and anxiety may need regular meetings with an academic coach or ADHD coach to stay organized in college. I’m talking about a person who would help them manage their workload in real time, not a general study skills class or a quick session of advice-giving. I know there are a lot of similar kids out there, and there must be various kinds of help out there.

Apologies if this is covered somewhere else on CC. I have looked around a lot.

I know there are some schools out there that offer this and that some of those charge extra. Can anyone help me identify them? The kid is probably going to end up with a B+ average, a total of 4 or 5 AP classes, and ACT score 32-33. We are on the east coast and probably don’t want a school west of Atlanta but would look south or north. .

From reading websites, it looks like McDaniel and American U offer this. AU probably would be too expensive for us because we won’t get need-based aid (and they charge $4700 extra for the help). I’d appreciate names of any other schools to check out - with bonus points for experience accessing the services. Thank you!

I know Drexel, UConn, and RIT have paid programs. They may also have unpaid support programs that are less robust. Someone on CC shared the College Transitions Dataverse website with me (can’t link here) If you go there and click on Colleges with Strong Learning Support Services, you will find a list. Good luck to you. I think my ds will need some support as well. I am currently looking at executive functioning coaches to help him through the next year and beyond (he’s a junior).

I believe that Clark University offers that sort of support. Also, there is a program at Appalachian State University that looks great called As-U-R. And remember, ASU is in a lovely part of the country (western North Carolina).

An alternative is to find a private high school located close to the university, find a qualified teacher there who may even have some special ed training, and pay by the hour for services. Could help a young teacher make ends meet and help the college student as well.

@Looking4twins

How is this all being managed in high school? Does your son have an IEP or 504 accommodation plan? What supports are currently in place for this young man? If he has an IEP, what does his transition plan have in it for post high school planning?

There are students with similar needs. But they need different levels of support. I would like to suggest the transition program offered at Mitchell College.

http://mitchell.edu/thames/

The Thames program is a transitional program. It teaches kids how to manage independent college living. They can also take some college classes. But the goal is managing “other” which is sometimes what gets in the way of college success for some of these students.

@sbjdorlo do you have any suggestions for this parent?

Are there any colleges within commuting distance of your home? That might also be an option worth considering.

SALT at University of Arizona has a program, but there is an extra fee in addition to tuition.

@Looking4twins
Sent you a PM

Have you visited the sub forum on CC for topics specifically about students with learning differences, ADHD, etc? Lots of good information there but here is one thread in particular that might be of some help. You have to read through the thread to find the posts that mention schools with specialized programs/help. UCONN seems to get mentioned a lot.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/learning-differences-challenges-ld-adhd/1964116-colleges-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-p1.html

Our son is getting the one to one help at McDaniel. He just started this semester, so it’s to early to say how it’s working. That level of help does cost extra, but your son would probably get a boatload of merit aid there.

As a former employee at a public university in the disability office, I can tell you that all public schools and community college will have an office for students with disabilities and offer a variety of support (I also happen to know that Appalachian State, as another poster mentioned, is particularly good with this). Private schools offer accommodations also, but I’m not as familiar with them (I do know Vanderbilt is good for this). Your student can receive extra time on exams, a quiet, private place to take exams, counseling, note-takers, tape recorders, etc. I worked at the University of Memphis, and we even had relaxation rooms with massage chairs that students who utilized the student disability services could access whenever they wanted. (However, with your son’s stats, I wouldn’t recommend UoM.)

My advice is that as you narrow down colleges that you are interested in, go to their websites and search for “disability services.” The website will probably list the accommodations they offer and you may be able to call or email someone in the office for advice. Also, most schools will offer counseling services (general, for any issue) free to students.

Here’s the only issue… so many students with disabilities are embarrassed or in denial and think they can do fine without accommodations. And, unless your child specifically signs a waiver granting you the ability to help him set this all up, he’s going to be on his own. You won’t be able to access his grades. You won’t know if he has signed up with the disability services or is going to his counseling sessions. Talk this over with him ahead of time and make sure he knows you’re there to support him and can’t do this without signing waivers granting you permission to do so. Also, he should practice advocating for himself. If you have any IEP meetings at his school, I’d insist that he come along. Some professors can be jerks and act as if granting accommodations are an inconvenience for them, and he needs to be comfortable having that conversation with them at the beginning of each semester.

Adding…while you might be able to help with the actual set up of services offered by the disability office…your student will need to be his own advocate, and access these services. There is no case manager who is going to tell professors what to do…and not do. The amount of information shared with the teaching staff at colleges is way smaller than in high school where members of the general education staff are part of the process.

Your son will need to learn to be his own best advocate…and actually GET those college disability services. As noted above, sometimes this goes by the wayside for college students, especially if the have been relying on someone else to step in and deal with this for them.

Your son sounds like a very bright young man with a lot of great learning potential. But it’s my opinion…he needs to also learn to independently manage some of the things you say he needs help with. So please, for his sake, find a program that helps build this independence.

Simply put…when he enters the job market, they aren’t likely going to hire a second person to deal with other issues. Hopefully by that time, your son will have the necessary skills to manage these himself.

Yes, definitely check out the forum on CC for students with LDs, etc.

Definitely make sure that your student has testing before heading off to college because where your student goes, they’ll need documentation to work with the disability office. Ideally, get it done in summer before college. Make sure you are targeting the tests that will get them the accommodations they need.

Some colleges are specifically set up for ADHD/LD kids. Google for some of those lists.

But some colleges have great disability offices even if they’re not specifically for LD kids.

So look for the type of school your kid needs (ie. small or big, location, type of students, academic rigor, affordability, etc.) first and then check out the disability offices.

Be prepared to hire a tutor or EF coach out of pocket if need be. My own son had a weekly tutor for every single math class he took during high school (now, my eldest son and another friend of my middle son’s were both math majors at MIT, so I got it for free) in order to get him through high school math.

Schools to consider include Adelphi, Univ. of Alabama Huntsville, Northeastern (might be too reachy), Landmark, and Auburn, and then research the lists you find from Googling (I tried to paste a link in but I got flagged).

Take a look at Allegheny.

RIT

https://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/ssp/

Having him start at Community College where you can help out is another option.

You should be able to get a transition plan from the high school which should state exactly what is needed. With this in hand or via email, you can contact schools to see if they can meet those needs. That should help you have a better idea as to which schools he should apply to. Any school that receives federal funding such as work study funds is required by law to have a trained disabilities person. My dd’s experience was just the opposite of one of the posters. the private school was very accommodating. Any issue that came up that couldn’t be fixed by dd was quickly fixed by the head of the disabilities office. Dd has worked as a tutor and life coach for a state university student because the university did not offer one on one tutoring just group, or a life coach. She is currently working for a community college and is the only one in her department with an ed degree. When a student comes to them for help they are not allowed to ask if they have a disability. If they can tell that the student has a disability then my dd gets them. If someone else works with a student and notices issues, then my dd gets them. Schools can differ widely as to what they offer and how they offer it. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and be specific. What type of tutoring is offered? Is it group tutoring or one on one? Is it only offered for some classes or do you find a tutor for any class that he might need one for?

Lesley in Cambridge MA, Curry College, College of New England??? Landmark has a summer bridge program to help prepare kids, but it is expensive.

I think Marist is supposed to have a fairly good program. He would definitely get scholarship money there as well. You should ask for a list of colleges that are the most supportive from your college counselor or academic support advisor. You can also do a search online.

As you have lots of advice about which colleges to look at, I think that I can offer this gentle suggestion, which is to allow him to take time before college to settle his anxiety issues. Mental health issues do not on average miraculously disappear in college. The pressures of the extra expectations and the new environment, often exacerbates the issue. There are threads on this forum about children who come home from college defeated and the parents are asking what to do now.

I strongly urge you to take a step back and ask yourself: do I feel any hesitation that he will do well at college right now?

If the answer is . . . . . maybe? With lots of help . . …? Then I think you should consider not just a gap year but gap time. I say this as gently as I can and also from the position of a mom with a child in gap limbo. This has been the best possible thing for this child in terms of his development–removing pressure of grades, removing pressure of timelines from this child’s life, removing the anxiety of heading into the world and what the world expects of him, so that s/he can focus for a change on developing him/herself.

Far from being “behind” his/her peers, my gapping child is now confident, has a full resume of real jobs, is a strong money manager, now confidently strides out to find the next position knowing s/he is valued in the workplace for what skillsets, has an idea of what s/he wants to do professionally – and it’s a refined sense of this built on work experience. S/he has traveled (not paid for by mom and dad) and otherwise is way beyond peers. We are in year 2.5 of gap time.

There is no deadline by which time your child must graduate from college. Those imagined deadlines can work against their development, sometimes and maybe often.

Individual professors may vary in the accommodations they offer, regardless of what the disabilities office says. So do your homework thoroughly and find out what current students at the colleges you are interested in have to say about the actual accommodations they received.

The reason for the extra charge is because the service you want, daily one-on-one coaching, is unlikely to be considered a reasonable accommodation. It may be what he needs to be successful, but keep in mind that there’s a shift between what is required from a K-12 vs. a college. K-12 provides accommodations to help ensure success; colleges must provide accommodations to ensure access. Things like extended test time and a distraction-free testing environment provide access. Daily help with overall management, yes, even including homework management, isn’t necessary for educational access. This is why some of the colleges you’re looking for don’t provide the service as an accommodation, which would, by law, have to be free-of-charge. They may have a program, but they charge for it.

If you feel like he must start college right away ( @Dustyfeathers makes some good points about possibly waiting), consider advice from posters to maybe keep the kid closer to home so you can help/hire a coach you know or pay the fee for a college with the program you feel he needs.

Take a look at the The K&W Guide to Colleges With Learning Differences and AD/HD (Princeton Review is the publisher), if your hs doesn’t have that or a guide like that, you may want to consider purchasing it or a used copy of the previous year.