New Forum: Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD

<p>I think there is no easy answer as to whether and how to disclose ADHD or other LD in an application or in the essays. But two things are worth suggesting.</p>

<p>First, if you do bring up ADHD or other LD it is probably better to do so in terms of challenges you have faced and <em>successfully</em> mastered. For example, if you have some really wide disparities in grades related to your LD (e.g., you bombed in language or math but did great with other classes) there may be a way to talk about that in a positive way, especially if you can show an overall positive trend. </p>

<p>In general, I am a bit doubtful that colleges are as generous as they may like to portray themselves with regard to helping someone who is struggling, even if the person has an LD or ADHD and his/her problems are entirely understandable. I understand some of the reasons; it costs them money to provide the resources. But I hope this will change. (Any adcoms on this list, please speak out!) Meanwhile, you can trust colleges will tend to be more generous if you come from a "disadvantaged" background (socially marginalized groups, families with low income, major family or physical crises you have faced).</p>

<p>Second, you certainly don't need to disclose ADHD or other LD in the application process in order to get accomodations later. As long as you bring the documents with you when you go to the college, they must legally accomodate you. If you don't yet have the documents when you arrive they can offer you referrals to local places to get the documents (usually via outside testing). However, do make sure the colleges do have reasonable services. An anonymous call is a safe way to check, along with visits to the web site or checking guidebooks for students with LD/ADHD.</p>

<p>A lot of colleges will accept testing and recommendations by an accredited LD specialist so long its not more than 5 years old. In our case, the specialist's report was used to obtain accomodations for SAT testing and was also the only documentation required to receive the same accomodations for college. They checked to see that certain of the tests used as the basis for the report are the ones designed for adults as opposed to children. In any case, it was good that the testing expense was able to cover both the SAT and college accomodations.</p>

<p>Great forum, thanks for starting it. I wondered if in my college applications (I just graduated HS) if I should disclose my disabilities. I have ADD and a LD w/writing. I didn't end up disclosing, & was accepted to all I applied, most notably UNC-Chapel Hill. Am worried though that I'm going to end up seriously struggling once I get to college. Re: the question about scholarships--yes there are a number out there for those w/disabilities. I did receive one--Incight's Go Getter Scholarship. Not a huge award but sure feels good to win one. Anyway, FastWeb turned out to be a great scholarship search tool for me.</p>

<p>Add on to my earlier comments--I didn't ask for any special accommodations in taking the SATs but ended up taking them 5 times to get my scores up. In retrospect, wish I just asked for the accommodation (extended time to complete).</p>

<p>Yeah, you can allude to your l.d. and/or add in an essay-just a little bit. But never let that be the whole focus of your essay and never include an essay in addition to the addy form speaking of your l.d. and/or add. But just alluding to things a little will not be horrible. For example;" I state to you all with pride that I mastered my english composition by working with a tutor after classes five days out of the week for two hours a day." You know, a sentence like that kinda says without really saying that you have an issue with your studies, but that you did your best to overcome them the old fashioned way.</p>

<p>Ultimately, after you get accepted you have to work really hard with the student disability services heads and all of that. Make sure everything is up to date with regards to your testing and remember that what you "got" in high school you might not "get" at uni. And since the head of student disability services could very well have a ba in drama (like where I used to go to uni) it is a very good idea to google the heck out of some of those department heads and ask of their background.</p>

<p>My son didn't disclose his LD (Dysgraphia) on his application... HOWEVER, I know at least one of his recs mentioned it (from his HS Principal, mentioned it very much in passing). We didn't see the rest of his recs, but I am inclined to believe that his GC mentioned it in hers, and my guess is that it was referenced less as a disability, but more in terms of his success in spite of it, and how he used his disability to become an advocate for other LD students in his school. Most likely the spin was that he used his disability to strengthen his leadership role in the school. Yet... he did have accommodations on his SATs & ACTs. And while they say they are unflagged, they're really not, because the score report comes from a different office, at least with the ACTs.</p>

<p>in addition.... we had his last triennial testing done in Junior year, right after he turned 17, so it was done on the Adult Scale. He's going to GW, and they accepted this testing, done by the school. In the past we had him tested by an outside evaluator, but this time the school's attorneys said all testing had to be done "in house". He qualified for disability services at GW, they will give him extended time, resource support, technology assistance among other things.</p>

<p>In in NC, we have triennial as well. I've not yet made any requests for accomodations or even notified the unversity office for student disabilities --very hesitant to do so. My HS experience was that the special ed office hated the extra work & resented the students. Their focus was on the bottom performers, keeping kids from dropping out--not helping or supporting those who did well. Thanks for your post, maybe I need to rethink the decision not to ask for help or accomodation before I start college in the Fall.</p>

<p>Definitely go to the College disability office. My son went to orientation this week, and made a point of going to the office of Disability Support Services. As we had already filed all the paperwork... and been approved... it was just a perfunctory visit. They were very pleased to see him, told him all of the services available to him (proofreading, editing, time management). The encouraged him to make a weekly appointment for freshman year. I give my son credit.... he was spending the weekend with a whole group of "new friends" and yet he excused himself for this appointment. No shame involved. The absolute best thing we ever did for him, was in 5th grade, empowered him with the responsibility for handling his LD. He controls it. It does not control him. Definitely.... get your kid registered with the DSS at your school. Afterall, you're paying a fortune in tuition. Why wouldn't you do everything in your power to enable him/her to get the most out of their education?</p>

<p>Orientation for me is in a few weeks. You have a great point. I'll give the DSS office a call today. Thanks!</p>

<p>Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.</p>

<p>
[quote]
we had his last triennial testing done in Junior year, right after he turned 17, so it was done on the Adult Scale. He's going to GW, and they accepted this testing, done by the school.

[/quote]
We also had my son's triennial testing done at age 17; in fact, the school allowed us to delay it specifically to make sure that the tests could be used for college accommodations eligibility. </p>

<p>However, be aware that the high schools do not have to do this. Read the OSEP Policy Letter to Moore for further information, specifically the answer to question 2 on page 3:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.pattan.net/files/OSEP/CY2002-4qu/Moore01.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pattan.net/files/OSEP/CY2002-4qu/Moore01.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>While high schools do not have to give evaluations for college disability accommodations, savvy parents and students should push for ways to make this happen.</p>

<p>My daughter has a physical disability - fine motor dyspraxia, a neurological condition - diagnosed when she was 10 1/2 years old. She received extended time on both the ACT and SAT and in high school.</p>

<p>We sent the documentation from three evaluations made from ages 10 to 16 to her college's Office for Student Access and received a letter Friday stating they do not believe she is meets the ADA definition of a disabled individual.</p>

<p>This means she will not have extended time available and when tests are taken she will be unable to complete her exams.</p>

<p>We're not really certain what steps to take next.</p>

<p>That sucks. Plain & Simple. I'd start with finding out what the appeal process is.... did you call the school? I think the most pertinent information is her final testing.... but you should have it done again on the adult scale. At 16 she was still tested as a child. I know this will be very expensive.... but probably well worth it. We were lucky that we were able to delay our son's testing a few months to have it done as an adult. What you need to impress upon them is that they accepted her based upon scores (Standardized & Local) that were achieved with accomodations. And why wouldn't they want her to have that same level of achievement in college? BTW... is this a large or small school?</p>

<p>Gosh, now I'm not so sure of how we've been advised to proceed disclosing all to colleges...</p>

<p>My S is rising Sr in HS. We have had a very frustrating past 3 yrs. He is quite bright, but after a tough frosh year, he was diagnosed ADD. It took all Soph yr to get the teachers to even pay attention, and they only got on board at the end of that year. Then he started meds Jr yr, and I insisted we meet with teachers beginning of yr to bring them up to speed -- (they declined, said not necessary -- which was unfortunate as the teachers were again clueless as to his needs), so he had a terrible Jr yr with extreme ups and downs. His meds landed him in the hospital with seizures just at end of 2nd semester. He has gone med free all summer but unable to concentrate, and now Dr. has started him on another med to see how he tolerates/if he responds. So far so good...school starts in 10 days...</p>

<p>We have been told to disclose our ups& downs to colleges. My son even has considered doing an essay on his scary hospital experience last spring. The fact is I blame the school for his slow progress, as they won't provide ANY accomodations requested (and specifically outlined in his psych report), other than extra time on tests. (he is in private school, so they are not required to adhere)</p>

<p>What has suffered is his GPA, because he mostly loses his homework, turns is in late for a zero, or does't even know he was supposed to do it. When the grading rubric includes 20% points for homework, he's already down to an 80 before you count anything else. The school basically is penalizing him for his disability/slowness. His dream is engineering school, and he has good scores to give him a good shot, if it weren't for his GPA (currently 3.4). The HS is currently fighting us on his taking Calculus this last year, which he needs for applying to engineering programs.</p>

<p>From the posts on this thread, the majority here seem to favor Not disclosing, or only very casually, nothing formal. I feel that this disability(and the lack of school support) really is his only excuse, otherwise he would be more sucessful on paper. Otherwise, (I have been told) colleges will think him lazy because he has high scores but not a corresponding high GPA. I am dismayed to hear from those of you who think the scales were tipped against you when you disclosed.</p>

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>After reading your story of your son's difficulties, I wonder if the school ever did a thorough assessment. ADHD can be "diagnosed" on the basis of behavior and history. However, whenever there is a diagnosis of ADHD it is useful to rule out other contributing factors. These include a variety of specific learning disabilities as well as a range of other problems. The fact that your son has been hospitalized is a very strong indicator that you should look for additional factors, since ADHD is not typically the only reason for hospitalization.</p>

<p>I won't go into the details here. What matters is that I suggest you consider getting an assessment of your son using standard tests (such as tests of ability, achievement and cognitive processing). This can clarify not only what is the precise diagnosis but also what accomodations are needed. Since you son is going into sr. year I would suggest you considering doing this as soon as possible. </p>

<p>These tests are not done by private schools. They are also not done by any college I know of (other than community colleges). The assessment can be expensive, and is typically done by psychologists (either clinical or school psychologists). A highly regarded specialist may charge you several thousand dollars. However, if you look around there are lower cost options in many places (typically psychology students being supervised by licensed specialists). Your private school should have a list of referrals including hopefully some lower cost ones.</p>

<p>By the way, if your son has been hospitalized they may have done some testing. You might check in with the hospital (For future reference: If your son is ever hospitalized you request that he be assessed while he is hopitalized).</p>

<p>I agree that it is usually best to disclose when the problem is serious and has led to significant lower gpa or other obvious problems. But the disclosure can be cast as a "learning to deal with challenges" light. The colleges are looking for character and potential as well as achievement. They are familiar with the problem of ADHD and learning disabilities and, as long as they believe the problem is under control, they often give you the benefit of the doubt. They will also look to see the grade trend of the applicant, before versus after the use of apporpriate accomodations.</p>

<p>Finally, does your son's school offer any counseling. From what you have written he would benefit from both therapy and academic counseling. I hope your school has been providing this.</p>

<p>Pieceofcake -- So glad to hear that your son is out of the hospital in one piece! Your son's experiences with your school are so unfortunate, I just want to go yell at your administrators! When a school has a student who qualifies for accomodation under widely accepted guidelines (e.g. it's pretty damned clear that the student would be accomodated at a public school), it's hard to understand the rationale for not providing that accomodation whether or not the school is required to do so! I have the feeling that a lot of colleges are aware that there are LD kids who do not receive the accomodation they need and their HS performance is therefore not in line with their abilities. There is a wonderful post on this board from a bright young woman who ended up at U.C. Berkeley where she is receiving tons of support, and where her grades/scores from high school were evaluated in light of her LD during the admissions process. I don't know where you're aiming, but I would hope that schools like Arizona, which devotes considerable resources to helping its LD students, or Occidental, would understand the issues. </p>

<p>I'm hoping that at some point this year, we can coax some of the college admissions officers who participate in CC onto the LD board so we can ask them some of our questions directly!</p>

<p>My suggestion on the organizational issues is a daily planner that your S goes over with his teachers at least weekly to make sure that all of his homework assignments with the correct due dates, are recorded there. He could also have a standard email he sends to them at regular intervals (weekly?) to make sure that his work is current. Obviously, the teachers have to be willing to cooperate, but maybe seeing that your son is trying to find a way to address his issues and meet their requirements will make them more sympathetic to his situation. And hey, this is a private school, isn't everyone supposed to be going the extra mile to make sure all of the students succeed?</p>

<p>Ivyalum, thanks for your suggestions. Perhaps you didn't carefully read my details. I may have not been too clear in my post, but I did give precise wording about reports, meds, doctors, etc. I didn't feel the need to go into great detail, as my concern is whether to disclose the disability or not, not the type and the details. As the saying goes, "been there, done that."</p>

<p>I did say, he was diagnosed in his freshman yr with ADD, not ADHD (he has inattentive, not hyperactive). This was not a guess done by the school or prompted by any "behavior." It was a real Diagnosis by a team of doctors, at one of the leading research hospitals in the country, because of his inability to concentrate, his sleepiness, and forgetfulness that we saw at home, and how he struggled with homework. It was not a school evaluation, but rather, an expensive psych practice and had the full battery of tests, 2 days worth, and costing several thousands of dollars. We took the report to the school. They are not required to do any of the recommendations outlined in the report, as I said, because it is private. He has been seeing a Ph.D. therapist (we changed to a second one last year) and is on his third psychiatrist- an expensive specialist now (not covered by insurance, just as ALL of this has not been), who we switched to thankfully just prior to the spring meltdown. Things could have been worse, but it certainly didn't go unnoticed... as my daughter said about her brother "there's no chance that anyone in the whole school didn't hear how my 6'3" 280 lb brother fell out of his chair in class and started having seizures, and was carried out on a stretcher to an ambulance while all the girls stood watching and crying."
This summer we did a whole new psych assessment, by a new psychologist. and it came up with the very same results as the first. Each of his 3 psychiatrists has done a whole slew of tests, medical not just psychological. He has had overnight sleep tests even for narcolepsy and apnea. He has been evaluated for epilepsy. He has had probably 8 EEGs. He was hospitalized as I said, because of his meds only -- nothing else-- he had severe and long lasting side effects from lingering drugs and the innapropriate mixing of drug presriptions by Dr. #2 who we fired because of it. (My husband threatened to sue-- dr#2 said my S was depressed, not ADD). After all this testing, he still only has ADD, like the first evaluation said. He lacks the executive functioning skills, has slow handwriting, and has slow something speed, or something another. He has long been characterized by his friends, schoolmates and siblings as "the absent-minded professor." He has an off-the chart IQ, A+ grades in AP/honors classes except for the nagging missing homework assignments, and nearly perfect scores (800, 790, 780 on his first SAT try). His teachers say he is one of, if not the, smartest student they've ever had.</p>

<p>As I said, when most schools see high scores and a lower GPA, they think the kid must be lazy and/or uninterested in learning. Our school gives no support as to academic counseling, nor notes or outlines provided, no allowing for keyboarding or recording devices, etc. They will only give extra time on tests. The college counselor thinks my S should apply to what I would categorize as not very selective -- the places that the "slacker" or not very bright kids go, because of his "low GPA". Classmates with higher GPAs think he's the smartest in the class and should go to MIT, CalTech, Stanford, or Ivy. He's also Varsity football and track since 10th gr, and a lead in the school play the last 2 yrs also, captain of the FIRST robotics team this coming yr, and the only kid in his entire school entering the Westinghouse competition. Does this sound like a kid who should go to an "average" college? My point is: disclosing would explain the missing homeworks, the hospital, and show the AdCom he has a lot to offer, but in his unique way, and they could see past his troubles and consider him an asset to their program. Not disclosing leaves too many holes, unanswered questions.</p>

<p>Ivyalum, I agree that schools are looking for character and potential. I honestly think my S has that in spades. Unfortunately I don't think we have too much support from the college counselor, but hopefully teacher recs will make up for that a little. The problem is he doesn't have an upward trend in his grades: it is stagnant because my S hasn't found the right "help," balance or "solution." He is having the same problems he had 2 yrs ago. The only difference now is we understand why now, and he has a label.
He's not "past" this yet, we are still very much in the middle of it. I have no idea how this year will be, he could crash and burn again, or he could finally get relief, and become independent enough to go away to school. Maybe then I won't have to remind him to brush his teeth...</p>

<p>AnonyMom, thanks for the kind thoughts too. There are soooo many days I want to just shake the teachers and say "Hey, haven't you READ my son's report??!!!???" We have tried every conceivable organizational trick, even hired an organizational coach. The problem is he FORGETS to even have the teachers look at his usually blank planner! (He thinks he can just commit everything to memory!) And when they do sign off on it, they are often in a hurry, and don't look to see if he really is current or has the correct assignment (the purpose of their initialing!)</p>

<p>Hi Pieceofcake,</p>

<p>I guess I should have read your original note more closely! You have certainly done everything you can to get the best diagnosis of and help for your son. Your family should be proud of themselves on this.</p>

<p>I'm still left a bit confused regarding the diagnosis--not that I want to question the many authorities who have been advising you. I guess in many years of work I have just not run into many boys who had such difficulties with ADD alone. Generally, there is a bigger picture--where you can pinpoint the deficits more clearly and relate them to better understanding and use that knowledge to reduce the emotional pain of someone who has those deficits. But perhaps you have already heard this many times.</p>

<p>In any case, I am impressed by your son's strengths. You mentioned a bunch of them in your post. So if his gpa has not improved your son can still play up his areas of strength and how they matter to him (and others) and how have helped him through his difficulties. I think it will captivate the adcoms at many good colleges.</p>

<p>Reading your last post, it sounds as if your son would be a very appropriate student at the colleges you list, but that you have to disclose to explain the discrepancy between his GPA and his ability, and also to give them a sense that the issues in question won't undermine his college performance given the appropriate support/accomodations. It seems to me that those stratospheric SAT's should figure strongly in his favor. Also, weird as this sounds, how solid is he athletically? It is possible that athletic prowess could overcome the ability vs. GPA gap, irrespective of the explanation for the gap. At our HS, Ivies were big time athletic recruiters, and a lot of the athletes they recruited did not have your son's standardized test scores.</p>