My student has struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and anxiety since 4th grade and began receiving testing and work load accommodations in high school. Now that the college choices are narrowed down, what are the questions to ask or what should we be aware of to decide if a school will truly be sensitive to and support a student with a learning difference? What do you wish you would have known before your student who needed acccommodations entered a university?
The extent the office will go & how big each person’s caseload is & turnover rate of caseworkers. For example, does the student have to come in and request services (most likely), or will the office be proactive? Will they suggest strategies, or wait and provide what is offered if the student knows to ask? It can be a very hands-off service center, and require the student to self-advocate (most likely scenario). Most people in the jobs are very caring and competent, so the climate/culture of the institution and its OSD policies tend to be what I would look for.
I think you should ask what they can and can’t do. I don’t think they can adjust workload in a class, but could suggest taking fewer courses each term. If you have specific accommodations that work, ask if he can continue to use them and what he will need to be able to do that. They can arrange earlier classes, or smaller ones, or classes closer together, but if he does that, you might be giving up a certain professor or section he might have preferred.
A friend had certain accommodations but that meant she couldn’t do other things. For example, she needed a single room, but a program she wanted to be in (live in that community) only had doubles. She had to choose, and chose the single on a different floor, so she was never in the heart of the program.
Here’s a question. Maybe other folks will know what the likely answer will be, but it just struck me: Does a kid have to formally request accommodations for every single class, or is there some other process that makes it less unwieldy? (Like per semester, automatic in the computer system, whatever. As in HS.) I have no real clue, but it seems websites are either silent on that or indicate that students have to approach each prof separately. In that case, what’s the process? Is the school flexible if a kid with organizational issues misses a deadline or do they just give a nicely phrased version of “too bad, you don’t get your accommodations”?
We visited the Office of Disability for a few schools when my S was making his final decision. We knew exactly what accommodations he was qualified for and asked how they were handled. IMO you should not go in asking what they can do but rather you should go in with testing in hand, a clear understanding what your S needs/qualifies to get, and confirm that it is available at that school It was also useful to meet the staff and see the office.
@MomOnALaptop For my S’s college and grad school the school’s Office of Disabilities reviewed his testing/documentation and qualified him for accommodation. This qualification was good in every class through his years at that school. At the start of each semester he told the Office of Disabilities what classes he was taking and he got a letter for each professor documenting his accommodation. It was 100% up to my son to talk to each professor, give him/her the letter, and arrange for the accommodation. Unlike HS, the student is required to advocate for him or herself. For a student with organizational issues perhaps an accommodation could be made to somehow help to insure that professors find out about the student’s issues but that was not the case (or necessary) for my S so I don’t know. For my S we had his paperwork at the college and his accommodations in place before he set foot on campus for the start of freshman year.
Ask the office anything you need to know. But let me tell you something important they won’t. Educated well motivated parents are throwing their kids to the wolves. It is true! And their kids are paying a heavy price. This is how.
Things have improved markedly for kids with mental health and learning disabilities. This is partially attributable to mental and learning disabilities being treated like physical disabilities and ensuring that such children get appropriate accommodations. The combination of accommodations along with loving devoted parents exerting immense effort to help their kids, children with learning and mental health issue are able to succeed in school. As a result, many kids end up with excellent academic records. The fact that the record was achieved with considerable accommodations and extra testing time is not conveyed anywhere. It is not conveyed to colleges, for instance. That would be illegal. So, many students end up with an academic record that allows them to compete for slots in the most competitive schools in the country.
Now here is the part I don’t get. Many parents encourage their kids to apply to and attend the most competitive school they can get into. It is amazing to me that after watching a child struggle for 12 years despite help from parents with every task, a parent would view a competitive school, sometimes across the country from the student’s home, as desirable for their child. I’d love to tell those parents to go get the bumper sticker anyway and put it on the car but allow your child to go to a nurturing school reasonably close to the student’s home town.
Mental and learning disabilities are dissimilar to physical ones. A sight impaired student’s disadvantage is eliminated when the student has a book in Braille. But there is no accommodations that a college can arrange that will add time and a half to the student’s day. In a competitive college, the top students who got A’s easily in their high school will now find themselves struggling to do reasonably well in classes. Those students may struggle to get things done within the semester. How will a student used to double time fit those same things into the semester? Their days wont be 48 hours long. It will be more stressful for the student with a learning or mental health issue than it will be for a student for whom academics come easily. But, if your student is halfway across the country and used to your support when things get tough, what will happen?
Parents need to take some responsibility for helping their children select schools that are an appropriate fit. The best fit is not always the most competitive or “best bumper sticker name” the student can get into. People are wondering why campuses are seeing such a rise in significant mental health problems and, in rarer instance, horrible situations. I believe this is partially do to students who had significant mental health and learning issues in high school being admitted and matriculating in schools that are poor fits for them. There is no accommodation in the world that substitutes for the support that most high school students get from their parents. Thinking that a student who got a heavy does of parent support to make it though high school will do well without that support in a highly competitive college is a huge mistake and can be disastrous. Yes the child can be wildly successful at a good residential college or university if selected carefully. Be thoughtful! Don’t think an Office for Students with Disabilities will provide sufficient support for a student to thrive in a highly competitive university hours away from parents. Choose a nurturing smaller school where students are kind and cooperative with each other. Forget the name. Go for the experience that will allow your child to thrive.
@happy1 – that’s good to know. It sounds like a reasonable process. I was concerned there’d be a whole series of steps / forms / blah blah before each class, but if your experience is typical, it sounds straightforward.
@lostaccount - sure, it should be about the kid and the fit, not about the parents’ bragging rights. I don’t get the idea that somehow the biggest reach is the “best.” But just FYI there are all kinds of LDs, and some are indeed pretty easily accommodated (almost like Braille). It’s a spectrum and is very individual.
@MomOnALaptop The process was essentially the same at the 3 schools where we visited the Office of Disabilities and at my S’s grad school so I think that process is fairly typical. IMO the important thing a parent can help with is to help be certain that the accommodations in place before your child starts his/her first semester.
Thanks for input. My child has applied only to schools within 2 hours from home where her stats place her in the top quartile of admitted students. She is the oldest so I am trying to figure out not only college in general but also understand whatever support system a college might have. The best advice I have gotten so far is that my child’s experience will be what it will be; to reinforce with my student that failing or having troubles in school will not mean she has failed life. It’s OK to take a different path.
That said, I still want to set her up for success and try to get a grip on the system beforehand rather than try to learn on- the-fly after she’s had a couple of bad anxious weeks. As @lostaccount said, time won’t slow or stop for my kid to recover from a panic attic
I understand that the FERPA laws which afford the students protection also result in students having to advocate for themselves and navigate the system on their own. One question a friend said I should ask is about the school policy on making up incompletes – the school her child attended only gave 2 weeks after the end of the semester; another school allowed one year with professor approval. Another question I was told I should ask was about reduced course load – if going below full-time hours will affect any scholarship monies. A third friend advised me to be aware of all drop/add/withdraw deadlines and ask about tuition refund policy should my student need to medically withdraw.
What other OSD or university policies do I need to be aware of?
It was exactly the same for our son. The office was very helpful whenever he had problems, though. For example, one time he had trouble accessing an online course. It turns out there was a bug in the system. The woman at the Disabilities office spent a lot of time on the phone, tracking down the problem. When it was finally resolved, she put her hands on my son’s shoulders and said, “I want you go home and relax now! This was stressful!” I got the feeling these people really do care about the students.
His advisor was very kind, also. She shared that she had been diagnosed with depression as a teenager, so she could understand a little of what my son was going through. She asked the department secretary to help my son register for classes online.
His professors were great, too. One of them told me, “I get several students every semester who need accommodations. It’s no problem!”
We started out looking at the info on websites and then for schools that he actually applied to I called and asked some general questions. Some schools are very by the book and the student has to do all the work of informing the professor and setting things up before hand. At some of the smaller schools with lower caseloads it is very personalized. The school my son is probably attending just needs a Drs letter with a list of present accomodations. Their computer system sends his sched to the disabilities office which sends a letter to each prof and makes personal contact with the head TA for each course. He can add more accomodations any time during the quarter. He has never used his note taking accomodation for example because at his HS all the teachers use power point and give him copies but in college that won’t be the case. They said he can try on his own but at any point if he needs it they can add it. They also have their computer system set to give extra time for any online test he has which is apparently common on this campus which is nice for him. My son is very good about advocating for himself when there is an issue but he much prefers not having to go to each prof and give them a letter so he’s pretty happy about this system.
I have two friends with children who went away to college needing significant help from the the disabilities office. Both had had a lot of support from parents during high school (and before) and had high grades so were accepted at many schools.
One made it a year, but didn’t do well. She now lives at home and goes to a local university. She does well again, probably doesn’t have as much support with school work but does have support for all other things - doctor’s appointments, living skills, medication, social life. The other didn’t make it a semester and is back living at home and not in school, not working. The goals for both families is to have the kids live independently at some point. These are smart kids, interested in STEM subjects, just not able to do it all at this time.
I agree with lostaccount that the schools can only do so much. Both friends looked at their very bright kids and thought they’d do fine at college, that they’d take their medication, go to class, do their homework. I think both kids were just overwhelmed with how much there is to do at college just to get through the day.
Both of my kids had trouble with their debit cards and account this week. After talking to me about the problem and then calling Amazon and the bank, one said “I don’t like being an adult! It’s too much work.” She has no idea how much more there is to come.
Two more comments that I hope will ease anxiety: For those with lack of organization (rather those who do not read language or body, like someone on the autistic spectrum, perhaps), a note-taker may be helpful. My DC resisted, but after a few years, I think they finally figured out that it is not that THEY can’t take notes; its that different perspectives and different emphasis may be caught by the note-taker.
Second, once the student has matriculated, that is spent a full day in classes at the university, they transition into the “retention” column, and the school will likely be very interested in doing what they can to retain them. Most schools will really work with the students, if the student is motivated and receptive.
@lostaccount, there are a lot of layers to the onion. I resonate with your general admonishment, but I think most on these boards are mindful of a “good fit.” The difficulty is that the ages of 17-22 are times of immense and complex change, hormonally, physically, and in brain chemistry; and things are different. It really is not the toy sailboat in the harbor released into the stormy seas. Sometimes the stalwart boat starts taking on water as it sails out of port.
Ask what kind of documentation is needed. And be mindful of the students area of interest. The university itself would actually accept a number of documents as sufficient documentation, but when my daughter requested accommodations for boards, she was required to meet a much higher burden of proof for needing the requested accommodations.
Bring a list of current accommodations and ask if all are things that can be provided if documentation supports the need for them. Some things are pretty standard (extra time on exams). Some rather common hs accommodations are almost never considered reasonable at the college level. For instance, students in k-12 may get different tests (mc instead of essay); that’s unlikely to happen, as are most curriculum modifications. Reduced workload within a class? Not likely. Lighter overall course load? Doable. No am classes do to side effects from meds? Possible, but if only one section of a course is offered and it happens to be early, not much can be done.
My child got a card stating she had a disability register with the disability office and was entitled to the following accommodations. She needed to approach profs with the card herself.
We did not talk to disabilities offices before admission, honestly. There are legal requirements for accommodations that schools have to follow. The standard for accommodations is lower than that for public school, and case law is being established over time, so there are variations, yes. But overall, I was in favor of choosing schools based on the usual factors such as academics, size, location and most of all vibe, and then pursuing accommodations after acceptance, when the disabilities office actually talks straight. I think it is hard to get a feel beforehand, but that’s just me. And I felt that my kids had a right to choose a school on factors other than their disability needs- which is the point of a level playing field after all!
Agree with @ordinarylives. The key is that the documentation has to support the need for the requested accommodation for the documented/diagnosed disability. It is not a right or a guarantee. The rules at the college level differ from the HS level. In college, the ADA is more of a civil rights rule- no discrimination, equal access to facilities, etc. It does not provide the right to an education the way k-12 IDEA does.
The criteria may differ from school to school. There was a thread a few mos ago about a student transferring from one UC school to another and the accommodation she had at school 1 (single room for anxiety issues, IIRC) was NOT going to be provided at the new school (school 2). Per the Disability services office at the new school, her documentation did not support the need for this accommodation, per their criteria/staff (that’s a general summary of the thread).
Schools have generally 3 levels of support: Basic support that meets the very basic ADA criteria and may be staffed by administrative rather than clinical staff, Coordinated services ( this is the largest group), and the comprehensive programs that commonly have separate applications and costs. To assume that just because an accommodation was offered in HS that it is guaranteed in college is a mistake. as @ordinarylives said, most schools will not modify coursework or tests, but will allow them to be taken in a quiet room, or on a computer.
Questions to ask are things like: Can your staff help my child with course selection and identify which professor might be best for a class? Can they get preferential registration? Private room (if necessary)? Are their options for substitutions for a required core class (not a class required of a major) such as an exemption or substitution for a foreign language? Are there staff to help with organization/time management; physicians in the health clinic that can help with medication management? (note- disability services and clinical services are typically housed in different areas); Can they have a limit of 1 test/day? These are examples of questions to ask, but remember, the student’s report of the documented disability must support the need for these accommodations. The diagnosis alone is not sufficient.
You should go with the idea that you want to see if the school’s disability services can provide what your student needs, not the other way around.