Thoughts on the following schools my child is applying to with regard to ADHD support:
Occidental
Vassar
Skidmore
U Puget Sound
Willamette
Lewis & Clark
Clark
Does anyone have experience with how well any of these schools support ADHD and executive function deficits?
We are not looking for a school like Landmark. We are happy to full pay tuition for a school that is the best FIT for him. Access to water and mountains are a big plus. NOT too rural (did not like Middlebury but Poughkeepsie was not a deal breaker). He’s an introvert who is not great about reaching out for help. Loves outdoor activities.
My friend’s daughter had a better experience at a large, urban college. She started at a small LAC type school and had accommodations but some of the professors had a lot of rules about them and she didn’t feel she fit in very well. She had issues with the dorm arrangement too.
She transferred to a large city college and had no issues with the services office and felt they helped her whenever she needed it.
So I don’t think size is the determining factor but just how willing the school is to work with the student.
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I just suggested Clark to someone else! I like Clark and in general the website for Colleges that Change Lives is helpful.
In fact, I like all of the schools on your list!
I really think he can go ahead and apply to these schools and once he knows where he is accepted, talk to the disabilities office and others who can help him delve deeper in order to choose.
We found that schools were very informative once kids are accepted. Accommodations for ADHD and executive function issues are common and these schools look good.
I have heard Davidson is another one…but this is a great list already.
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This sounds a little strange but my kid doing well at a large state school. Online reviews of the state school showed kids complained that school emphasizes class attendance, homework, and quizzes. But it works better for him in that there are not complex papers to organize or heavy exam weighting. If your child has trouble with large project organization, a LAC could go poorly for him or her.
Are you looking at Marist?
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In general small liberal arts colleges have smaller classes with professors teaching and grading, rather than grad students. At larger schools grad TA’s may do the grading but your child can always appeal to the prof. Some larger schools have ways to break up in smaller components of course. And once your child has a major and is in a department, things can get a lot easier.
You may know all this:
You can write a letter for a doctor to sign, listing accommodations needed. Research them yourself, put them in the letter, and the doctor is usually only too glad for you to do the work, and will sign.
Accommodations such as extra time and extensions on papers/projects are common. Single room if wanted. Testing in a separate room without distractions.
After registering with disabilities, the student gets letters for each professor stating they have registered, and the letters may or may not list accommodations (often not) and will not divulge the diagnosis (though prof.'s can see it in the file). So the student needs to self-advocate with professors.
Some of this is still at a professor’s discretion initially, and so deans and professionals sometimes get involved.
Some schools will have extra advising and that advisor can also help advocate.
There are schools known to be good for this, but students are legally entitled to accommodations that don’t change the curriculum substantially, or pose a financial or administrative burden (not the same standard as high school).
You can also hire a private coach but that costs. Landmark can provide names.
I just want to make the point that you cannot always tell whether schools are going to be good with this, at least before attending. Schools seem to have different systems and it can take awhile to learn the ropes.
I would not limit my kid to schools known for being good in this area but we went in knowing that we could not ascertain the true situation until kid was actually on campus. It worked out, but I understand the desire to find out ahead of time. It’s just hard! It depends…
Curry and College of New England came up as schools good with acccost, size, location, academics and :vibe."
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You may want to look at Allegheny. It’s been a few years, but a friend’s kid went there because of the support and had a great experience.