<p>My DD has ADHD (inattentive) and has had an IEP since 5th grade due to my pressuring the school. Her triannual will be in March of this year as a junior. We just came back from our first college tour, and she is remotivated and energized to improve her admissions profile. Based on her frosh and soph grades, she has a weighted GPA of 3.0 with honors classes in English and History. She has been in waterpolo, but has not done many other excurriculars. Her PSAT score was 186, which I understand is pretty high. The question is, where should she focus her energy if she wants a shot at (for example) her current top choices: Pepperdine (CA) Loyola Marymount (CA) Boston University or Clark University (MA). We have been told that admissions officers look negatively on kids whose GPA is inconsistent with SATs, so she thinks she should skip the SAT prep classes, focus on adding max effort to her GPA, and maybe add one extra curric. in service. Waterpolo is a lot of hours a week, and although she enjoys it I don't see her as getting recruited or being a standout in this area. We have also found an ADHD coach who were are going to pay to help her improve her study skills - she seems great, but I feel we need a focus. </p>
<p>If she really likes water polo, you should let her continue playing. I think physical activity is really good for ADHD students. It’s not too early to have her take both the ACT and SAT to see how she does. Then you can decide if she needs some type of test prep. By service, do you mean volunteering? I would think those types of schools would look favorably on service hours. I have never heard of an ADHD coach. I guess I’ve always worked with our school, using the IEP, to try to raise grades, but it hasn’t always worked.</p>
<p>At least with respect to the 2 L.A. area colleges, your daughter will need to bring up her GPA for both, but particularly LMU. For service ECs, church-related volunteering would be an asset. Also have her review the applications for each college – they will give her and you an idea as to what they look for. I remember the LMU essay was pretty philosophical.</p>
<p>When looking at these colleges, ask what kind of services they provide, especially if your daughter is going to be seeking disability assistance. LMU has been really inconsistent in providing services – mostly because the director of services seems to change every year, so you start to think, what is the problem? Other than that, the college has terrific academics – two of the professors live on my street!</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas! In response,
1 - I had never heard of an adhd coach either, but she appears INFINITELY better than the RSP teachers I fought so hard for. Bottom line for me (I have been in the special ed field for 25 years as a school based speech therapist) is that our IEP system is not designed for kids who are high IQ and high potential unless they have asperger’s or high functioning autism. We as professionals who are involved with IEPs simply don’t get enough practice with these students, don’t know the honors expectations or curriculum, and don’t have enough training to meet these needs. The ADHD coach came highly recommended and has a master’s in psych and training from a specific coaching program for ADHD. We are paying cash for her ($400 a month!) which is a lot of money, but not compared to the cost of college and the potential savings if she can help her improve to qualify for scholarships and simply be a more focused student. My daughter has had 6 years in the IEP system now, and she can immediately tell with accuracy who can help her and who just simply doesn’t have the time/talent/training to do anything but be a placefiller and paperwork pusher. This was quite aggravating to me initially, but then I reflected on it, and realized that I have kids on my caseload who I am not the best fit for also, and it’s not because I am a bad educator - it’s just that I don’t have enough training in (for example) stuttering to help someone as well as a stuttering expert. I truly truly believe that if you have a student or are a student with ADHD, you should think carefully about outside coaching vs school RSP services - I really wish we had done this several years ago. The other model that did work well for her in middle school is working with her core teacher after school. I worked hard to get this, and the principal was very supportive and made it the teachers “adjunct duty” but it was very effective. I’m guessing she was especially effective because although she wasn’t a special educator, she was infinitely familar with the demands of the honors curriculum, which are dramatically different than what RSP is typically addressing.</p>