Post by jfla on Jul 27, 2008 23:02:17 GMT -5
Teens with LD and/or AD/HD: Shopping for College Options
By: Loring Brinckerhoff, Ph.D.
www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=976&f=search
Sorting out College Options
• type of school (university, college)
• size of student body
• faculty/student ratio
• geographic region
• intercollegiate sports and extracurricular activities
• areas of study (majors)
• campus culture
• tuition fees
• technology (level of sophistication, requirements, and support)
• financial aid available
• location
• level of competition
• curriculum offerings
Finding the Right Balance of College Offerings & LD Support Services
think carefully about the level of LD support services she may need in college. By cross matching the institution with the level of support services necessary, she can generate a list of 3 or 4 schools to investigate fully. Further consultation with some of the LD-specific college guides can be helpful as well. Once the list is narrowed down, the student and her parents should plan to visit a campus, take a walking tour, sit-in on a class, and visit a dormitory room, computer lab, and library. A student with LD who presents herself better orally than in writing, should consider scheduling an interview with the admissions office and with the LD support service office. If the institution she is considering has a highly-rated LD support services office, there should be no harm in disclosing the disability in the interview. If, however, the school does not have strong services for students with learning disabilities, it might be better not to discuss the learning disability or AD/HD openly at this early stage of the application process.
LD Support Services: Basic Services or a Comprehensive Program?
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), each college and university must provide a minimal level of support to students with LD and AD/HD — at no cost — to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are available (e.g., textbooks in an audio format, note takers, additional time on examinations, provision for course substitutions, reduced course load). The most loosely defined, or basic, services are those where there is a disability contact person on campus who typically wears many hats. He may have some limited training in disability matters, but may in fact be an attorney, counselor, or nurse. These generic support services are available to ensure equal educational opportunity for any student with a disability but little more. This individual typically consults with other offices on campus, like the writing lab or tutorial program, to support students who are considered to be “at risk.” More and more campuses are hiring at least one individual to serve as the designated point person for all disability matters. It is simply too complex a job to have the responsibilities for students with disabilities fragmented across several staff members.
Basic LD Support Services
An example of a one-person operation, with a wide range of support services, is Babson College, in Wellesley, MA. Babson is a campus with 1,600 undergraduates, 14 miles west of Boston. Approximately 70 registered undergraduate students were served by the Students with Disabilities office during the 2002-2003 school year. The program includes one full-time staff member. Remediation and support is provided one-on-one in small groups and in class-size groups for study skills and time management. Programs for college survival skills, medication management, and written composition skills are provided through on-campus or off-campus services. Faculty members are notified by the coordinator of the Students with Disabilities Office regarding all accommodation needs. For admission to the program, students are required to submit a psychoeducational report. The application deadline to the LD program is rolling/continuous.
Other colleges that offer similar basic LD support services: Clark University; The College of William & Mary; Mount Holyoke College; and San Diego State University.
Comprehensive LD Support Services
Comprehensive college LD programs that go beyond the legally mandated services are characterized by having more than one person who directs the support services. Typically the director or coordinator has expertise in learning disabilities, and oversees a staff of several full-time professionals and part-time tutors. In addition to the basic accommodations noted above, these campus offices typically have:
• extensive written policies and procedures
• faculty and staff awareness training
• a wide range of tutorial supports
• academic advisement
• frequent monitoring of student progress
• a summer transition program (for incoming freshman)
In some instances, because of the specialized nature of the services provided, these comprehensive programs offer a limited number of “slots” for students with learning disabilities and require a special application and an additional fee. Some of newest innovations in these settings include AD/HD peer coaching, technology prep tutorials, and technology lending libraries for students. Sometimes this model includes in-house diagnostic testing as part of the program. Subject matter tutoring may also be available in addition to learning strategy instruction.
An example of a comprehensive LD support program is the Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center at The University of Arizona, in Tucson. The University of Arizona has over 28,000 undergraduate students, and approximately 500 registered undergraduates were served by SALT staff during 2002-2003. The SALT Center is located in a beautiful new building on campus and houses a full-time staff of 22 professionals, who serve as AD/HD coaches, counselors, graduate assistants, peer mentors, LD specialists, technology specialists, and peer tutors. The SALT program offers a one-day mandatory orientation program for new students before registration. Subject area tutoring is provided from graduate assistants, professional tutors, and trained peer tutors. Additional support in the areas of career planning, learning strategies, self-advocacy, stress management, practical computer skills, test taking, time management, and writing skills are provided collaboratively with on-campus and off-campus services. An extensive website includes written policies and procedures regarding course substitutions, LD accommodations, and documentation requirements. For students seeking support beyond the mandated services, an additional fee of $1,600 to $3,900 applies, depending on the level of service desired.
Other colleges that offer similar comprehensive LD support services: Curry College; Stanford University; University of Connecticut; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; University of Georgia.
Developing a Transition Planning Portfolio
The transition planning portfolio (TPP) is a personal file that the student develops and maintains throughout the high school transition planning process. It may consist of three or more sections that are tabbed for easy referencing. An artist carrying case with a handle would be the ideal size for the portfolio, although the traditional paper and pencil sections may soon give way to a series of electronic file folders contained in a personal website or in an “e-portfolio.”
• The first section should contain the student’s school and medical records, and copies of IEPs, high school transcripts, and a one-page summary of the student’s extracurricular activities.
• The second section should contain the student’s disability documentation including the most recent psychoeducational evaluation with a specific diagnosis, listing of all approved accommodations, and a copy of her ACT and/or SAT scores.
• The third section could contain post-secondary school information, questions to ask during the college interview, a completed copy of the common application form, an updated resume and/or personal essay describing her learning disability, and non-confidential letters of recommendation. Additional sections can easily be added to showcase the student’s interests or achievements (e.g., newspaper clippings, photos).
The transition planning portfolio is not only an organizational tool, but it is also a repository of support materials for a student to use to market or “package” herself. The transition planning portfolio should be nearly complete by the end of tenth grade with updates inserted as warranted. The development of the portfolio could be accomplished as an “independent study” project or as part of a summer transition program between the junior and senior years of high school. IEPs crafted within this time frame should include a transition planning objective such as: “By the conclusion of 10th grade, Christine will have assembled her own personal transition planning portfolio.”
One of the keys to success for any student with LD and/or AD/HD is to be able to articulate what her disability is all about, how it impacts her day-to-day functioning, and how she has learned to compensate for it. In order to field interview questions about her disability, it is useful for the student to write a brief 1-2 page essay about her LD and/or AD/HD. This exercise of putting on paper the exact nature of the disability is often extremely helpful. It can serve as a springboard for discussion between the student, the LD specialist or school psychologist, and the parents. Parts of the essay could even be folded into an admissions essay. In any case, the student should plan ahead and decide whether or not she will disclose her disability at any stage of the college application process. If an applicant chooses to reveal her disability, she should tie the disclosure in with her documentation and present a rationale for the disclosure (e.g., explain why certain requirements such as foreign languages have not been met, or why certain grades are lower than expected). Students might also suggest in the essay that admissions personnel focus on some of the unique abilities that were noted by the evaluator who conducted the psychoeducational or neuropsychological testing.
Today is an exciting time for high school students with LD and AD/HD to be looking for postsecondary options. Students with learning disabilities need to do their research carefully to be sure that the kind of support they need is in place at postsecondary institutions they are considering (Block, 2003). It is hoped that this article will help students chart their own destinies as they find the perfect “postsecondary match.”
By: Loring Brinckerhoff, Ph.D.
www.schwablearning.org/articles.aspx?r=976&f=search
Sorting out College Options
• type of school (university, college)
• size of student body
• faculty/student ratio
• geographic region
• intercollegiate sports and extracurricular activities
• areas of study (majors)
• campus culture
• tuition fees
• technology (level of sophistication, requirements, and support)
• financial aid available
• location
• level of competition
• curriculum offerings
Finding the Right Balance of College Offerings & LD Support Services
think carefully about the level of LD support services she may need in college. By cross matching the institution with the level of support services necessary, she can generate a list of 3 or 4 schools to investigate fully. Further consultation with some of the LD-specific college guides can be helpful as well. Once the list is narrowed down, the student and her parents should plan to visit a campus, take a walking tour, sit-in on a class, and visit a dormitory room, computer lab, and library. A student with LD who presents herself better orally than in writing, should consider scheduling an interview with the admissions office and with the LD support service office. If the institution she is considering has a highly-rated LD support services office, there should be no harm in disclosing the disability in the interview. If, however, the school does not have strong services for students with learning disabilities, it might be better not to discuss the learning disability or AD/HD openly at this early stage of the application process.
LD Support Services: Basic Services or a Comprehensive Program?
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), each college and university must provide a minimal level of support to students with LD and AD/HD — at no cost — to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are available (e.g., textbooks in an audio format, note takers, additional time on examinations, provision for course substitutions, reduced course load). The most loosely defined, or basic, services are those where there is a disability contact person on campus who typically wears many hats. He may have some limited training in disability matters, but may in fact be an attorney, counselor, or nurse. These generic support services are available to ensure equal educational opportunity for any student with a disability but little more. This individual typically consults with other offices on campus, like the writing lab or tutorial program, to support students who are considered to be “at risk.” More and more campuses are hiring at least one individual to serve as the designated point person for all disability matters. It is simply too complex a job to have the responsibilities for students with disabilities fragmented across several staff members.
Basic LD Support Services
An example of a one-person operation, with a wide range of support services, is Babson College, in Wellesley, MA. Babson is a campus with 1,600 undergraduates, 14 miles west of Boston. Approximately 70 registered undergraduate students were served by the Students with Disabilities office during the 2002-2003 school year. The program includes one full-time staff member. Remediation and support is provided one-on-one in small groups and in class-size groups for study skills and time management. Programs for college survival skills, medication management, and written composition skills are provided through on-campus or off-campus services. Faculty members are notified by the coordinator of the Students with Disabilities Office regarding all accommodation needs. For admission to the program, students are required to submit a psychoeducational report. The application deadline to the LD program is rolling/continuous.
Other colleges that offer similar basic LD support services: Clark University; The College of William & Mary; Mount Holyoke College; and San Diego State University.
Comprehensive LD Support Services
Comprehensive college LD programs that go beyond the legally mandated services are characterized by having more than one person who directs the support services. Typically the director or coordinator has expertise in learning disabilities, and oversees a staff of several full-time professionals and part-time tutors. In addition to the basic accommodations noted above, these campus offices typically have:
• extensive written policies and procedures
• faculty and staff awareness training
• a wide range of tutorial supports
• academic advisement
• frequent monitoring of student progress
• a summer transition program (for incoming freshman)
In some instances, because of the specialized nature of the services provided, these comprehensive programs offer a limited number of “slots” for students with learning disabilities and require a special application and an additional fee. Some of newest innovations in these settings include AD/HD peer coaching, technology prep tutorials, and technology lending libraries for students. Sometimes this model includes in-house diagnostic testing as part of the program. Subject matter tutoring may also be available in addition to learning strategy instruction.
An example of a comprehensive LD support program is the Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques (SALT) Center at The University of Arizona, in Tucson. The University of Arizona has over 28,000 undergraduate students, and approximately 500 registered undergraduates were served by SALT staff during 2002-2003. The SALT Center is located in a beautiful new building on campus and houses a full-time staff of 22 professionals, who serve as AD/HD coaches, counselors, graduate assistants, peer mentors, LD specialists, technology specialists, and peer tutors. The SALT program offers a one-day mandatory orientation program for new students before registration. Subject area tutoring is provided from graduate assistants, professional tutors, and trained peer tutors. Additional support in the areas of career planning, learning strategies, self-advocacy, stress management, practical computer skills, test taking, time management, and writing skills are provided collaboratively with on-campus and off-campus services. An extensive website includes written policies and procedures regarding course substitutions, LD accommodations, and documentation requirements. For students seeking support beyond the mandated services, an additional fee of $1,600 to $3,900 applies, depending on the level of service desired.
Other colleges that offer similar comprehensive LD support services: Curry College; Stanford University; University of Connecticut; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; University of Georgia.
Developing a Transition Planning Portfolio
The transition planning portfolio (TPP) is a personal file that the student develops and maintains throughout the high school transition planning process. It may consist of three or more sections that are tabbed for easy referencing. An artist carrying case with a handle would be the ideal size for the portfolio, although the traditional paper and pencil sections may soon give way to a series of electronic file folders contained in a personal website or in an “e-portfolio.”
• The first section should contain the student’s school and medical records, and copies of IEPs, high school transcripts, and a one-page summary of the student’s extracurricular activities.
• The second section should contain the student’s disability documentation including the most recent psychoeducational evaluation with a specific diagnosis, listing of all approved accommodations, and a copy of her ACT and/or SAT scores.
• The third section could contain post-secondary school information, questions to ask during the college interview, a completed copy of the common application form, an updated resume and/or personal essay describing her learning disability, and non-confidential letters of recommendation. Additional sections can easily be added to showcase the student’s interests or achievements (e.g., newspaper clippings, photos).
The transition planning portfolio is not only an organizational tool, but it is also a repository of support materials for a student to use to market or “package” herself. The transition planning portfolio should be nearly complete by the end of tenth grade with updates inserted as warranted. The development of the portfolio could be accomplished as an “independent study” project or as part of a summer transition program between the junior and senior years of high school. IEPs crafted within this time frame should include a transition planning objective such as: “By the conclusion of 10th grade, Christine will have assembled her own personal transition planning portfolio.”
One of the keys to success for any student with LD and/or AD/HD is to be able to articulate what her disability is all about, how it impacts her day-to-day functioning, and how she has learned to compensate for it. In order to field interview questions about her disability, it is useful for the student to write a brief 1-2 page essay about her LD and/or AD/HD. This exercise of putting on paper the exact nature of the disability is often extremely helpful. It can serve as a springboard for discussion between the student, the LD specialist or school psychologist, and the parents. Parts of the essay could even be folded into an admissions essay. In any case, the student should plan ahead and decide whether or not she will disclose her disability at any stage of the college application process. If an applicant chooses to reveal her disability, she should tie the disclosure in with her documentation and present a rationale for the disclosure (e.g., explain why certain requirements such as foreign languages have not been met, or why certain grades are lower than expected). Students might also suggest in the essay that admissions personnel focus on some of the unique abilities that were noted by the evaluator who conducted the psychoeducational or neuropsychological testing.
Today is an exciting time for high school students with LD and AD/HD to be looking for postsecondary options. Students with learning disabilities need to do their research carefully to be sure that the kind of support they need is in place at postsecondary institutions they are considering (Block, 2003). It is hoped that this article will help students chart their own destinies as they find the perfect “postsecondary match.”