MommaJ

I know its important to assess the extent and quality of disability services at any college that is under consideration, but I'm not sure how or when to do it. For example, my daughter is considering Northeastern. Their Disability Resource Center looks impressive on their website, but it's a big school, and for all I know, it may be a chaotic mess in practice. On the other hand, some schools barely mention this in their promotional material, but may do a fine job. I can see meeting with the respective disability offices once the choices have been whittled down to a small number, but how do we factor in this element during the whittling process? How do I know whether to tell my daughter that Northeastern or any other school is or isn't worth exploring? Colleges can be ruled in or out of consideration on the basis of geography, academics, lifestyle, etc. simply by checking basic info in college guides, but guides don't address disability services. Are disability services rated/ranked anywhere?

AnonyMom

It is very difficult to get a take on exactly what each college offers in terms of support services, and how well the support services office is administered. I think that it might make sense for the parents on the LD board to start posting either in the general parents' board or on the boards for the colleges that interest our children with specific questions about LD services there. It would also be interesting to ask if students disclosed their LD's during the admissions process.

For us, the website for my kid's college LD support services office gave accurate information about what they would provide. There was a glitch in the initial evalution process that was quickly remedied. Extended time; class notes; use of a keyboard; assistive technologies such as Kurzweill (sp?); and the possibility of tutoring and/or assistance with organizational and other academic issues on a more than once weekly basis, which sounds a lot like coaching, are all available, although I very much doubt that my kid will use the latter. All of this is will be provided without additional cost. The LD office has a number of Ph.D.'s on its staff, and support staff with related training, with different experts assigned to head up its different sections, such as tutoring and assistive technologies. Work-study grad students answer the phones and provide general information, but it was not difficult to access a supervisory professional when needed.

Had we gone through a general application process with a number of different colleges (S was fortunate enough to be accepted into his first choice school early, and we were spared a broader search.) my plan to determine the quality of LD support (which was vital) was to speak with our testing psychologist about the experiences students she'd worked with had had at various schools; speak with S's GC on the same topic (school is maybe 10% LD with accommodation); call up the LD office at Cal, which I know has a superb, state of the art, supportive organization, to ask where there were comparable services; post questions like crazy all over CC; and finally, without identifying myself, speak with a psychologist in the LD offices of maybe half a dozen schools we'd begun to target to talk frankly about what was needed and whether they offered it, and to determine how many other students they served with similar needs and kinds of support. I had actually had preliminary conversations at a couple of colleges and found considerable flexibility even at top schools. (I'm not sure where the off-handed comment that top schools don't care about accommodating LD students on the thread with the list comes from, but our family knows LD students at several HYPSM and other top 30 unis who are receiving accommodations.)

eastcoastmomma

My son is off to college this fall. Last year during the application process we visited most of the colleges he wanted to apply to. We scheduled visits with the Disability Services Offices after the tour. We mostly met with the directors or Assistant Directors.

If your daughter is like my son, once he was on the tour, he knew of he could go to that college. Sometimes he didn’t want to finish the tour. A few times he thought he liked the college, but once we found the Disability Services Office, he wanted to walk out. He knew if he didn’t feel comfortable with the office and staff he wouldn’t go there for help. The Disability Services Offices were more than willing to meet with us after a college tour. We also just dropped into the offices after the tour.

My son’s first choice was Northeastern because of the location and the coop program. Once on campus, it didn’t feel big. He liked the DRC and the staff. The supports fit his needs. It is the place for him.

The best way to see if the Disability Services Offices will be right for your daughter is to actually go into the offices. You can tell a lot from just popping into the office - how much the college supports the office from the location on campus to how well staffed it is. Remember the websites and search books are promotional materials trying to get you in the door. You have to open the door to see if it’s a place you want to live.

Good luck on your search. May your daughter find the right place for her.

MommaJ

Thank you both for your thoughtful responses. They were very helpful.

toledo

And AnonyMom, that wonderful school with all the services is......................

AnonyMom

Toledo -- I've sent you a PM.

TransitionSucces

Regarding Northeastern's disability program -- my son graduated NEU in 2004 and the DRC was WONDERFUL! I, too, wanted a smaller school, but I must say the NEU's DRC made the school feel small. At the time my son attended, I believe the DRC accepted only about 50 students total -- and my son had to apply to the DRC beforethe actual school (in his jr. year of HS), as there was a waiting list.

Can't say enough about NEU's program and the support they provide!

UCLA77

College websites are one thing, but seeing if there's truth in advertising is something else. Finally, there could be great colleges with fabulous services, but one size does not fit all, especially with LD students.

The advice given to you on this board so far is sound. It pretty much matches the experiences we had. Interestingly, there are some colleges that have more services than they even want to let on having, maybe because they don't want to be so burdened with students that they can't properly keep up with their services. I don't have the answer to that.

What I did in assisting my son was figure out what colleges interested him and why, then find information in a variety of ways, including contacting the college and having one-on-one meetings with DS staff at each of the places we toured. Then, once the golden ticket of offers of admission came in, we went back to the top 5 on the list and had a more in-depth meeting.

Some colleges that seemed to have a lot of services listed on their website were not, in person, all that user-friendly. Kids with social anxieties or aspergers, for example, need a bit more of a helping hand than being told "you have to be your own advocate, you're an adult now". Others change their administrative staff so often, there's no continuity to properly evaluate the programs.

Fortunately, my son had a lot of really nice choices, and like AnonyMom, the one he ultimately chose had all the resources her child receives (it's Kurzweil, btw, you almost got it right!) and his advisor is like the mom I had always hoped I would be (I try, but still lose my patience sometimes!).

Your student will know if it's a good fit, and you'll instinctively know as well.