Schools that support students with LD

michone · 04-10-2008, 11:15 AM

S is a sophomore in HS. I want to start looking at schools next year. Do any of you have recommendations of schools that have good programs for students with learning disabilities? I saw in another thread that East Carolina University supports students with LD with great programs. S has processing issues and sometimes needs extra time with tests. His GPA is around 3.1 - hasn't taken SAT yet.

Grejuni · 04-10-2008, 11:20 AM

Have you looked in the pre-college issues forum? There is a lot of info there on LD/ADHD etc. More than a lake of information - it's like an ocean.

momonthehill · 04-10-2008, 11:39 AM

American University has a strong support network for LD ADHD students.

siliconvalleymom · 04-10-2008, 12:29 PM

I have heard great feedback about the University of Arizona's SALT program. It is a support program for students with LD that assists with tutoring, organizing, schedule planning and writing skills. There is an additional fee for the services.

foolishpleasure · 04-10-2008, 12:31 PM

Most colleges/unis offer at least some support via the disabilities office. Other schools have more structured LD programs - - some for free and some costing upwards of $5K per semester.

In addition to looking at support programs, you should also look at the course catalogues as see what a particular college/uni requires for graduation and in terms of gen eds. Many of the southern schools, for example, still have foreign lang requirements that may be inappropriate for your S. If there's a lang req, will the school grant an exemption for a LD student (not all schools do) - - and what's required for the exemption? Must the student take the course and fail (yes, some schools require this)? Is there a modified course for LD students? Would your S feel stigmatized attending such a course?

Also, remeber requests for accommodations are made after enrollment (you don't want to have S enroll in a prpogram just to learn he can't fulfill its requirements).

You can PM me if you want details re: what we did with D1 (attending a top 15 LAC) and our plans for D2 (hs soph w/ weaker academic profiel).

You might also want to post on the LD board.

mini · 04-10-2008, 12:34 PM

Ohio Wesleyan is well known in this area.

missypie · 04-10-2008, 01:05 PM

Look at Marshall University (as in the movie.)

gadad · 04-10-2008, 01:17 PM

If your son has a documented diagnosis, he is entitled by law to LD accommodations at any school, and the types of support services noted above should be available through any decent college Counseling or Student Success center.

foolishpleasure · 04-10-2008, 02:52 PM

Accommodations are available at any school - - but like EFC, what the family considers to be an appropriate accommodation and what the school considers appropriate may be two entirely different things.

At least w/ finaid, the schools let you know before enrollment what your exposure will be. It is difficlult to impossible to get a LAC/uni to evaluate an ACCEPTED student's proflie and tell the family what accommodations the school might grant or what it definitely will not grant if the student enrolls.

katliamom · 04-10-2008, 03:20 PM

Many schools will accommodate students with "issues" -- even if they don't have specific LD programs per se. The daughter of a friend of mine was accepted at a large public university shortly before she suffered a serious head injury in a car accident. Once informed of her injury and subsequent special needs, this huge, bureacratic school proved surprisingly flexible and caring. The girl will be assigned a single in the dorm (she needs more rest/quiet than most students) will be allowed to only take 2 classes in the fall semester, and will be monitored by a counselor and an RA, both of whom will have access to the girl's doctors, and vice versa, if the need arises.
If this school was able to do this, I'm sure others can try to as well. I'd investigate local public options as well as schools with specialty programs for LD students.

sunshadow · 04-10-2008, 03:22 PM

Curry College in Milton, Mass. - a lovely area just outside of Boston

Hofstra University on Long Island, NY.

garland · 04-10-2008, 04:06 PM

I believe Fairleigh Dickinson (NJ) has a reputation for a great LD program.

scansmom · 04-10-2008, 05:30 PM

For the rare CC'er who might be interested in a school in the upper midwest, Augsburg College is a small LAC in Minneapolis that has a large population of students with LDs. Regionally, it is quite well known for its LD services and is frequently recommended by GCs in our area.

SFmomoftwo · 04-10-2008, 09:15 PM

Mitchell in Massachusetts, Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, and Lynn in Boca Raton, FL

cmbmom · 04-10-2008, 09:23 PM

I do not remember the name but our local library had a book specifically on certain colleges and their LD programs. It listed it in great detail the schools that offer the most support and the extra cost if there is one. The only one I can recall is Mercyhurst in Erie, PA.

But please do not ignore a college that may not have a separate program, many will go the extra mile they just do not advertise it. When your child has list of colleges he is interested in, contact the head of the Learning Center and discuss or give them a copy of his evaluations and they can tell you what they can do to help him.