Midwestern schools with ADHD & Executive Function Support Programs

[mrmcsut]

My son is looking at schools within a 3 hour radius of Chicago, ideally. He has a 504 plan for his ADHD and struggles with Executive Function. We went to a college fair and found that Marquette University and UW Whitewater both have programs, that you have to apply and be accepted into, that support students with ADHD and EFD. Does anyone have any experience with either of these programs? Also, any suggestions on other programs in the Midwest? University of Iowa, St Norbert, Winona, UW Milwaukee are also on his short list of schools. He will initially go in as a Communications Major. Thank you.

[fiftyfifty1]

When you say 3 hours, I assume you mean by car and not by plane or train? Would schools closer to the Twin Cities be too far? For example I know students at Hamline and Augsburg (both in the Twin Cities) and UW Stout (about an hour from Twin Cities) who have all thrived with the special supports these schools provide.

[tsbna44]

No experience but may be worth a look:

About the University of Indianapolis BUILD program - University of Indianapolis

UIC lists resources - not sure if too big.

Good luck.

[AustenNut]

Below are a few schools to check out:

• Beloit (WI): Individual organizational tutoring appears to really focus on EF skills. The Student Excellence & Leadership program includes students with disabilities and may also be of interest.

• Bradley (IL) and its fee-based Moss Scholars program

• DePaul (IL) has a fee-based program (Education Support Services) for executive function coaching and such. The program is available from within the Center for Students with Disabilities (source).

• Grand Valley State (MI): This is a larger school that may provide sufficient supports. Within the Student Accessibility Resources center students can sign-up for 45-minute one-on-one learning skills sessions. GVSU also has success coaching which works on a lot of EF skills. And it appears that the university is really trying to make those services accessible, as they’ve purchased a new program to make it easier for students to make and track their appointments with various services across the university.

• Hope (MI): The Academic Success Center seems to offer a number of options which could work to support your son including academic coaching and study strategies.

• North Central (IL) doesn’t go as in-depth on its website in terms of the variety of services provided, but I know that it’s well respected with how well it supports first generation college students. Its Student Success page mentioned workshops and coaching, and I think it’d be worth it to reach out to the school for more info on those.

• Olivet Nazarene (IL) mentioned one-on-one coaching as part of its academic support services.

I think it was @ScouterMomof3 who may have talked about St. Norbert and may also have additional insight on some of the UW campuses.

You may want to check out this thread as well:

General Advice & College Recommendations for ADHD & Neurodiverse Students

There has been some great information about school recommendations or what to look for when doing the college search process for neurodiverse students, but they’re often lodged away in threads that are particular to a specific family’s situation. This thread is meant to be a general resource on the topic so that people can ask questions and share their knowledge.

[Knowsstuff]

Check these out since as a whole they do a great job supporting their students needs.

https://ctcl.org/category/college-profiles/

[mrmcsut]

Yes, a 3 hour drive. However, if there is a great ADHD support program at a school that is a little further, willing to consider.

[LizHolt]

I don’t have any specific familiarity with the ADHD program but speaking generally for UW-Whitewater, I know many happy, successful graduates and students. A relative earned their BA at a liberal arts college then took post-bacc classes at UWW and was pleased with the experience–quality of instruction, facilities, peers. Students we know have been happy with dorms, cafeteria, campus life.

We know a very happy current UW-Milwaukee student and some satisfied graduates, but the campus has a large commuter population, which may or may not bother you and S.

I am not aware of a specialized program but Cornell College (Mt. Vernon, IA) follws the One Course at a Time format which fits the needs of some ADHD/EFD students and it is likely close to fitting your distance constraints.

[Kumihama-Cho]

We have friends whose neurodiverse son is at Carroll University, and they’ve been happy with the support he’s received. One of their recent magazines included an article about what they are doing to support neurodiverse students: https://www.carrollu.edu/media-library/f1rst/pdfs/f1rst_spring_2023_spreads_web_final-revised.pdf Might be worth checking out.