College Success and LD/ADD

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As a college Learning Specialist from 1993-2006 and a current Senior Adjunct Instructor at a community college, I have seen many students with learning differences severely underestimate the unique challenges of college. Assuming it will be like high school, students unwittingly make poor decisions that often result in low grades. With low self-esteem from being labeled in high school, students often misinterpret these grades as lack of ability rather than POOR DECISION- MAKING!

Had they had adequate preparation in high school and learned how to navigate the college system for success, they might have avoided the issues that plague students with learning differences and started out with a strong GPA.

I decided the best approach to this problem is a PROactive one. I wrote a course, CONQUER COLLEGE WITH LD, for high school students and their parents, which I taught for the first time last semester to a packed classroom. I am proud to say the course received excellent reviews. Students and parents were exceedingly grateful to receive information that could dramatically increase chances of college success, especially since no one else appears to be imparting this information.

I will be teaching CONQUER COLLEGE WITH LD again this fall in the Philadelphia suburbs on 10 consecutive Saturday mornings starting September 20th. However, I have had many inquiries from people unable to attend due to distance. To address this, I have made two decisions:

1. I will make my course materials (a comprehensive portfolio that covers all aspects of a successful post-secondary transition and a student workbook containing practice exercises of effective academic strategies) available to those unable to attend.

2. I will take my course on the road as a seminar for students, parents, and high school instructors. Rather than offering it as 10 one-hour classes, I will teach it over two days, five hours per day, allowing for breaks, lunch and Q & A.

If you are interested in either of the above options, please e-mail me at TransitionSuccess@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer your questions and e-mail you a free copy of "25 Rules of College Success for Students with LD".

Incidentally, I have walked in your shoes. Raising an LD son who completed college successfully has given me dual perspectives. That fact did not go unnoticed by members of my class who said it increased my credibility, understanding, and empathy. As for my professional credentials, I have a Masters degree from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and have worked in the Special Education field for over twenty years.

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I am presently Director of Outreach at my church. We our having a Community College Awarenes Day in the Fall of 2008. Many of the children and youth come from the inner city and Foster Care Homes. I would like to have infomation on "25 Rules of College Success for Students with LD/ADD. We our located in Los Angeles. Thanks for sharing.

Have you read about the new course I wrote to help LD students succeed in college? I work at a community college and see LD students fall through the cracks all the time. Please e-mail me at TransitionSuccess@gmail.com for more suggestions.

ADD is usually diagnosed by a neurologist or a psychiatrist based on reported behaviors and family history. While PET scans can show the presence of ADD, they are too expensive and not practical. LD can be diagnosed by a psychologist who specializes in psychoeducational testing. It used to be that public school tested students for free, but that's expensive and has stopped for the most part. Ask your family doc to recommend a good psychologist who can test your daughter.

my child is extreamly smart but i on the other hand have a very diffacult time trying to learn what needs to be taught to her... how do you know if your LD or have ADD??

I give your daughter credit for her perseverance. Working at a community college, I can totally understand her problems. At least where I work, there is little support in the way of individualized tutoring for these students, and most of them register with college students-at-large, so their courses are not hand-selected (they need to be). Also, many of them carry too many credits and have unbalanced schedules in terms of challenging/easier courses. It gets me so upset when a community college, whose mission is to serve the ENTIRE community, takes the tuition from these students, then neglects them. SHAME ON THEM! Not only is it unethical, but it's heartless. These students have so many self-esteem issues as is, and struggling in college just adds to that. At my school, there are at least 6 groups considered at-risk, for which there are grants. LD is not one of them I tried, but met with stiff opposition, so I quit my Learning Specialist position. I couldn't possibly help students in a school with a 14,000+ population as the only Learning Specialist - and part-time at that!

Your daughter needs strong individualized academic support with someone who is skilled at working with special education students. I will send you my "25 Rules" paper, if you send me your private e-mail.

GOOD LUCK!

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