Helpful Hints for Students with Learning Disabilities

Starting the College Process

Starting the college process can be hard and scary for all students, and for students with a Learning Disability it can sometimes be even harder and more overwhelming. The solution is for LD students to start the process as early as they can. There is a college out there for every student who wants to learn and succeed, and the more knowledge students are armed with, the better. Go to websites and find out what colleges have special programs for LD students (http://www.college-scholarships.com/learning_disabilities.htm), check with your local LDA affiliates to see how they can help (http://www.ldaamerica.org/), and work together as a family with a counselor to build your list of criteria for college.

The biggest piece of advice that I can give an LD student is to be a strong self-advocate. Know your strengths and weaknesses and feel comfortable self-disclosing this information to an Admissions Counselor during a college interview. This will help show off your maturity, personality, and the fact that you can self-advocate. Let the Admission Counselor know what type of accommodations you have been receiving (e.g., extended time, books on tape, a helper taking notes, etc.) through your Individualized Educations Plan (IEP) or 504 plan. I would also recommend interviewing with someone from that college's special program. This will give you the opportunity to find out what that program has to offer and give you another opportunity for anothermember off the college to get to know you. The next small piece of advice is to make sure you have been tested recently. Colleges that have an LD program are going to want to see documented testing results before they make a decision, having them updated gives them a better understanding of how the students is doing currently rather than in junior high school or early high school.

By: Aaron F. Smith
Independent Educational Consultant
Learning Disabilities Specialist
asmith07041979@gmail.com