How do I get Learning Disability Support at College?

If you are  wondering how can you get the support that you have in your high school, you must understand  a) that the level of support depends on the structure of the Disability program at the college you would be attending and b) that unlike high school, in college you must self advocate.  Let’s break this down in pieces.  

Structure Spectrum of Colleges Learning Disability Programs

Due to the American Disability Act (ADA) federal regulations, all colleges must be compliant.  On one end of the spectrum, you colleges that offer a minimal amount of support and on the other end, you have colleges providing comprehensive and structured support as illustrated below.  The kind of accommodations will also depend on the resources of the program:  distraction reduced environment, note taking, assisted devices, extra testing time are a few.  In addition more structured programs offer individualized tutoring and executive/study skills coaching among other services.

In addition to these programs, there are some LD programs at college level or via Adult Transition programs that provide very hands on support not only in college academics and executive skills, but in social and independent living skills.   

Self advocate

There is a big difference between college and high school when it comes to getting support for Learning Disabilities.  The most important one is that in college students must self advocate.  Not only must you do the work to get approved for accommodations, you must follow up to ensure that these are implemented as approved by the Disability office.    So how do you go about this?  Assuming you are attending a “Moderate” school as noted above we recommend you:

• Make a visit to the Disability office as soon as you are admitted and find out what are the requirements to request accommodations.  More than likely they will require a psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation, not older than 3 years. In addition, they may require a recent diagnosis and your high school’s transcripts, test scores and IEP/504 plans.
• The Disability counselor may decide to conduct further testing before deciding on the accommodations.
• You will have to let the faculty know of the accommodations and you will be responsible to ensure these are implemented as planned.  Only you can determine if this is the case and should let the Disability counselor know if you get into any hiccups.

In sum, you will be able to continue getting the support you need to thrive in school. Yet, you will have to choose the level of support you need and follow through to make your college career a success.  Just remember, take one step at a time and reach out for help when you need it!