WSJ: Finding A college that suits students with special needs

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Finding a College That Suits

Students With Special Needs

By SUE SHELLENBARGER, Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122160388151245179.html

Students with learning disabilities are applying to college this fall

at more than five times the rate of the 1980s -- and facing a

confusing thicket of special-needs jargon in the process.

Colleges and universities are " the new frontier, in terms of access

to education " for students with learning differences, says

Jesien of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Only

recently have they made much progress in leveling the playing field

for qualified students with disabilities and attention-deficit

hyperactivity disorder.

Picking a School

Resources for students with learning disabilities:

The Princeton Review 'K & W Guide'

's 'Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities'

www.ahead.org

www.heath.gwu.edu

Campus attitudes and programs for special-needs students vary wildly,

as Robbie Burnstine, Cambridge, Mass., saw on a tour of campuses. Her

son needs accommodations for a learning difference; on some campuses,

questions about the topic elicited " whole paragraphs " describing fine-

tuned supports. On others, however, " they'll say, 'We don't really

have a need for much of that' -- which is a red flag. "

This is a sharp contrast to the standardized approach required by

federal law in public schools; they must tailor instruction to

fulfill all students' right to a suitable education. But colleges are

required by law only to make " reasonable accommodations " for

qualified students with disabilities.

Some complex terminology surrounds these accommodations. Colleges

lack universal labels to describe their supports, and guidebooks and

educational consultants use no less than a half-dozen terms -- basic,

limited, self-directed, decentralized, coordinated, structured and

proactive -- to describe various service levels.

Thinking of support programs in three main categories can help

students compare colleges. " Basic " programs, also called limited,

self-directed or decentralized programs, offer only the

accommodations required by law, such as untimed testing or note-

taking help. Most schools fall into this category, and it works fine

for many students. Among my five step- and biological children, two

have special needs, and one attended a college with basic services,

where she got the minimal help she needed to secure extended-time

testing.

At worst, however, a " basic " label is a smokescreen for doing

nothing. Such failings are one reason retention rates among

undergraduates with learning disabilities trail overall retention

rates by 10 percentage points, federal data show.

Your Questions Answered

Sue Shellenbarger answers readers' questions about common chores for

teens, suitable education for people with ADHD, and employer policies

on time off before childbirth.

At the next level of support are programs described by beth

Kravets, co-author of a Princeton Review guidebook on the topic,

as " coordinated services. " These go beyond the minimum supports

required by law. They have at least one trained staffer, may have

input on admissions decisions and offer study-skills classes, tutors

and other services.

The highest level of support is found in what experts describe

as " structured " or " proactive " programs. These programs often require

students to sign a contract, and may charge fees of $2,000 to $8,000

a year. They may offer modified coursework, and trained staffers

monitor students' progress. Fewer than 100 schools fall into this

category, Ms. Kravets says.

At least as important as all these categories, however, is a campus

visit. Students should make an appointment with the disabilities

office or staffer, which all schools should have; interview staff

about services and size up their comfort level in working with the

personalities there. While many students worry that tipping their

hand about a disability will poison their chances of admission,

campus officials say that isn't likely to happen at most colleges.

(Besides, if a college discriminates against you for visiting the

disabilities office, maybe you don't want to go there anyway.)

Make the first cut of target colleges based on general factors, such

as academic and extracurricular offerings and campus climate; then do

a second cut based on disability supports.

And don't forget an exit plan. Often, " people are so focused on, 'Can

I get in?' that they're not sufficiently worried about, 'Can I get

out' " with a degree, says Shuttic of the Association on

Higher Education and Disabilities. Make sure graduation requirements,

such as math or foreign language, aren't insurmountable, and that

needed course substitutions or remedial classes are provided.

Write to Sue Shellenbarger at sue.shellenbarger@...