Colleges For Students With Learning Disabilities – Want to know the best colleges for students with LD? Living with learning disabilities (LD) is troublesome, and most parents think that going to college will put their teens with learning disabilities in a tough position.
They will not be able to keep up with the higher education teaching pace. In fact, many families considered to hide the fact that their teen has the LD because they are afraid that the college will refuse the enrollment of their child to the university.
However, this is not a right thing to do. You want to have a college where they accept this disability. Therefore, it is a good idea to disclose the disability right from the start. In fact, it would be even better if you can find colleges that can well accommodate the need of students with LD. Below are several of the colleges you may need to evaluate:
Best Universities or Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities
There are hundreds of programs available for LD students, but choosing the best ones is not an easy task. We have enlisted top five colleges for LD students in the United States; I hope this can help any parents out there who are considering enrolling their LD children to college.
Note that these are respectable and reputable programs, and the campuses have a substantial amount of students who are also suffering from learning disabilities. Most of them come with various technologies that can support students with learning disabilities to achieve their full capabilities.
Beacon College
Beacon College is pretty unique. It is a college that emphasizes on the education for students with learning disabilities. The classes in this college are pretty small since the teacher has to pay attention to all individual in class. If you’re living near Orlando, you may want to include the Beacon College as one of your college options.
Landmark College
Another college that’s focusing on the LD students’ education is this Landmark College. The main objective of this college is to increase the ability of the LD students with a good educational system. You can even go to study abroad after you win.
University of Arizona
The university of Arizona offers the Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques program, which is designed specifically for their learning-disabled students. This college is considered as one of the best colleges to go to for students with LD.
Curry College
Program for Advanced Learning of the Curry College, MA has a great reputation that pushes their LD students to be proactive and learn effective methods to get the best results. The students are supported to get individualized learning.
University of Colorado
Parents who are looking for a college that is supportive towards their learning-disabled teens and is offering flexible hours, they can start asking information about the University of Colorado. This university has therapy and counseling benefits.
American University
The Learning Services Program (LSP) at American University in Washington, DC provides helpful support for students who qualify. The program, located in the Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC), offers various services. Participants get weekly one-on-one meetings with a program coordinator or counselor, and they also meet with a coordinator in the summer to plan their classes.
Some perks of the program include:
- Being in a special section of the freshman writing class
- Having weekly meetings with a writing tutor for the class
- Getting personalized advice on which courses to take
- Having an older student mentor
The LSP lasts for one year and requires a single fee. However, the specific cost isn’t listed on the website.
Bellevue College
Bellevue College provides a special degree called Occupational and Life Skills (OLS) for adults with learning disabilities. In this program, students attend classes for 10-14 hours per week, where they learn about things like solving workplace problems, building healthy relationships, and managing personal finances. They also do a 200-hour internship at a nearby business before they graduate. After completing the program, 85% of graduates find jobs. The OLS degree doesn’t have any extra fees besides regular tuition.
DePaul University
DePaul University has the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) in Chicago, Illinois. This center provides support tailored to students with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. They offer over a dozen accommodations based on each student’s needs and access to a Learning Specialist Clinician for extra academic help. Although the accommodations from CSD are free, there’s a fee for seeing the Learning Specialist Clinician.
East Carolina University
East Carolina University, located in Greenville, North Carolina, offers the STEPP (Supporting Transition and Education Through Planning and Partnerships) Program for students with learning disabilities. This program provides academic, social, and life skills support to its participants.
Before starting college, students receive monthly newsletters and attend a pre-college boot camp to prepare them for the transition. Once enrolled, students benefit from mentoring, advising, housing in a designated residence hall, independent study courses, and mandatory study hall sessions to help organize their schedules.
Additionally, they receive guidance in developing a professional portfolio for future job opportunities. The program accepts only 10 students per year, and there are no extra fees for participating in STEPP.
Northeastern University
Northeastern University, located in Boston, Massachusetts, provides various resources for its students, including the Learning Disabilities Program (LDP). Participants in this program meet twice weekly with an LDP specialist to enhance their academic and life skills. The specialist also guides students to other campus resources, such as subject-specific tutoring. However, there are extra fees for enrollment in the LDP.
University of Arizona (SALT Program)
The University of Arizona’s SALT Center in Tucson, Arizona, provides comprehensive support for students seeking a large-school environment. Participants in the SALT program meet weekly with a strategic learning specialist and can access various services, including content-specific tutoring, educational tech support, workshops on life skills and academic strategies, and psychological services. Additionally, life and ADHD coaching are available separately from the SALT fee.
However, participating in the SALT program incurs an additional cost each semester. For freshmen and sophomores, this cost covers extensive tutoring, while for juniors and seniors, the semester cost is lower, with tutoring being optional for an additional hourly fee.
Others
Besides the top five colleges for learning disabled students above, there are also other notable universities and colleges that are popular for LD students; including the Northeastern University, Augsburg College, University of Connecticut, University of Iowa and American University. We highly encourage parents and students to seek more information about these colleges for students with learning disabilities.
References:
- Colleges for students with learning disabilities – http://www.thecollegesolution.com/colleges-for-students-with-learning-disabilitites/
(https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-18-best-colleges-for-students-with-learning-disabilities) - Image: thinkprogress.org
