Tips For Getting Students with A Disability Ready for College

Parents, counselors, teachers, and students with disabilities may use this list as a reminder of steps to take to prepare a high school student with a learning disability for college.

• Be sure that psychological testing is current and complete.
  Check the Learning Resources Center Disability Services page regarding Documentation Guidelines. Testing must be current (within the last three years). It is expensive to obtain testing once a student has graduated from high school.
  

• Obtain all special test records before high school graduation.
  Some school systems destroy these records upon the student's graduation. Colleges, as well as vocational rehabilitation offices, request these records to assist in providing special services to students.
  

• Contact the local Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) office before graduation.
  DRS offers a variety of services to eligible students such as vocational assessment and job placement.
  

• Consider a vocational assessment as a way to amplify present and future goals.
  

• Make sure study skills are adequate.
  In addition to high school assistance, consider special study skills classes/programs offered at community colleges or by private agencies, or individual tutoring.
  

• Consult with the high school to get a good understanding of how much support or special help a student is receiving.
  It is important to determine realistically whether minimal-disability support services or extensive accommodations at the college level will be needed.
  

• Help students to increase their independent living skills.
  Help them learn to manage their own checking accounts and to do their own laundry, cleaning, some cooking, etc.
  

• Encourage part-time jobs or volunteer positions.
  These are helpful to improve socialization skills, as well as to give a better understanding of work situations and expectations.
  

• Make sure students have a good understanding of their particular learning disability.
  They should know and be able to articulate their strengths and weaknesses as well as what compensating techniques and accommodations work best for them.
  

• Help students understand how their disability is connected to social experiences with peers, families, and employers.
  A visual or auditory discrimination deficit and/or an attention–deficit disorder frequently lead to miscues and inappropriate timing in conversation.
  

• Encourage students to be their own advocate.
  A good first step is to encourage them to discuss their learning disability and required accommodations, if any, with their regular high school instructors.
  

• Learn about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
  This law indicates what types of accommodations must be provided and/or allowed at post-secondary institutions if a student requests them. The responsibility is with the individual to initiate the provision of services and accommodations (unlike the requirements of P.L. 94-142, which assigns the responsibility to elementary and secondary schools).
  

• Get information on special exam arrangements for the SAT and/or ACT.
  Options include untimed tests, readers, or cassettes.
  

• Obtain two copies of all college applications (or duplicate the one received).
  Use the first copy to collect needed information. Type that information onto the second copy to be sent.
  

• Contact the Disabled Student Services Offices of colleges before applying.
  Get information on what kinds of services and support are available, the number of students with disabilities attending, if there are modified admissions for disabled students, and if there are any special pre-admission requirements when making an application (such as a reference letter from a special education teacher).
  

• Visit colleges before making a definite choice.
  Also, look at the communities in which they are located.
  

• Consider an appointment with a qualified optometrist.
  If the student has visual perception problems, there may also be functional vision problems with tracking and focusing. Sometimes these problems can be partially corrected with special lenses.
  

• Make sure it is the student’s choice to attend college.
  The most successful college students with disabilities are those who have high motivation and a good understanding of their particular strengths and weaknesses. They understand that it may be harder and take more time to manage college-level work. They are committed to spending that extra time on studying and to requesting and using appropriate accommodations when needed.