College: Which Colleges Provide the Best Services for ADHD and Learning Disabilities?

If you read my post about what college options look like after high school, you will be aware of the lack of understanding and/or education about what is available for kids with ADHD or learning disabilities. This really isn't the student's parents fault because many of the high school counselors don't really know about the available programs or services out there. And it really isn't the school counselor's fault either since they are usually not in the classroom and are maybe not as aware of the student's struggles are or what their IEP or 504 plan states.

So...where can we look to place the blame? Well, how about we don't blame anyone and instead, focus that energy into looking for programs and colleges that provide comprehensive services to students who need them. What if we start looking at the potential of these students instead of automatically placing them in the "Junior College Only" category? Because these kids shouldn't be overlooked or opted out because they have different needs or even more needs than other students- they should be given the same opportunity that other students have so that they can feel the success that comes from attending a school that empowers them instead of shaming them.

Through my research about such programs and talking to parents who have come before me and done some of the initial leg-work, I have come up with a couple of amazing programs that help bridge the gap between Parent's house and Independent Living, some options that help provide a smaller stepping stone between living at home and living out the world by themselves. If you have any other suggestions, I would LOVE to hear about them so that we can create a comprehensive resource for parents, counselors, and even the students themselves.

Landmark College:

Landmark College is an Associate Degree program in Vermont that provides students with a comprehensive education that has been designed specifically for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and ASD. Students learn that the WAY they learn is as important as WHAT they learn and start educating themselves accordingly. This program focuses on proven strategies for students who need adaptive teaching methods and technology based teaching. Students learn how to self advocate as well as coping skills that benefit them both in school and in real life.

Michael from Scaggsville, MD says that "(He) only had three other options: return to Franklin and Marshall, return to community college, or stay home and get a job. I chose Landmark. I have loved it. At Landmark, they teach you about yourself and what your strengths and challenges are and how to overcome those challenges by focusing on your strengths."

Check out more at http://www.landmark.edu/ or email them at admissions@landmark.edu

Menlo College

This is a top business school in the Silicon Valley, California and name "Best in the West" by Princeton Review for two years. The best part about these amazing distinctions is that Menlo also provides extensive services for students due to their amazing 14:1 student to faculty ratio. These services can be from simple tutoring to a personal faculty liason for students who need interventions and specific help from the teachers. Students say that this personal connection with their professors is one of the main reasons why they are so successful because "no one will leave them behind."

Check out Menlo College at http://www.menlo.edu/
and email questions to admissions@menlo.edu

Beacon College

Beacon College is a four year college in Leesburg, Florida that provides degree programs for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and those on the autism spectrum. Students have the opportunity to study Business Management, Computer Information Systems, Interdisciplinary Studies, Human Services, and Psychology. What makes Beacon unique is their belief that all students, regardless of their disabilities, can achieve a four year degree that provides them with the stepping stone necessary for most American young adults trying to make it in a world where a B.A. is a necessary trade mark of a career driven person.

Andrea Cornick, 2013 graduate, said "What I love about Beacon College is the fact that it gives you a chance to shine and prove to yourself and others that you are capable of achieving more than your best expectations. Beacon College is the place to make your academic dreams come true."

Learn more about Beacon College at http://www.beaconcollege.edu and email them at admissions@beaconcollege.edu.

College Living Experience

I am actually really excited to talk about College Living Experience because I know for a fact how much good it can do for my students and their parents. College Living Experience is a program that helps students with ADHD and Executive Functioning Disorders attend school at either a four year university or community college and participate in a live-in program that provides structure and regulations for students. They have specific meetings they must attend, such as tutoring hours, study hall, and social and academic workshops to increase their skills, housekeeping presentations, and living skills classes. These services provide students with a stepping stone between their parent's house and living completely independently. Students are able to participate in any of the services that are provided, however students are also expected to start the process of understanding what it takes to function on an independent basis. I think it is such a great chance for college students to find out how to be successful away from home yet still learn how to make a difference in their own lives by self-advocating for their needs.

Contact College Living Experience at http://experiencecle.com and call them at (800) 486-5058.

College: What does it look like for the ADHD student?

This map of the top colleges and universities in the United States is the typical expectation of post-secondary education for most American students. But what happens when a student has learning or executive functioning disabilities that prevents them from attending these top colleges? Where can they go and receive support, tutoring, counseling, or classes about living skills? What happens when they are ready to move out, but not ready to be out in the world?

I am just starting out on this college counseling journey, wading through opportunities, and looking at different ideas and support for potential college students. Then, I started to look carefully at my own students who come into my school with a significant disadvantage before they even begin to LOOK at what college means. Due to their ADHD or learning disabilities, social or emotional disabilities, or even psychological issues, parents just want their children to graduate high school and college isn't even on the radar.

But something happens at our school....when there are smaller classrooms, teachers who understand their struggles and seek to work with their deficiencies instead of becoming annoyed, and a chance for them to succeed and then, they actually start to feel successful. All of a sudden, their grades go up, they begin to make their way out of the fog of "Can't" and into a situation where college - and dare I say - a FOUR year college instead of just a community college -  is actually within reach. 

However, the parents are still stuck in survival mode, where they are the motivator, the demander, the threat. When I approach them about potential college plans, they always say, "Oh no no no - I don't think s/he is quite ready for such a challenge and I would prefer s/he just stay at home and complete a couple classes toward an AA degree." I get it- I honestly do! I realize what it is like to parent a kid, deal with the daily issues, defiance, lack of motivation, even struggles with addictions or partying. 

I don't know their history with the student who I see try every day in my classroom. I am not at home with them during the knock down drag out fights but I can see amazing growth in just a few months. I see them start to participate, feel good about an "A" grade, and see them unfold themselves into mutually beneficial and positive relationships with their peers. I see their eyes light up when I talk to them about potential college plans and go through their "Getting Ready For College Worksheets." 

I am trying to increase their self-concept about what they are capable of and that doesn't mean putting out of reach college or universities that are popular but are not a great fit for them. This means doing the research to find programs that will support their writing assignments, social programs that help kids who need a push to increase their social skills, a psychiatric program that is available for students who need additional psychiatric care. 

That is my job and it isn't just about helping my students get into the top universities, it is about helping them get into and attend the RIGHT university. I hope that when my 7 year old and 2 year get old enough for a college counselor, that they will not be drawn by the glittery lights of the Big Universities but will find something that speaks to them and says, "You will fit in here, this is the place to start your adulthood." 

I hope that your kids or students do as well...

Question of the Day- Intent v. Desire

I used this Question of the Day, or "QOTD," in my Senior class while discussing Macbeth. It was a great discussion and my students were interested in determining the difference between desire and intention and how each type of emotion influences a person's reasons to commit a serious crime, such as murder or violent assault. We talked about murder vs. manslaughter and how these crimes are different from a violent assault or burglary.

Although I use this question for Macbeth, it also holds true for Frankenstein and other stories where a character moves into a different element of their psyche, where they struggle with the desire to be a moral and ethical person versus the desire to move ahead with ambition and without a conscience.

Tweeting Shakespeare was A HIT!

I had seen this idea somewhere on Pinterest and thought to myself, "My kids will NEVER go for that! They hate anything that is popular and 'cool'!"

But after struggling to get them to attend and having to do 90% of the work for them yesterday, pulling out every trick in the book to get them to understand what Shakespeare is saying in the beginning of Macbeth, I was out of patience and completely out of ideas. This was my Hail Mary shot in the dark, a chance that turned out to actually get them involved and even *gasp* interested in what the heck Shakespeare was saying through Banquo about the potential for ruin in the face of realizing your greatest dream.

So after my customary QOTD (Question of the Day), I wrote the specific lines they needed to pay attention to with the instructions about character length and a little note about Banquo and who he is in the story to give them a sense of understanding about who is who and what is what.

I paired them up based on strengths and weaknesses, interest in the story, and excitement about the challenge. Then, I made it more interesting by saying that 5 minutes prior to the end of the class, they would have to write their tweets on the board and I would judge the best tweet for correct context, interpretation, and interest. I would be looking for a unique hashtag at the end to connect all of the ideas together and at the end of the judgement, I would also award points to the best tweet onto their ongoing "Positive Points" count, which gives the winner a surprise at end of the month.

Here is the original mini-speech by Banquo to Macbeth in Act I, Scene III:

That trusted home
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence.

Tweet #1: 

Going to be given the crown and title "Thane of Cawdor". Evil can tell the truth, but can lead to death. Going to be king. Don't screw it up! #Macbeth

Tweet #2: 

Macbeth we want you to be a noble and faithful leader so as not to bring us to our doom #savior

Tweet #3: 

Face and make friends with your fear, this may mean battling demons but deciding to will encourage self growth #struggles

WOW! I was shocked! I didn't know how they would do and how they would feel having to interpret the passage without my help, but I was so pleasantly surprised with their response and how they felt after completing the assignment that I think I will do something like this again with other passages in the play and passages from other literature we tackle this semester. 

The ideas are endless and interesting to see them actually embrace an idea that has a following or such a huge place in modern pop culture. All in all, it was a great day of instruction and seeing them take SOME ownership over their own education- something that I have been fostering in some of these guys for three straight years now- is a really good feeling.

So...Reality Came and Smacked Me Across the Face....

Remember how I said that my Senior class period 6 was going to be a lot of fun? Yeah....I was wrong. Like- dead wrong. HOLY MOLY!!! They are a tough crowd. First, I have this class at the end of the day when their meds have just about worn off. Second, they enjoy having me as a teacher and they enjoy the class, which means I am constantly trying to contain the optimism and enthusiasm of eight 17-18 year old boys, all of whom have ADHD, one with the addition of Aspergers, 2 with auditory processing disorders, and 1 who thinks because he is an actor that he can get away with anything. It take so much energy to just get them to attend to what I am teaching that day that I am usually left exhausted and feeling like I have survived a tornado when that 50 minutes is finally over.

By Thursday of the first week back to school, I started thinking of ways to get them to settle down instead of using the time as Social Hour. I also realized that most of them have had some type of discipline modeled for them since childhood and if I could bring that back into the classroom, I might be moderately successful. With this in mind, on Friday when the class began, I wrote three red Xs across the top of the board and explained that I was going to erase an X each time they got too loud or were not paying attention to the lesson because they were talking. When all three Xs were erased, they were going to have to get out of their chairs, find a spot along the wall, turn so they were looking at the wall, and complete their work in their laps. Since I only have 8 students, I could space them out enough to prevent more talking and socializing.

Once I explained my tactic and reasons, they calmed down enough to get through some of the preliminary explanations on Macbeth and Shakespeare and by the end of the period, I only had to erase 2 of the 3 Xs. I think this is going to be a standard practice in this class and with these boys.

I love teaching them and I know they like the class, but trying to contain their energy is like trying to herd cats...its basically impossible without the right incentive!

English IV is going to be a fun class!

I have a great group of boys in this class and they are all very interesting and dynamic but require a strong hand when getting into their work and producing some quality results. Most are ridiculously intelligent but lazy as they come so to inspire them, I decided to do a unit on the concept of insanity and who, what, or how insanity is determined. We are reading three books this semester, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.

All amazing books and I thoroughly enjoy teaching them and the subject matter. However, I let them know today that they are responsible for the way the class is going to be. If they don't do their homework, it will be a silent reading experience with everyone individually completing their work- OR they can complete their homework at home so we can have interesting and dynamic discussions about controversial topics and issues. Most of these students have had me before and appreciate my frank and honest explanations about everything we read or discuss so they know that in order for me to put in the effort to coordinate these discussions, they need to do their part, but I wonder how some of the new students will react.

It will be interesting to observe the different pressures from the students who want to discuss the book and topics on the students who just want to slack off. I told them it was all or nothing and I hope I didn't make a mistake by doing that because I know they want to slack off but also really want to talk about things that most other classes would never consider discussing. I think this will be my favorite class this year but it requires a ton of energy to teach and I have SO much on plate with the other 3 different levels of English I am simultaneously teaching IN ADDITION to being the College Counselor and Academic Counselor. I am already tired! But I love getting them inspired about great literature so I will give it all I got!

Sending the Seniors Off!

One of the best things about following my students as their English teacher from Freshman year to Senior year means that I get to develop some amazing connections and watch them grow from kids into adults. BUT- one of the WORST things about following my students from Freshman year to Senior year means that when I send them off, it is such a bittersweet moment.

I am SO proud of everything they have accomplished, how much work they have put into my class, and what amazing adults they are developing into. They are unique, interesting, compassionate, intelligent, special, focused, diverse, fun, funny, beautiful people.

I will remember each student and I will treasure what they have taught ME about what it means to be a teacher when needed, a friend when required, and a mentor when asked. I can't wait to see where they end up and where their individual journeys take them because I KNOW they will accomplish some amazing things!!