Competitive schools that are known for supporting students with ADHD or LD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - there are books on the subject. We bought several when going thru the college application process

Could you share the name of the books that were helpful to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of ADHD attorneys. The hyperfocus helps in this professions and they tend to think creatively to solve problems. My husband is a hugely successful attorney that has ADHD. I am sure most know this, but ADHD tends to correlate with really high IQs.

And creativity too.
Also the ability to quickly and intuitively synthesize disparate information…which is why ADHDers make terrific leaders of organizations.

Creative people are also likely to be diagnosed with bipolar.

Do you people who claim it’s a good thing to have ADHD know what you’re talking about?

Symptoms are difficulty focusing, easily distracted, hard time finishing tasks, not good at organizing or figuring out priorities.

It’s nice to find the positives in a disorder but people who are accurately diagnosed struggle their whole lives with it.

PP. I am formally diagnosed ADHD. As are my kids. I know the struggles but in my line of work it has also had very real advantages. Every day is a dance to maximize the advantages and minimize the challenges. But it’s not just challenges.

Do you take medication for the disability? What are the advantages for you?

[Anonymous]

I’ll say the honest answer: none. They aren’t designed for students with learning disabilities- that’s why they’re competitive.

[Anonymous]

MIT and Arizona are supposed to have the best supports for LDs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of ADHD attorneys. The hyperfocus helps in this professions and they tend to think creatively to solve problems. My husband is a hugely successful attorney that has ADHD. I am sure most know this, but ADHD tends to correlate with really high IQs.

And creativity too.
Also the ability to quickly and intuitively synthesize disparate information…which is why ADHDers make terrific leaders of organizations.

Creative people are also likely to be diagnosed with bipolar.

Do you people who claim it’s a good thing to have ADHD know what you’re talking about?

Symptoms are difficulty focusing, easily distracted, hard time finishing tasks, not good at organizing or figuring out priorities.

It’s nice to find the positives in a disorder but people who are accurately diagnosed struggle their whole lives with it.

PP. I am formally diagnosed ADHD. As are my kids. I know the struggles but in my line of work it has also had very real advantages. Every day is a dance to maximize the advantages and minimize the challenges. But it’s not just challenges.

Do you take medication for the disability? What are the advantages for you?

PP. This post will definitely get far off-topic from OP's initial question, but I'll try to bring it back around!

In the last couple of years, I finally decided to try a very low-dose Adderall prescription, but tbh, I often forget to take it (or I forget to take it early in the am, which means my sleep will be affected, so I decide not to take it). I have found the Adderall especially useful on the days when I need to either (1) hyperfocus in deep and narrow ways, or (2) move through tasks I find tedious, or about which I don't much care. In the latter case medicine is especially useful if I've made a to-do list list in advance, so I can just move through tasks almost automatically.

I agree with the PP that there certainly are challenges to my ADHD. Certain things don't stick in my brain -- they literally don't enter long-term memory. It's like information just blinks out while in short term memory, and then is gone forever. Over time, I've learned that the best thing I can possibly do is KNOW that things won't stick, and work with that fact instead of being surprised/aggravated by it again and again. This means I must be meticulous about writing things down the instant they come into my consciousness -- whether through calendar reminders and alerts, or notes taped to my mirror or steering wheel, or scribbled reminders on my forearm. It means recording conversations if they're especially important. It means creating routines, and then being more attached to my routines than other people need to be to theirs. It *definitely* means auto-paying bills. These strategies aren't failsafe -- I still mess up, sometimes in stupidly embarrassing ways -- but they help a lot.

In terms of advantages...It's hard to talk about what one is good at without sounding like an arrogant a-hole, so answering this question feels tricky. But in case it helps someone out there, I will say that I'm unusually good at learning new things, and at a pretty deep level. I'm good at jumping into unfamiliar situations, and unfamiliar subjects, and just...figuring them out: paying attention, asking good questions, learning wide and deep until I can solve problems that other people haven't been able to. I'm also really good at assessing what *others* need to know, and figuring out how best to communicate these things in a way that's vibrant and interesting enough to stick. I'm good at making connections between things that seem unrelated, but it turns out often aren't, or don't need to be. And I'm creative, though my creativity feels like a slower burn -- I'd be terrible at improv, but give me a long-term creative project that has a chance to simmer for a bit, and I can usually knock it out of the park. But these things are my profile; ADHD isn't one thing, so maybe your kids are different.

ADHD can be really hard when you're still in school. In school (primary, secondary, and even college), kids take so many subjects at once, and they're expected to be generalists -- equally good at every subject and every type of task. They also have to be good at transitioning *between* all those things. But life is different. There are amazing paths for non-generalists, and for people who don't want to zip between things. The trick is knowing what your unique/uneven brain is good at, and also what guardrails you need to put in place for the stuff that will probably always elude you.

Bringing this back to OP's question: I strongly recommend talking directly to disability support offices and getting a vibe for *how* they work with the students. What are the goals? To help students move through tasks and help them with their "deficit"? Or is the approach more "know thyself" -- the sort of process that will help them not only with classes, but also with building a life? Does the disability office seem to approach students with humor and a sense of respect and warmth? Often by the time an ADHD kid gets to college, there's been so much shaming for their "deficit" it can be hard for them to see their own strengths. But you can't optimize your strengths if you can't name them! So tone and approach matters a lot, both in the short- and long-term.

I hope this is helpful. I'm wishing everyone the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - there are books on the subject. We bought several when going thru the college application process

Could you share the name of the


books that were helpful to you?

The K& W Guide to start with but there are many. Amazon has then under "college universities soecial needs" or disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll say the honest answer: none. They aren’t designed for students with learning disabilities- that’s why they’re competitive.

You mean the ignorant answer. The height of the ignorance is your rationale.

[Anonymous]

Vassar

[Anonymous]

Wow. Some of the replies on this site are just awful. I came upon it by accident but it might be my first and last.
So many great responses from those of you with real experience and knowledge of adhd.
But I can’t fathom how the parent with 3 adhd kids thinks you just learn to manage it by 18! Are people not reading books about their kids disorder? Other posters are just plain ignorant. If you really don’t have a good understanding of adhd or what services actually look like out there in the colllege landscape, maybe don’t add your two cents. Hint: there is more to ‘support’ than just extra time. All kids (adhd or not) are going to see their executive functioning put to the test when they leave home. For some kids it can be crushing without the right supports. Stand alone programs can be lifesavers. I’m familiar with ones on the lower end of the prestige spectrum so might not have a lot to add. University of Denver has not been mentioned and has a good reputation for support. Marist, Adelphi, Hofstra, U of A, American already mentioned. Ohio Wesleyan has a relatively new program (it’s been a couple of years since I toured it). A warm welcoming space with great staff. The book that was mentioned upthread (K something?) was very useful. Good luck to all you LD parents. It’s a struggle most don’t understand.
Parent of 2 neurodivergent kids, one high stats (who has to work twice as hard to get those high stats even though he is highly gifted)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Some of the replies on this site are just awful. I came upon it by accident but it might be my first and last.
So many great responses from those of you with real experience and knowledge of adhd.
But I can’t fathom how the parent with 3 adhd kids thinks you just learn to manage it by 18! Are people not reading books about their kids disorder? Other posters are just plain ignorant. If you really don’t have a good understanding of adhd or what services actually look like out there in the colllege landscape, maybe don’t add your two cents. Hint: there is more to ‘support’ than just extra time. All kids (adhd or not) are going to see their executive functioning put to the test when they leave home. For some kids it can be crushing without the right supports. Stand alone programs can be lifesavers. I’m familiar with ones on the lower end of the prestige spectrum so might not have a lot to add. University of Denver has not been mentioned and has a good reputation for support. Marist, Adelphi, Hofstra, U of A, American already mentioned. Ohio Wesleyan has a relatively new program (it’s been a couple of years since I toured it). A warm welcoming space with great staff. The book that was mentioned upthread (K something?) was very useful. Good luck to all you LD parents. It’s a struggle most don’t understand.
Parent of 2 neurodivergent kids, one high stats (who has to work twice as hard to get those high stats even though he is highly gifted)

If so awful why did you resusitate an old tgread going back to July?

[Anonymous]

To add some schools for the OP. I’m sure they are in the thick of apps. I know I would have appreciated that when going through this with my kid.
Btw- it’s resuscitate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always wonder how the DC will cope after college with those disabilities. I hope somehow it works for them, but I always wonder how they find suitable workplaces…

Tech. We're all neurodivergent and prefer to hide behind our computer screens than interact with the public.

+100 every neurodivergent person I know is in tech in some capacity, including my husband and our 2 daughters. Great money and not too much peopling!

[Anonymous]

MIT is supposed to have the best supports for LDs and ADHD

[Anonymous]

Tufts has a neurodiverse house

https://now.tufts.edu/2024/04/25/creating-place-where-neurodiverse-students-can-recharge-and-relax

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts has a neurodiverse house

https://now.tufts.edu/2024/04/25/creating-place-where-neurodiverse-students-can-recharge-and-relax

Great article, thanks for that.