How to prepare dyslexic high schooler for college.

[lisabees]

I am looking for any advice for ds16. He was tested twice in middle school. Slightly dyslexic. Possibly inattentive ADD? Very low processing speed and working memory, but no ADD symptoms, except struggling academically in ps. I took him out and homeschooled him; he easily started reading on grade level, after intense phonics instruction. He returned to school and has done fairly well. Now, in 10th grade, he is starting to struggle. Spanish 3 is killing him (his last quiz score was a 3.87%. You read that correctly). Not sure if it's too late to withdraw him; waiting for counselor to call back. While he has a B+ and A- in algebra 2 and Biology, his grades are uneven. A 95% on one test, a 65% on another. He is starting to feel stupid again, because he has to work sooo hard.

 

DS does not want to go on meds. Friends have only seen negative side effects and it worries him.

 

He has no accommodations, no IEP (he wasn't bad enough, they said).

 

Ds absolutely plans on going to college. I am worried that he won't be capable of the work. How would you prepare a kid like this? I'd like him to have better study skills, better vocabulary, better note-taking skills, half decent SAT scores, and the ability to cope with college level work. Are there any resources for kids like him (he is freakishly visual-spatial)?

 

He has NO trouble with organization or time management or forgetfulness (other than memorizing random lists and facts for tests). In fact, he excels more than my gifted kids in these areas.

 

Any thoughts? Please let me know. :)

[kerenlynne]

Wish I knew. Working on that here with DS who is severely dyslexic. Have you checked out the websites for LD's? http://dyslexia.yale.edu/index.html ,http://www.ncld.org , and http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/ are three websites that often have some good resources.

[texasmama]

Most universities will provide accommodations for students who need them. As an adjunct professor, I once had a student with accommodations due to anxiety. The issues that you mention should qualify your son for accommodations. This would not include being able to bring notes and such into a test if the rest of the class is not allowed to use notes, but it could mean that the student gets to take an exam in a special center in a private room with no distractions and would be allowed extra time. This is something worth looking into. At the university I taught at, professors could not make these accommodations themselves. The student had to go through the proper channels, and the professor was contacted when the accommodations were arranged by the university.

[EKS]

I would have him evaluated again for the purpose of getting accommodations on the SAT/ACT as well as in college. I would also get him a 504 plan at school so that he can practice advocating for himself and using the accommodations. I would also seriously consider a medication trial. If he doesn't like it, he can just stop taking it.

[Heathermomster]

If you want to have classroom accommodations for college, you will need an official diagnosis likely from an NP.

 

For study skills and the freakishly visual, maybe look into mind mapping techniques and mapping software like Inspiration. Inspiration works great on the IPAD.

 

Livescribe sells a smartpen that records lectures. Make sure that he can type. Does he carry a laptop at school?

 

Why take Spanish 3? I was under the impression that colleges required two years of foreign language.

 

For preparation, he needs to be able to write essays and understand college level writing.

 

I'm presently teaching DS outlining and study skills. We are starting to emphasize writing. DS types and uses audio literature and text books. We were studying Latin/Greek roots, but I've slacked somewhat.

 

The back portion of the Dyslexic Advantage has great recommendations for college preparation

[bakerjung]

A local community college offered a class to help students understand their learning disabilities and also offered testing. I am in California and the testing done allowed my son to get accommodations at the state university. Also, the testing was free but not all the community colleges offered this service for free. However, they often have referrals who test for a reduced amount. When we visited potential colleges, we also made an appointment with the disabilities center to find out what services they offered. My son is about to finish his first year and he said that he is thriving because he uses all the accommodations such as getting a note taker, extra time for tests in a quiet room, and having his books scanned for an electronic audio reader so if he needs he can listen to the text. Also, he has found the counselors very helpful. Hope this helps and I believe your son will thrive also.

[lisabees]

...but it could mean that the student gets to take an exam in a special center in a private room with no distractions and would be allowed extra time. This is something worth looking into.

 

 

Thanks. This is what I was thinking.

 

I would have him evaluated again for the purpose of getting accommodations on the SAT/ACT as well as in college. I would also get him a 504 plan at school so that he can practice advocating for himself and using the accommodations. I would also seriously consider a medication trial. If he doesn't like it, he can just stop taking it.

 

 

This is what I will ask the counselor about when she returns my call.

 

If you want to have classroom accommodations for college, you will need an official diagnosis likely from an NP.

 

Sorry- NP?

 

For study skills and the freakishly visual, maybe look into mind mapping techniques and mapping software like Inspiration. Inspiration works great on the IPAD.

 

Off to check this out...

 

Livescribe sells a smartpen that records lectures. Make sure that he can type. Does he carry a laptop at school?

 

Why take Spanish 3? I was under the impression that colleges required two years of foreign language.

 

Depends on the college. And ds wasn't resistant to taking Spanish 3. All of his friends take it. Just seemed natural I guess. Ah, hindsight.

 

For preparation, he needs to be able to write essays and understand college level writing.

 

I am working on this. He reads essays at home (that I've picked) and will be taking writing courses online during the summer.

 

I'm presently teaching DS outlining and study skills. We are starting to emphasize writing. DS types and uses audio literature and text books. We were studying Latin/Greek roots, but I've slacked somewhat.

 

The back portion of the Dyslexic Advantage has great recommendations for college preparation

 

 

A local community college offered a class to help students understand their learning disabilities and also offered testing. I am in California and the testing done allowed my son to get accommodations at the state university. Also, the testing was free but not all the community colleges offered this service for free. However, they often have referrals who test for a reduced amount. When we visited potential colleges, we also made an appointment with the disabilities center to find out what services they offered. My son is about to finish his first year and he said that he is thriving because he uses all the accommodations such as getting a note taker, extra time for tests in a quiet room, and having his books scanned for an electronic audio reader so if he needs he can listen to the text. Also, he has found the counselors very helpful. Hope this helps and I believe your son will thrive also.

 

 

Thank you so much for this post. It is so encouraging to hear from someone who has BTDT. I am thrilled for you and your son that he is thriving. That is my goal. Electronic audio reader? Hmm...

 

Are colleges aware of a student's issues from their application and/or transcript?

[EKS]

 

Are colleges aware of a student's issues from their application and/or transcript?

 

As far as I know, not unless you tell them.

[lisabees]

 

As far as I know, not unless you tell them.

 

Thanks Kai. And, as far as meds go, I will talk to ds more about it. I would love to see if it makes a difference.

[Heathermomster]

A np is a PhD Neuropsychologist.

 

Just had a college prep discussion with a fellow homeschooling mom. Her eldest DD is a college freshman. Anyho...she advised me to ensure DS could write a literary analysis paper, and she felt rather strongly that a logic class would benefit him.

 

A thread on the k-12 board has reminded me of how the student should really be able to listen to a lecture and practice taking notes.

[lisabees]

A np is a PhD Neuropsychologist.

 

Just had a college prep discussion with a fellow homeschooling mom. Her eldest DD is a college freshman. Anyho...she advised me to ensure DS could write a literary analysis paper, and she felt rather strongly that a logic class would benefit him.

 

A thread on the k-12 board has reminded me of how the student should really be able to listen to a lecture and practice taking notes.

 

Believe it or not, ds signed up for AP Comp next year (the school only offers regular or AP English - no honors). He is determined to push himself and learn how to write a great essay. Of course, I am proud that he wants to push himself, but worried. This is why he will do writing through Write at Home (or something like it) over the summer. This is why I make him read well-written essays 3-4 times a week. This is why I am trying to improve his vocabulary.

 

Ah, yes, logic. That we did when he homeschooled. As far as lectures, maybe I'll have him pick any of the Great Courses and have him take notes over the summer (this is what ds13 does). In ps, he doesn't even get practice. Most teachers do a daily power point presentation and then ask the kids to fill out a worksheet. In addition, all teachers provide a study guide, which is usually a one page outline. DS originally thought he only had to know that basic information for the tests. What a lesson that has been.

[Heathermomster]

I am not surprised that a gifted dyslexic would take an AP lit course.

 

I am just now beginning to explore college writing. I picked up the Teaching the Classics DVDs and started watching them this week. I'm an hour and a half into the lecture, and the program embraces the Socratic Method. I like how the program uses children's lit to teach analysis. For now, I simply want DS to start thinking ahead and asking questions from the material that he reads. I feel like story mapping can help that.

 

I've also picked up the Intro to Lit program by Excellence in Literature. The EIL program teaches several formats of lit papers including the approach paper. DH and I are both college graduates and have never heard of the approach paper. I inquired about approach papers on the HS board and was directed towards teaching the writing of a reading response essay. Here's a link. The reading response essay seems more pertinent.

 

My son currently uses IEW materials for writing. His writing problems are more about organization, and the KWOs help. Blessings,h

 

ps. I'm starting to think the Learning Challenges Board could use a high school sub-forum.

[Trilliums]

For one low math test score, DS arrange to meet with the teacher and go over his mistakes. She showed him ways to cut down on the time needed to do each problem which proved helpful as he is usually a slow but methodical worker. Just gaining a better understanding of exactly why he was getting problems wrong helped too. But, I can also tell you that at first DS came home feeling all the stupider for his mistakes, but eventually he used the info to strengthen his math scores.

 

Have you all tried the SAT Question of the Day? When they first started, my kids had their share of frustrations, but over time they have grown so much better at answering the questions. At first we would do them all together and discuss them before even trying to answer. Now they do them on their own, usually several on the weekend.

 

Has he tried any of the Standard Deviants videos? They might be a bit outdated but some of them were good for my kids. A few years ago we watched the SAT one and it was on older SAT versions, but it was still helpful to my kids in the way they approach the questions.

 

Does he watch any online classes? Last year DS took comp sci 101 on coursera.org

https://www.coursera.org/course/cs101

and this year he is taking AP Comp Sci at the high school and doing very well. But, DS is a strong auditory learner and has about exhausted our library's audio book supply. Can you start listening to lectures or audio books in the car while running errands?

 

 

FWIW, my kids also have to work hard. They have had to cut back severely on extra curricular activities to allow more time for school. They both plan on college and we have similar concerns around here. DS will dual enroll at the U next year and we are simultaneously excited and worried.