LD: college student?

[cjcouple]

My son is a freshman at a university that's not too far. I've always suspected he may have slow processing or possible inattentive ADHD but he's always managed ok.

He had Selectice mutism until high school growing up so that took center stage so to speak.

Anyway, he has overcome his SM but he was saying how he is having trouble taking notes and often gets lost in lectures. Same with reading, he often feel lost and overwhelmed.

Despite these struggles, he says "he's doing better than in HS". We will see in about 4 weeks. lol

Anyone have any advice where to start?
He's found a feature on his laptop that reads his text to him and it helps.

I mentioned recording lessons but a couple professors are very anti devices. He's going to talk to one and ask permission to record for note taking.

I do want to pursue an official diagnosis at this point but I don't know where to start? he just turned 18 and he is still a patient at the pediatrician (she said she keeps college kids until 21/22 or so).

If nothing else, just to get him straightened out so he be allowed a recording device legally you know?

[Jalapeñomel]

He should visit the Office of Disability Services on campus to see if they can help.

[bex1973]

Nov 11, 2024 14:40:33 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

He should visit the Office of Disability Services on campus to see if they can help.

Exactly this. Some campuses call it Accessibility Services as well.  Relatively few campuses are set up to do actual testing but could potentially do an initial screen and then refer out if needed.  If he gets official documentation they will help set up accommodations and communicate with faculty.

Just know they have to provide *reasonable* accommodations which has some gray area that can sometimes be frustrating. I did a few years in this work and there are a TON of great options to pursue for success. 

[jennistarr1]

I work in a college disability office

Did he receive any accommodations in high school

we do require "some" documentation of the disability, but don't hesitate to start the process, we definitely tend to be more helping than restrictive

[cjcouple]

Nov 11, 2024 14:51:30 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

I work in a college disability office

Did he receive any accommodations in high school

we do require "some" documentation of the disability, but don't hesitate to start the process, we definitely tend to be more helping than restrictive

504 in 9th and 10th for his SM. he didn't really access the accommodations at all in high school since he started verbal so we ended it.

[cjcouple]

thanks, I'll have him check in there.

[devonpow]

This doesn’t answer your exact question, but I would also have him look into the academic help/tutoring services. A lot of that help can be with more executive functioning type issues, and college lectures and work can be really different than high school so they are used to helping kids navigate things like effective note taking. I don’t have a college student yet, but we are in the thick of visits and applying and all the tours we have been on emphasized the easily accessible academic help they encourage students to take advantage of.

In the dark ages of the 1990s when I was in college I tutored under classmen and I feel a lot of it was really just teaching good study skills

[daisyduck]

Just wanted to say that I am neurotypical and often got lost and had trouble taking notes in college lectures. If you zone out for just a few moments, it can be hard to catch back up. I still struggle to take notes and listen at the same time. Get him some help if you can, but that alone doesn't really set off any alarm bells to me. Maybe encourage him to make friends in his classes and they can compare notes and fill in gaps for each other.

[rhian]

I'm a college professor. Many first year college students struggle to adjust to lectures and reading in college, because they are often much faster paced than high school, and require a lot more independent work. That's not to say that your son might not be having some specific challenges if he is neurodivergent, but it might help you/him to know that this is a very common challenge among all new college students.

That being said, I think the suggestion to talk with the accessibility office makes a lot of sense - even if he does not qualify for official accommodations (or if the process takes some time), they might be able to direct him to resources. For instance, my institution subscribes to a service that converts files into formats that allow them to be read aloud (among other things), which is available to all students and faculty. Also, while having official accommodations requires that his professors provide these, there is nothing stopping them from doing so even without them. It sounds like he's on the right track with asking for permission from one of his professors to record the lecture, and I'd encourage him to consider doing the same with his other classes if he thinks it is helpful. Another thing he might ask for is if they are willing to share any lecture slides they use. I make mine available to all students, and many faculty do not have a problem with this, especially after class (some prefer not to share beforehand).

Does he have an advisor, peer mentor, or even just an older student he trusts? He might reach out to them to see if they have advice or tips. He might also consider meeting with or attending office hours of his professors - they may be able to give discipline-specific tips (and it might also prompt them to be clearer in their lectures, etc)

Other tips and advice I might give a student like him:
- Is he taking notes on paper or on a laptop? I often suggest that students take paper notes. There's often a tendency to try to transcribe a lecture if taking notes on a laptop, and students end up focusing on the words rather than the meaning of them. Since transcribing is completely impossible when writing on paper, you have to make more active choices about what to write down, which can encourage more engagement and understanding.

- Similarly, is he reading on paper or on his computer? I similarly suggest reading on paper when possible - there's some research to suggest that comprehension is better on paper vs. a screen.

- When reading, is he using active reading strategies? I give my students a handout with tips similar to this: mcgraw.princeton.edu/undergraduates/resources/resource-library/active-reading-strategies. I particularly emphasize avoiding highlighters with my students, and share with them that I became a much better reader when I switched from highlighters to using a pen.

- Does he have friends/acquaintances in his classes? He might consider studying with them.

[raleighnc]

DD1 is in high school, but has trouble taking notes and listening at the same time. Her accommodations include copies of lecture notes/slides so she can take notes directly on them, and basically any information that the teacher wants them to know/take notes on has to be provided for her. Many of my professors a million years ago had us pick up copies of their slides at the copy shops or they were sold as packets in the bookstore.

You also may want to investigate any study skills classes/resources for kids with ADHD and learning disabilities. DD1 did a camp at our local universities psycho-educational department taught by grad students, and they learned a lot of good strategies like SQ3R for active reading as well as organizational skills. www.teachthought.com/literacy/what-is-sq3r-definition-for-teachers/

You can ask the pediatrician to do an assessment for ADHD and mood disorders (usually a questionnaire for the parents and one from someone from another setting if possible - a teacher, scout leader, etc.). SM is an anxiety disorder, right? Anxiety also makes it difficult to absorb information and learn. Digging deeper into other potential learning disabilities is more costly and time-consuming (because they aren't considered mental health conditions like ADHD and anxiety), but obviously not as costly as struggling in college.

He can also ask the office of disability services about having teachers record themselves while lecturing or other options. My DD's district (again, K-12, so it's different) has a policy against students recording, but if a student needs an audio version of a lecture, they will provide equipment for the teachers to record and then upload the files. 

[sent]

Why can’t students record lectures? Or do you guys mean students can’t video the lectures so they can’t have full access to the slides? We used to record the audio for lectures in the 1900s and early 2000s. I assumed these days anyone could easily record the audio with a phone just sitting on the desk.

[cjcouple]

thank you everyone. I appreciate the direction and feedback.

[mccallister84]

Nov 12, 2024 7:13:45 GMT -5 sent said:

Why can’t students record lectures? Or do you guys mean students can’t video the lectures so they can’t have full access to the slides? We used to record the audio for lectures in the 1900s and early 2000s. I assumed these days anyone could easily record the audio with a phone just sitting on the desk.

Well in some states recording people without their consent is illegal.

[cjcouple]

Nov 12, 2024 7:13:45 GMT -5 sent said:

Why can’t students record lectures? Or do you guys mean students can’t video the lectures so they can’t have full access to the slides? We used to record the audio for lectures in the 1900s and early 2000s. I assumed these days anyone could easily record the audio with a phone just sitting on the desk.

I'm not exactly sure what the direction was but one professor will not even allow laptops for note taking. He doesn't want to even see a device.

I'm guessing if DS asks permission to use an old school audio recording device, he would be ok with it, if he explains the struggles he's having. I think he's nervous to ask tbh.

He's meeting with that professor today to discuss a project he is doing in that class. Hopefully he advocates and asks.

[stemmie]

My brother, ASD/ADHD, found the Disability Services departments at his 2 schools a mixed bag. One was very helpful in terms of suggesting more accommodating instructors and assistive technology. The other, a large public university with a highly regarded University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, was useless for his needs.

One of DS's ADHD/APD friends used an electronic pen that records audio as he took notes and then played back the audio captured when the note is touched later. I think he got it on Amazon.

[bex1973]

Nov 12, 2024 7:13:45 GMT -5 sent said:

Why can’t students record lectures? Or do you guys mean students can’t video the lectures so they can’t have full access to the slides? We used to record the audio for lectures in the 1900s and early 2000s. I assumed these days anyone could easily record the audio with a phone just sitting on the desk.

To protect intellectual property

[bex1973]

Nov 11, 2024 18:11:11 GMT -5 devonpow said:

This doesn’t answer your exact question, but I would also have him look into the academic help/tutoring services. A lot of that help can be with more executive functioning type issues, and college lectures and work can be really different than high school so they are used to helping kids navigate things like effective note taking. I don’t have a college student yet, but we are in the thick of visits and applying and all the tours we have been on emphasized the easily accessible academic help they encourage students to take advantage of.

In the dark ages of the 1990s when I was in college I tutored under classmen and I feel a lot of it was really just teaching good study skills

This is a good suggestion.  One my campus we have Learning Strategies tutors. They work individually with each student to determine what they need to focus on.

[cjcouple]

He spoke with professor and he did not want him recording the lectures. He said there's only a couple more anyway. So he will just do his best. I did suggest he go speak with the student support center to ask for help note taking.

[lab7979]

The university my kids attend has a learning center that offers academic coaching. I actually just told my kid he needs to sign up to speak with a coach. They also offer workshops and classes. They are supposed to help them with study skills and tackling motivation and procrastination issues. I'm hoping it helps. If anything similar is offered at your sons school, maybe they could offer help.