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Does anyone have any experience with having special accommodations made for taking the SAT, PSAT or ACT? My daughter just went through a whole evaluation process with a private neuropsychologist, and he diagnosed her with ADHD. She tested with a very high verbal IQ, but with deficiencies in some performance areas. She is an A-student and college-bound, but has been dreading the standardized tests because she does not do well on them.

One of the psychologist's recommendation is that she receive special accommodations when taking all standardized tests. This includes no scantron scoring sheets, no time limits, and a separate room. {I could get into the whole process of what is going on with her that makes her require such accommodations, but it would be lengthy. I would be happy to privately email anyone who really wants to know.} We are going to try some meds to see if they help her focus, so some of this may not be necessary.

Does anyone know if colleges look on these students differently? If they are high-achievers and then are accommodated and receive a high test score, do colleges like to admit them?

This is all new to me, so any experiences you can share are welcome.

By David Hawsey on Monday, June 03, 2002 - 12:28 pm: Edit

Dear Anonymommy:

I have first-hand experience with ADD/ADHD and LD gifted students. (I am also an adult with ADD).

I accepted 22 students this year (in a class of 525) with one or more diagnoses, but in particular ADD/ADHD. My office is the first stop for students and families who choose to self-declare a learning difference or medical diagnosis of a disability.

The basic information you should be aware of includes the following:

1. In general terms, it is against the law to discriminate against students seeking admission to college with any kind of disability, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), among other laws, statutes and rights. In fact, no college can deny a student who would be otherwise acceptable to them based upon that applicant having a self-declared disability. There are lots of other specific laws, facts and details, but this is the basic rule.

2. Some colleges and universities have been telling students (quietly or publically) in presentations or in private NOT to self-declare, because schools might discriminate on admisisons decisions, although you may be told some other reason. I have heard a few of these comments myself and was alarmed at the "advice" given, occasionally by admission officers at top tier schools).

3. There are overwhelming reasons why you should self-declare. Chief among them is the fact that once you have identified colleges with strong support for a specific learning or physical challenge (ADD/ADHD is a physical disability, although I consider it a gift!), you can meet personally with the supporting services and others who are there to help your daughter. It helps to bring copies of letters of diagnosis with you. They should be treated with absolute confidentiality by the college you choose to share these with. Once a student matriculates, copies of information you share are normally kept in the supporting office that works to help your daughter succeed. Outside of a handful of relevant staff, individual staff & faculty around campus don't have access to these documents, but work with the supporting staff to help develop ways to teach, assess and mentor your daughter.

My goal when meeting with families is to (a) determine whether the student can succeed at my particular college, given the level of preparation and the curriculum and co-curricular life at this school; and (b) to allow a family and their student to determine -- in their own minds -- if the support that is available is sufficient for their child's individual needs. This is a decision that is best left to the family, and supported by the college according to the level of support it can offer.

4. I usually meet privately with the student and family, and explain that we are both on a course of exploration. If everything we offer is what the student is looking for, and everything the student brings to the table (admission info, etc.) is what we are looking for, the final step is to ensure the support is there is a manner and level acceptable to both the student and the college.

5. We make every reasonable effort to accommodate students so they can achieve the level of success they are capable of. This, of course, differs from college to college. You'll have to call individual schools to get an idea of what level of support is available. And don't rely on just traditional "guides" which list schools who support students with disabilities and learning differences. Many of us don't spend the advertising dollars there - we have strong word-of-mouth as our greatest tool to attract bright, gifted kids like your daughter!

To answer your direct question with brevity, my answer is YES!! Colleges do value students like your daughter, for all the ways in which they create, contribute, think, process, grow and mature. Your job is to find the "RIGHT" school that has all the attributes you are looking for, and one that looks for the differences and treats them for what they truly are: gifts and strengths that offer diversity to the student body and insight into the individual.

No school is obligated to agree with what I just said - it is a personal philosophy that differs among the nation's 3,300 four year colleges and universities. As long as your daughter has the "right stuff" and can achieve the level of personal success she is capable of in a college environment, a college with the right level of support and willingness to work with her (and your family) should be able to look at the entire "admission portfolio" in a way that serves both our needs.

If you would like to talk about this further, please contact me at the e-mail address listed.

This might be your first time through all of this, but you are in good company!!

By stressedout on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 - 09:28 am: Edit

If you take the SAT with special accomodations, esp no time limits, is that indicated to the colleges that receive your scores?

By Anonymommy on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 - 02:04 pm: Edit

David,

Thanks for the encouraging words! The neuropsychologist who tested her is also ADHD with a doctorate from Johns Hopkins. When I posed this question to him, he said that at Johns Hopkins, probably half the professors were ADHD so he felt colleges should understand these students. Like you, I think he believes ADHD is a gift of sorts, seeing that so many very creative people have the disability.

As he put it, my daughter has been "skating by on her brains." As classes get tougher, this is going to be harder to do. With accommodations, she should be able to soar rather than struggle to fit in to the testing and classroom structure. Interestingly, she has intuitively adapted coping behaviors that have helped her this year. This was her first year in public school after being homeschooled since first grade. She has inattention ADHD, but she has learned to find reasons to get up and walk during some classes, e.g., a trip to the bathroom, so that she can come back and concentrate. She has even been known to grab a friend and say, "Let's run!" to burn off energy, help manufacture dopamine (I just found out why this works), and help her focus for the next hour. She does well socially--her friends see her as perky, bouncy, happy, and witty.

I will definitely save you email address for future reference. Thanks for your offer of help. I don't have too many questions right now, but I'm sure I'll have more as we start the admissions process at the end of next school year.

By Zita Codi on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 08:29 am: Edit

My son has been diagnosed as ADD and has difficulty with time management, organization, and standardized testing. At his first attempt at the SATs, he was not able to come anywhere close to completion on the test and received a very low score. We are considering applying for extended time. This kid WANTS to go to college and be "normal" in the eyes of his peers. Any suggestions for where to apply to college in the PA and surrounding states area? His is very good at art but is not sure that that is his life's dream. He had always set his sights on meteorology until we found out that one must be a "math genius". Unfortunately, he has always struggled at math.