Post by christie on Jul 26, 2004 21:34:22 GMT -5
This was an article in our Sunday paper and the colleges they speak of are right her in Jersey, very cool....
Sunday, July 25, 2004
By PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER
High school was a "huge struggle,'' and her SAT scores were "horrific." But Lia Lamela, who struggles with dyslexia, is determined to make a go of it in college.
"Your disability should give you more drive to do what others say you can't," Lamela said.
She is one of 20 incoming college freshmen with learning disabilities who completed a two-week college preparation seminar at Fairleigh thingyinson University last week.
The program is run by FDU's Regional Center for College Students With Learning Disabilities. It provides support - in the form of intensive counseling, tutoring, and technology - to learning-disabled students throughout their college careers.
"The support and encouragement I got down here changed my outlook; it gave me the motivation I needed,'' said Veronica Lohmann, who graduated from FDU with a degree in elementary education in May. Lohmann, who has a perceptual impairment, is set to begin student teaching in Morris County in September.
Over the past two decades, colleges and universities have increasingly opened their doors to students who, before that, would not have been considered "college material."
In the 1970s, special-education programs were introduced to aid students with learning disabilities in elementary and secondary schools. By the 1990s, students who had benefited were approaching college age and, coupled with the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, there was more pressure for accommodations in higher education as well.
Federal law calls for reasonable accommodations for people with learning disabilities, and colleges and universities have responded to varying degrees. Most generally provide tutoring and allow for extended test-taking time. Open admissions schools like community colleges often find themselves in the forefront.
Bergen Community College in Paramus is now home to the state's largest program for learning-disabled students, including those who are deaf and blind. The college has about 1,500 students with learning disabilities, double the number it had five years ago, said Nancy Carr, the director.
The FDU program has been around for nearly 20 years and generally receives about 250 applications for 50 freshman slots. In all, 200 students at the Teaneck and Madison campuses use it each year. They come to the center most days to meet with tutors and counselors who help them stay on track.
They are also trained in the use of assistive technologies. At the seminar last week, for instance, Lamela learned how to use software that turns text to the spoken word, a great study tool for someone with reading difficulties. The center also has speaking dictionaries, thesauri, and grammar guides.
"This is the first time I've been exposed to any of these programs and it's so beneficial,'' said Lamela. "These programs have been showing me how to make it."
Learning disabilities encompass disorders that affect people's ability to interpret what they hear and see. Some students have difficulty with reading and language, others with math or motor skills such as writing. Attention deficit disorder is also considered a learning disability. All can be addressed with various strategies: for instance, a visual learner needs more pictures and graphics to understand concepts, while mnemonic devices might help a student with short-term memory problems learn a math concept. Accommodations - such as allowing students to use a word processor during a test - help some students.
Students in the FDU program, who often need highly structured plans and schedules to succeed, were coached on time-management and study skills. In the seminar, they learned how to pre-read textbook chapters and to identify their learning styles.
"I'm more visual,'' said Lamela. "I have to convert things to pictures to understand the words."
Because of their disabilities, studying often takes them twice as long.
"We have to provide them with strategies and tools to make up for the skills they are missing," said Vincent Verrassi, director of the program
How cool is that and just think when our kids are older how even better it will be
CC
Sunday, July 25, 2004
By PATRICIA ALEX
STAFF WRITER
High school was a "huge struggle,'' and her SAT scores were "horrific." But Lia Lamela, who struggles with dyslexia, is determined to make a go of it in college.
"Your disability should give you more drive to do what others say you can't," Lamela said.
She is one of 20 incoming college freshmen with learning disabilities who completed a two-week college preparation seminar at Fairleigh thingyinson University last week.
The program is run by FDU's Regional Center for College Students With Learning Disabilities. It provides support - in the form of intensive counseling, tutoring, and technology - to learning-disabled students throughout their college careers.
"The support and encouragement I got down here changed my outlook; it gave me the motivation I needed,'' said Veronica Lohmann, who graduated from FDU with a degree in elementary education in May. Lohmann, who has a perceptual impairment, is set to begin student teaching in Morris County in September.
Over the past two decades, colleges and universities have increasingly opened their doors to students who, before that, would not have been considered "college material."
In the 1970s, special-education programs were introduced to aid students with learning disabilities in elementary and secondary schools. By the 1990s, students who had benefited were approaching college age and, coupled with the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, there was more pressure for accommodations in higher education as well.
Federal law calls for reasonable accommodations for people with learning disabilities, and colleges and universities have responded to varying degrees. Most generally provide tutoring and allow for extended test-taking time. Open admissions schools like community colleges often find themselves in the forefront.
Bergen Community College in Paramus is now home to the state's largest program for learning-disabled students, including those who are deaf and blind. The college has about 1,500 students with learning disabilities, double the number it had five years ago, said Nancy Carr, the director.
The FDU program has been around for nearly 20 years and generally receives about 250 applications for 50 freshman slots. In all, 200 students at the Teaneck and Madison campuses use it each year. They come to the center most days to meet with tutors and counselors who help them stay on track.
They are also trained in the use of assistive technologies. At the seminar last week, for instance, Lamela learned how to use software that turns text to the spoken word, a great study tool for someone with reading difficulties. The center also has speaking dictionaries, thesauri, and grammar guides.
"This is the first time I've been exposed to any of these programs and it's so beneficial,'' said Lamela. "These programs have been showing me how to make it."
Learning disabilities encompass disorders that affect people's ability to interpret what they hear and see. Some students have difficulty with reading and language, others with math or motor skills such as writing. Attention deficit disorder is also considered a learning disability. All can be addressed with various strategies: for instance, a visual learner needs more pictures and graphics to understand concepts, while mnemonic devices might help a student with short-term memory problems learn a math concept. Accommodations - such as allowing students to use a word processor during a test - help some students.
Students in the FDU program, who often need highly structured plans and schedules to succeed, were coached on time-management and study skills. In the seminar, they learned how to pre-read textbook chapters and to identify their learning styles.
"I'm more visual,'' said Lamela. "I have to convert things to pictures to understand the words."
Because of their disabilities, studying often takes them twice as long.
"We have to provide them with strategies and tools to make up for the skills they are missing," said Vincent Verrassi, director of the program
How cool is that and just think when our kids are older how even better it will be
CC
