My dyslexic/ADHD son is considering colleges where a student can take one class at a time. Each class lasts 3 weeks, going from Monday-Thursday. By the end of the year, the student has taken as many credits/courses as at any other school. The idea is that he need only focus on one class, simplify his schedule, have less time management issues to work out, and bond with teacher and classmates sooner (rather than, say, forgetting to go to class before anyone would even know him enough to notice he was misssing...)
The schools he's looking at which are organized this way are Cornell College in Iowa and Colorado College.
Does anyone have experience with either school?
Are there other, similar colleges to consider?
Any advice would be so welcome. I sincerely think a school like this is his only hope of success. (His older brother went to his dream college, but still managed to flunk out because of Executive Functioning problems and getting lost when he took required courses, as opposed to the ones he was passionate about...)
Huge thanks!
My older daughter, who
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
My older daughter, who perhaps has ADHD, went to a university that has a program in which most or all classes can be taken with untraditional grading, meaning that for each course, if the instructor consents (which most of them do), the student and instructor write a contract for how the student's work will be graded. She loved it and she thrived.
May I ask what college that is?
Submitted by CosmicJoke on
The program is a "school
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
The program is a "school within a school," the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, which is part of the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California.
My Two Bits Looking Back
Submitted by kellyj on
Hi Cosmic Joke,
Looking at what you said about the kind of program you are considering....without question I think this would be a good one for someone with ADHD. I think the most important reason for this is something that you did not mention (or was told to you) in why this is. Looking back when I went to a traditional 4 years undergraduate school (U of Oregon....go Ducks! lol ) I had to really work this differently to survive and make it through...the big problem for me....switching gears from one class to the next in concession ( 1 to 11/2 hrs long each) with little time in between for some going directly to the next class. After 3 or 4 or these in a row.....I was mentally exhausted and overloaded with information. It started out with the first class Okay....but by the third or fourth class I was a mental Zombie and could barely take in any more information at that time. I would come back to my dorm....eat lunch and sleep for 2 -3 hours into the middle of the afternoon everyday to recover. If I didn't do this....there was no way I could study or read the homework material each day like I was required to do. I would then study until 10:00pm or 11:00pm at night....and then if I was lucky on a good night would go to sleep shortly after that. As these things use to go....sleep (not every night but ) many times was substituted for socializing and drinking late into the night back then at least. Unless kids have changed dramatically.....this would still be my expectation for someone of that age away from home at least to a certain degree? Possibly not....... but it seemed to be a common thing at least where I lived in a group setting like this. Just say'in.
Aside from any extra curricular activity as I mentioned....I still had to sleep off the mental exhaustion of a normal full schedule class load each day just to be able to study and do the required school work necessary.
The main point here that I am trying to make is that my day was full from morning until late night including my required sleep in the afternoon (10 to 12 hrs or sleep per day and night) just to make it through which I managed to do but I also did not have to work during school and instead saved up during the summer months and worked as much as possible at that time.to help pay for school.
This schedule was a grind that did nothing for my ADHD. Also....shifting from one class to another definitely was hard and usually always one class each term suffered and I didn't do well in as a rule. This mixing different types of classes and material at random times that constantly changed plus the non stop timing of the classes themselves was a real challenge. There were odd terms/semesters where this varied to only 2 or 3 classes at a time (larger blocks spread out more time with labs etc..) where I did much better and retained more information overall with better grades.
Without question as I read this thinking.....I only did poorly in some classes over others because of the schedule, the amount of time required without a break and the inconsistency and shifting from one topic to the next in concession. When it came right down to learning the material and doing well on tests......it was never a question of my ability to focus or concentrate and retain what I learned (capacity and ability to learn ). No problem.
The upside to this was that it forced me to do the other things you mentioned in keeping track of time, scheduling and staying in a routine like this. This did help me learn to do this better and helped me later in life but it was a trade off with not learning as much or as well for the very thing that you go to college to learn?
I think this approach sounds better.....you can learn routine and these other skills anywhere at anytime with the same effort applied.
J
Good idea. Check the details of the classes, with both
Submitted by Bou (not verified) on
Both places have, and have had, a good general rep.
I'd definitely inquire further regarding how those classes are set up, to see if the way that they are set up will obviously match or not match the way that your son proceeds to learn and remember things.
I say this because now some time ago, I taught in an institution of higher ed that had some more unusual features in how it delivered classes. There as well, the time over which a class stretched was shorter. But that raised the pressure on students not to get sick, not to goof off, not to get behind. It was definitely more stressful on the students, to pack the content of a course for which the national certifying bodies say that a whole university-level course was completed, into considerably fewer weeks. Definitely more stressful! And once a student got behind for any reason, there was no catching up. No time! In that institution, many more students got stress & exhaustion illnesses: colds, flu, than I've seen in colleges/universities that stretch out a course for the full semester.
I don't want to scare you away, only urge you to find out considerably more about how those institutions reach national standards for learned content of a course (they will; they're great institutions).
Are the students in class in that one subject an hour a day? Four hours of class per day? Six? How would your son do, being in "intake mode" that many hours a day? Etc.
If it were me as parent, I'd make a bee-line, via the telephone, to the Student help and tutoring service at both places, and ask
a) how people with your son's needs actually do in this kind of a short course;
and b) what special help do they need.
Universities and colleges all have these services. There are a lot of "special needs" students taking university classes these days, a lot. Accommodations are made. The services will know to answer your questions, and will very likely (given the stats we're reading in the paper for numbers of young people with ADHD) be able to talk witih you specifically about how people witih your son's needs get through.
If you strike out getting more concrete answers concerning the stress, pacing, alternative ways of approach, from the student help service, contact the dean's office with the same questions, or if your son has an idea of what he might like to major in, or take classes in, contact the the head of that department, asking how does a student with X, Y, Z needs do, taking a course in this subject in the 3 week format.
Best wishes
Yep, That Pressure = Anxiety
Submitted by kellyj on
Not a good thing to add into trying to learn and remember having ADHD.
Also...now remembering.....I found a work around to this. I took one night class every term to spread this out which created more space between classes for the rest of the week. This I found worked excellently with great results. This goes right back to the scheduling and how the classes were delivered.
I concur 100%
J
Think about learning style, too
Submitted by MelissaOrlov on
Some people do better with auditory, visual or experiential learning styles. For some with ADHD, the experiential style (i.e. hands on doing stuff) is most engaging...for others it doesn't matter.
I know a number of kids who have gone to Colorado (neuro-typical) and loved it, though I think it would be wise to consider if your son could get outside support to make sure he stays on task. My daughter, who went to Bates, had a 'short term' semester of 5 weeks one term a year...some of the courses in short term were just a couple of classes a week with lots of outside learning...which required her to stay on task and be organized...you get the idea.
The first year of college is a tough time for kids with ADHD and different learning styles. Go for the college that seems to best engage kids and that has good resource support systems for those with ADHD. Shorter terms might be the answer, but I suspect there are other options, as well. The Hallowell Center in Sudbury, MA has a specialist who works with kids trying to help them with figuring out what colleges are a good fit. They also used to have a newsletter for college aged kids with ADHD...
If you want some hands on college prep, I believe you can get that from Landmark College, which specializes in helping kids with learning differences (incl. ADHD) learn how to organize themselves and stay on task in a college environment. And I think they have a summer session, though you would need to look into the details.
Most Definitely.. Excellent Point
Submitted by kellyj on
I for one do not do well learning strictly auditory. Hands on or visual even better. Lecture style with a teacher of professor sitting on the edge of their desk talking with no visual aids or examples on the chalk board or monitor screen make it extremely difficult for me to follow and learn this way for very long. It is a night and day difference between one style to another in my ability to follow and commit information to memory and having to stay focused and listen for any length of time. This is so much more important than either scheduling or focusing on just one subject at a time. The mental exhaustion has more to do with this than anything else. Done in a visual or hands on style.....the amount of time or even number of subjects is almost irrelevant.
Under those conditions for me.....I can be in a classroom setting for 8 hours or even longer in a single day and still be able to follow and retain most everything without a problem. As long as there are short breaks every hour or so ( 5 minutes or less )...I can do this indefinitely. Compared to what I said about having to sleep 2 or 3 hours everyday instead in the traditional lecture teaching style.....that's what a difference this makes in my ability to learn and remember things depending on the style it is presented. Now that you mentioned this.....it would be the first place I would look myself in making this kind of decision.
J
college options for adhd students
Submitted by lulu18 on
check out Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. It is not inexepnsive, but programs are tailored for students with adhd and learning disabilities that sometimes accompany adhd. Also Florida Gulf Coast College. I believe it is in Fort Meyers, Florida. Good luck!