The Challenge of College-Level Academics for Students with LD/ADHD

College curriculum amplifies a host of problems common to students with learning disabilities and ADHD/ADD. If you coped in high school, you may still find yourself struggling in college. It is important not to panic. You will merely have to develop new ways to adapt. You may need extra support, at least at first. You can work with the LSC staff to determine what new strategies and approaches may work for you.

These problems might include:

Reading Comprehension.  You may find yourself reading at a slow rate or re-reading materials several times. You may have trouble identifying the main point of the articles or ideas may be confusing. College reading requirements will be both longer and more complex than in high school. Students who experienced difficulty with phonetic awareness in the early grades, often report difficulty with college level reading.

Written Expression.  Organizational demands of writing papers that require synthesis of ideas and analysis is difficult if you have too many ideas, or too few. The technical aspects of writing (spelling, punctuation and syntax) are demanding.

Science and Mathematics.  Learning the steps in an equation or scientific process will be critical. Knowing the steps well enough to reproduce them from memory or recombine them to look at the problem or process in a new way is expected.

Memory.  Auditory and visual memory are critical to learning. The rate and amount of new information and new vocabulary mean that problems in either short-term memory or long-term memory can impact college performance.

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