The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
Determination paves difficult path to college
More special-needs students seeking studies with support
By Kay Lazar, Globe Correspondent | March 30, 2006
The question is not whether Christine Logan will head off to college,
but rather which passion she will pursue.
The Wakefield teenager became fascinated with forensics after getting
hooked on the TV crime show ''CSI" and now thinks law enforcement might
be the way to go. But Logan, 16, also is captivated by children -- she
is the most popular baby sitter on the block -- and is considering a
teaching career, too.
One factor is certain. Logan, who has dyslexia, will have to navigate a
difficult path in her search for the perfect school. But she is
determined.
''I don't think you should limit what you can do because you have a
certain disorder," said Logan, who is an honor-roll student, soccer
player, and passionate shoe shopper.
While once it was uncommon to see special-needs students heading off to
college, sweeping changes in civil rights laws since the 1970s and more
recent medical advances have combined to open the gates of higher
education, according to the US Department of Education. Over the past
two decades, the percentage of college-bound young adults with
disabilities more than doubled nationwide, from 15 percent in 1987 to
32 percent in 2003, the latest data available from the department.
With more disabled students choosing higher education, educators and
advocates say they are increasingly facing questions from families
about the very different services and sets of rules students face when
they enter college. While federal law entitles children with
disabilities to a publicly financed education through high school --
complete with tutors, evaluations, and additional supports -- the laws
do not require colleges and other post-secondary schools to provide the
same services.
Instead, students are required to take the lead, identifying themselves
as disabled, documenting their disabilities, and identifying the
services they will need. Then, colleges and vocational schools are
required only to provide ''appropriate academic adjustments as
necessary" to ensure they do not discriminate on the basis of
disability. Some colleges charge extra for some services, such as
tutoring.
''Higher education, in general, is considered a privilege," said Carrie
Kutny, enrollment services counselor at Northern Essex Community
College in Haverhill.
''On the high school level, teachers are required to alter their
teaching style in some way to accommodate students with special needs,
whereas a college professor is not required to do that."
Over the past four years, Northern Essex has recorded a 53 percent
increase in the number of students with documented disabilities who
sought extra help from the Learning Accommodations Center at the
college's Haverhill and Lawrence campuses. The help, including
note-takers, classroom aides, and special computer software, is
provided at no charge to eligible students.
Claudette Logan is nervous about the prospect of her daughter leaving a
system where help is readily available for her dyslexia, especially
considering Christine's recent introduction to the college application
process.
Christine, a sophomore at Wakefield High School, took the Preliminary
Scholastic Achievement Test in October and did poorly. Under the rules,
a student with dyslexia can ask for accommodations, such as having
someone read the test out loud and receiving extra time to complete the
exam. But the Logans were not aware of that.
Now, they have filed the necessary paperwork for Christine to receive
help during future college entrance exams. And they are aggressively
seeking information about the application process for special-needs
students.
''I don't know what other kinds of things we may need to file for or
do, but I don't want to wait," said Claudette Logan.
In Boxford, Lisa Anastos is helping her son, Nicholas, consider his
options. Nicholas, 17, a junior at Masconomet Regional High School, has
been diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder. He has trouble
connecting concepts, like relating one event in history with another.
He also has a language disorder that makes it difficult for him to
remember names.
''I know Nicholas really wants to go to college; he has a real hunger
for learning," Anastos said.
But learning does not come easily for Nicholas. Last fall, he signed up
for a driver education course, which met four times a week and covered
three chapters weekly. He failed, and signed up again.
''It took studying with him an hour and a half a day, seven days a
week, and he passed the darn thing," Anastos said. ''He is determined.
He loves science. He loves history. He knows lots of factual things.
His favorite channel is the History Channel."
Yet a four-year college probably would be overwhelming for Nicholas,
Anastos said.
''Even North Shore Community College, with a boatload of courses all at
once, I don't see him doing," she said. ''I could see him doing one or
two courses with a lot of support."
Right now, the family is awaiting updated neurological tests that may
better determine which path Nicholas seeks.
Updated evaluations are important for special-needs students who are
considering higher education because most colleges and vocational
schools require current documentation of a disability in order for a
student to be eligible for accommodations, such as extra time during
exams, priority registration, and reduced course loads.
Federal law requires that high schools provide special education
students with a kind of blueprint for life after graduation, called
transition planning. The law requires the planning to be part of a
student's Individualized Education Program, a key document that spells
out annual goals and describes how those goals will be measured.
But special needs students are not the only ones who can struggle with
transition planning. Their parents often do, too, specialists say.
Many have worked hard to get an accurate diagnosis and the necessary
services for their child, then worked hard for years helping them study
through high school.
''There is always that push and pull, to promote the greatest amount of
growth but also the greatest amount of independence," said Debra
Bromfield, special-education director at the Masconomet Regional School
District in Boxford. ''Our goal in education is to give students all
the tools that they need so they can implement them themselves to be
successful."
While special-needs students and their families might be tempted to
consider colleges largely based on the services they can provide,
specialists say it is a mistake to cast such a narrow net. Their advice
is to look at the whole package, including the academics, athletics,
extracurricular programs, and special-needs services, because
ultimately that will provide a better match.
Consider the experience of Amy O'Dowd, 19, a avid cross-country runner
who has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. She graduated from
Masconomet last year. O'Dowd scrutinized the programs and special-needs
services at five colleges before settling on New England College in
Henniker, N.H., where she receives free tutoring but must pay for extra
mentoring services.
Her reason for finally selecting New England College?
''I liked the cross-country program."
For more information about postsecondary education planning, visit
about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html or the National
Center on Secondary Education and Transition at .
Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@
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