How can an LD adult balance college and work?
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2005
What are the issues for an adult with learning disabilities going back to or starting college while trying to hold down a job?
Being an adult student in a class full of youngsters is one thing, but being an LD adult student who has a hard time learning in a classroom setting adds a lot more potential stress to the situation. Fold in a full or part time job in addition and the stress level and potential for depression gets very high.
What’s your experience in this area? How are you coping, what is your advice for other LD adults thinking of going back to college or starting a college career as adults?
I am a 43 year old adult who was lost in public school in the 60’s and 70’s. My teacher’s had given up on me so I had given up on myself at a eary age. I was told I would never make it in college and my only future was as a bagger in the local supermarker.
But I did go college after high school and earned a associate degree in ECE. I worked as a daycare teacher till anxiety and depression that I had sinse childhood overtook me 7 years ago. Now I am recoverying and am getting my second associate degree in Human services and next fall I will be earning my BS in Liberal studies and geronotology. The problem is I still have very low self esteen and have difficulties in writing and spelling. But I am determine to accomplish my goals. I plan on getting a part time job in May working with the elderly. I have not worked in 7 and half years.
Sounds like a great plan and I’ll bet you’ll be wonderfully empathetic when working with elderly people.
As you do that job and make connections there I’ll bet your self-esteem gets stronger. Then, the next step would be to transfer that new confidence into another area, then another.
Start small and keep your expectations realistic and things will grow.
Hey, it’s spring, growing season!
I sometimes think of heading back to school so I’ve thought thru how difficult it would be! I really respect data for doing it.
Geronotics seems to be a growing field. I hope you find you enjoy your work in that field. Let us know how it goes.
Barb
Wow, can I identify with your story! I’m a little older than you are but too struggled in school during the 60’s. My first grade teacher told my parents I was retarded and couldn’t learn. (Luckily, my father didn’t believe it). I didn’t learn to read until the end of 3rd grade.
I constantly battle low self-esteem, too. Unfortunately, I think it goes with the territory. What you need to realize is that you “learn differently” and probably don’t think the same way others do. Another term for that is divergent thinking, and oh, hey, that’s a positive! You probably tend to be creative too. That’s how many people with LD survive. I’m betting you have a whole bag of tricks to help you cope. That, believe it or not, is a hidden gift that will see you through all kinds of difficulties.
As for not being able to write or spell- Oh yeah, been there, done that, got the T-shirt, wore it out three time. Spelling and not writing what I think I’m writing are my biggest nemisis(es?). I’m an elementary teacher and an author so it smacks me in the face everyday of my life. Buy yourself a hand held spell-checker and use it. It works better than a computer spellchecker because you actually “learn” to spell with it. Also find a good proofreader to check out everything you write.
There is a wonderful book called “Learning Outside the Lines” by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole that you might find helpful. One of the authors has LD and the other ADHD and both went to Ivy league schools. It tells you how to get through college when you have LD or ADHD. It’s a great book! In the meantime, keep in mind that a learning disability often is a hidden gift, AND YOU GO GIRL!
Data I sympathize with your disabilities, I went through the same experiences you did as a child, yet at 23 years old, I feel such a dumb a$#$ for not having taken the Basic Arithmetic course provided at my community college as a starting course into the eventual completion of the required math credits needed for an associates degree, so I do not possess anything higher than a high school diploma. There were also other deterrents which kept me from getting my associates including a brief tour of duty in the US Army, until my views on the goverment became too far to the LEFT for my commander’s comfort, and a trip across America train hopping. For a year I was a member of the Communist Party until I began researching more into the failure of communism in the USSR and Cuba, then changed my political affiliation to Democratic Socialist. Trotsky had a good idea and I still believe his system would have worked. So that’s me. Just wanted to let you know, you’re not alone out there.
Hi, I’m a 21 year old that just started college a year ago, and I’m on my 4th semester. Sick of going to school without a break, so it’s a good thing I’m about to flunk out.
I cannot write more than a 3 sentence answer, so I am not able to pass my English 2010 class. If anyone else here is in the same boat as me, please email. I would love to find as many people as possible while I try to figure out what I need to do to achieve my goals.
First of all conratulations on have the courage to take on college! It sounds like you are a very self-motivated person and that’s what it takes. It also sounds like you need to take a break as soon as the semester is over or you will burn yourself out! THere is a book that might be of great use to you called “Learning Outside the Lines” IT’s written by two Ivy League college students, one with ADHD and one with L.D. It’s a great handbook on how to get through college. Chapter 7 is entitled “Writing, writing, writing.” You can get it from Amazon.com.
Also check with your guidence office. Many colleges have support services for people with Learning Disabilities. THey may be able to help you. You might also want to check out the tutoring program. Chances are you can find someone who can help you through.
Now then about your difficulties in your English class. WHy can’t you write more than three sentences? Is it because you don’t have the words in your head or because you have trouble getting the answers on paper? If it is the later, then all you need is a tape recorder. Tape your answer/paper then transcribe it word by word if you have to. There also vocie recognition software packages out there (Dragon Naturally speaking is one) that might be of use to you. Once you train it to your voice, all you have to do is talk and the computer types in your words.
If it’s because you don’t have the words in your head (or because you have too many and can’t sort them out) what you need is a way to organize your thoughts. You might try free wrting which is a free flow of ideas form your brain onto the paper. Turn on some music (Mozart is the best for creative stimulation), set a timer for3 minutes then write. Once you start you can’t stop until the timer goes off. Try don’t have to focus on the topic of your paper. You can write about what a stupid thing this is to do. Basically what it does is open the channels and jump starts your creativity. Once you get use to the exercise you can start workking on your topic. What you will wind up with is a string of ideas that yo can pick and choose from. Try organizing them into a sequence that makes sense. Neither of these ideas may work for you but it gives you a place to start. Good luck
Data,
If you are returning to school, English classes may be a good resource to polish your grammar, writing, reading and comprehension. Once in class, ask questions, and insist that the teacher explains the subject matter well. If the class is too simple or hard still , adjust up or down a level or two until you are in the right class.
You have a right to an education even if disabled. I suggest you use those rights, and are assertive, ask plenty of the institution. It is well paid to serve your needs.
Much like some of you, I too had trouble in school. I am also 43 years old and was the first in my family to attempt college. I had terrible anxiety problems and a devastating fear of failure. I dropped out my junior year and headed for multiple low paying, hard working jobs. i started coming to my senses at age 27 and went in the military looking at optons such as a military education in computer repair and/or GI bill. I did get out of the service and finished my degree, but not with out other assistance. I began reading about people with my disability and went to a doctor. At age 35, I was given medication to help with that anxiety. I now have a masters degree, and am working on a doctorate while working full time in my field.
Point being, many people with disabilities go undiagnosed. It is difficult to self diagnose if the diagnosis relates to the disability itself!
Hopefully this will help someone with similar problems…
It will, thanks for posting. It’s very useful to know what’s going on, or at least make an attempt to and then put that information to use. Sounds like you’ve done just that.
I’m sure that many people with learning disabilities are more disabled by anxiety and depression than the actual learning issues. For me growing up the social stigma of being different affected my self-esteem more than the “mechanical” parts of my learning disability (reading and writing problems).
I can sympathize with many of the postings written on this website. Since the very first day I started school in kindergarten, to my senior year in high school, a barely got by. I had to attend summer school every single year of my high school tenure. I was placed in special classes for students who had difficulties with comprehension. I was pushed through every grade until eventually graduating by the skin of my teeth.
After high school I joined the military hoping to find some sort of direction. The only thing I excelled at in high school was athletics. With this in mind, I joined the infantry hoping that my physical toughness and leadership skills learned from sports would some how help me to excel in my new job. I was right, and all of a sudden I was flying through the ranks, while securing a squad leader position as a corporal with only one year in the service. However, this boost of confidence was about to be destroyed when it was time to take the next promotion to sergeant. I was sent to a school to be promoted, which was mostly academic based. I did not even make it through the first exam, and all of a sudden my good name that I had worked so hard to secure was now deteriorated. I experienced all the feelings and disappointments felt in high school come crashing down on me all over again.
I eventually finished my time in the military and began to explore other options. Instead of boring you with the rest of my failures, I will get right to where things began to change. I have always wanted to become a police officer, although with an already insecure personality it was hard for me to gather the courage to take the written exam required by the department. I bought a book from books a million on how to succeed in taking law enforcement exams. I read this book approximately seven times, while writing out half the book on paper. The hard work put in was enough, and I was actually given a fairly high score. My next obstacle was the police academy, which involved six months of eight-hour classroom time six days a week, including over thirty written exams. I treated every exam like it was my last chance to do anything productive in life. When I studied, I would go over the material sometimes twenty different times, or until I understood everything completely. I eventually ended up graduating second in a class of sixty, whom many were college graduates. I thought to myself, if I can do this here, than why not in a college classroom. I transferred approximately 50 college credits from both the military and the police academy, and then began my journey as a college student. Currently, I have 150 credits with a 4.0 average. In September of this year, I will have completed my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Due to my many failures in life, I have found that my confidence continued to drop to the point where I almost wanted to give up. It is important to remember that not everyone is the same, everyone has there own strengths and weaknesses. I believe that the brain is like a muscle that must be exercised to stay in top tip shape. Some guys our born with the ability to run faster, jump higher, and lift more weight. Other guys our born with the ability to sleep through class, neglect homework, yet are still able to achieve a “strait A” average. I would say that these guys are the lucky ones. However, I also feel that with a little elbow grease and dedication, any goal can be achieved. Therefore, we should learn to first identify our strengths and weaknesses, followed by building upon our strengths, and working to improve on our weaknesses.
David, wow, what an inspiring and well-written story. Two things:
1. Would you consider turning it into an artricle? I think it’s article quality already with no work but I’d love to ask you some questions (off line in email) and help you flesh out pices of this). Let me know and if so we can leave it here and then expand on it together.
2. I don’t know if you read this piece I wrote a while back but you might find it interesting:
http://www.ldresources.org/?p=63
I am 18 I just finshed high school.
I am a afaird i can’t do it.
It they any one out please email at bartman1238@yahoo.com
Brett, what is it you’re afraid you can’t do? High school’s the hard part, are you afraid you’ll have a hard time with college? Work? Life?
HI I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP I HAVE BEEN OUT OF SCHOOL FOR A WHILE I REALLY WANT TO BECOME A ENGINEER I HAVE A DISEASE CALLED NF AND I NEED TO KEEP WORKING CAN YOU HELP ME
Leonard: I’m not sure how NF relates to learning disabilities so I’m not quite sure what advice we can offer. Can you tell us more about why you are out of work and what, if any, leaning issues you have?
Thank you for sharing experiences. It really helps understanding ones own problems and challenges. I am writing because I have a sister with an undiagnosed LD. She has problems reading and writing but made it thru the school system in the 70’s. She was never diagnosed, she just slipped thru and struggled for years. Who can we turn to for help now that she is an adult. We live in Massachusetts and I don’t know where to turn. Thank you for your help and inspiration.
Mary: it might be useful, if she’s willing, to have her tested by a psychologist she likes and trusts. The discussion of the results of the testing will do a number of things, including make clearer to her what a good course of action might be in going forward, and explaining how certain patterns of behavior of hers evolved over time.
The results of testing will also help the psychologist recommend a tutor and a best method of instruction.
At the same time, it might be useful for your sister to find and join an LD adult support group so that she can meet others who have similar experience. This will help her know that she’s not alone in her experience and may give her some real-world coping mechanisms. I have dinner from time to time with a group of LD adults in NY and we’ve all become friends and look forward to these dinners. You might try a local branch of IDA or LDA to help find an LD adult support group.
Good luck and let us know if we can help further.