Learning on a different curve

College life is tough. And for a number of students on college campuses nationwide, learning disabilities can make their academic load even more difficult. So as a result, many colleges and universities, including Penn, have developed networks of services to support students with learning disabilities -- students whose numbers total around 196,000 at the collegiate level. Learning disabilities affect how individuals of average or above average intelligence absorb, retain and express information. Some of the more common learning disabilities are dyslexia, which affects the recognition of words and letters, and auditory processing dysfunctions, which influences the ability to comprehend information absorbed by hearing. Education experts say these services simply weren't available a decade ago, and their current availability is a huge step. "Services have grown dramatically," University of Connecticut special education professor Stan Shaw said. "We're starting to get a research base," added Shaw, who also acts as the co-director of the Center on Post-Secondary Education and Disability. At Penn, staff and faculty who work in the learning disabilities field are well aware of the difficulties imposed on afflicted students -- especially at an Ivy League institution. "Some people with learning disabilities may overcompensate, and they can't do that anymore if they have 500 pages of reading," Interim Learning Disabilities Specialist Ilene Rosenstein said. Rosenstein, who doubles as the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, also deals with some of the more general frustrations which, unfortunately, are part of the daily lives of many students. "The most frustrating things that they report is that sometimes people perceive that they're stupid, when they're not," Rosenstein said. "In fact," she added, "the majority of our students are quite bright and that's why they're [at Penn]." Students said their learning disabilities often result in frustrations. "It takes longer to get things done," said College sophomore Michael Fleischer, who has been diagnosed with learning disabilities. But Fleischer noted that a student with learning disabilities rarely needs to be concerned that their disabilities will damage how they are perceived by their peers. "People at Penn seem to be pretty good about it," he said. But since only 250 Penn students officially identify themselves as having learning disabilities, Rosenstein said there must be many more out there who don't seek formal help. "We have many students who don't ask for accommodation because they're afraid of the prejudice," she admitted. Some students, Rosenstein said, "have learned to compensate really, really well." Students with learning disabilities are entitled to accommodation by federal law. And Penn's resources, while not consolidated for the ease of the students who use them, are extensive. Penn provides accommodations, from notetakers to tutors, although these services are not run out of the same offices. Associate Director of Learning Resources Myrna Cohen said that the ultimate aim of her office is to obtain a learning instructor trained specifically to deal with students with learning disabilities. "Our instructors are generalists," Cohen said. "They don't have the specialized background." Outside of special services, professors are crucial to helping students who need unique to accommodations achieve within the classroom. However, according to Rosenstein, some professors might be concerned about offering special assistance to those with learning disabilities. "Faculty's major concern is how does this affect the academic integrity and is this really a level playing field," Rosenstein said. But research shows that if students without learning disabilities receive extra time, there is no change in their grades. Extra time simply levels the playing field, she noted. And students must sometimes choose classes strategically. "Sometimes picking a professor who teaches a certain way may be very important," Rosenstein added. Occasionally, professors have wondered if granting extra time to students on exams is an unfair advantage. But Rosenstein says that it is beneficial for faculty members to ask these questions so that more is learned about the importance of giving accommodation to students who require it. History Professor Robert Kane emphasized teacher-student interaction in dealing with accommodation for students with learning disabilities. "The students make a point of talking to me personally," Kane said. "These types of accommodations aren't favors," Cohen said, "these are students' rights." But despite extensive resources, students with learning disabilities at Penn face several hurdles. With the Office of Tutoring and Learning Resources based in Harnwell College House, and the Office of Services for Students with Learning Disabilities at Sansom Place East -- in addition to other locations for other offices -- services are far from consolidated and conveniently accessible. Penn has sought the help of those outside the University community to help it make its resources more user-friendly. The University recently charged a 13-person review team to evaluate services for students with disabilities at Penn. The group met with many officials responsible for campus services, conducted an open session with the Penn community and consulted with students familiar with learning disabilities. Cornell University Director of Student Disabilities Services Matthew Timoney, a member of Penn's Services for Students with Disabilities Review Team, hinted that the status of services at Penn are not perfect, but are bound to improve. "They will be one of the best in the country," he said. The final committee report expected is this month. Experts have criticized collegiate-level learning disabilities services for being too focused on tutoring about mere content. "It has been traditional for students to receive content tutoring," Shaw said. But, he said, more creative and alternative ways may be better since learning disabilities do not influence comprehension of specific subject matter, but the way a student learns. Students, Shaw says, should be taught ways to study, organize and memorize. "Content tutoring is a short-term -- get the student through the class -- solution," he said. "If these students learn how to learn," he added, "they are bright and capable and they succeed." Shaw, also the co-director of the Center on Post-Secondary Education and Disability, sees a need for an improvement in the individuals providing the help. "Personnel have not been trained specifically for this role," he said. Jonathan Mooney has tried to improve the individuals giving help, co-founding Project Eye-to-Eye to pair college and high school students with learning disabilities together. Mooney says he began the program to improve the situation in which individuals with learning disabilities often find themselves. "They won't have to go through the same things we went through," Mooney said. Mooney, who began this project while at Brown University recommends that colleges adopt a "systemic approach to educating their faculty" because the "most important interaction is between a student and a professor." He wants to see individuals with learning disabilities considered another diverse group, and not a group with disabilities. "You spend your whole life with people trying to fix your problem," Mooney said. "It's not their problem, it's our problem."

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