Stretching The Home Stretch

High School seniors, from around the country, are coming in to the home stretch. Fall/winter brings tears and worries from students, nagging from parents, frustrations on both sides, and an endless paper trail of college applications, essays, personal statements, portfolios, financial aid forms, and application fees. For students with disabilities, the worries are stretched. Is there a college for me? Will I get in somewhere? Will I fit in? Will I have to tell someone about my disability? Who besides my parents can believe in my worth and capabilities? Will I succeed in college? And for some, the question is "should I go to college?"

There are many supports for students who have these questions. Parents can be a start. Guidance or Career Counselors in high schools have resources to share. Sometimes friends who have navigated this route can offer personal advice. But for some, the best option may be to hire an independent educational or college consultant. If this sounds like an option, consider the background of the consultant. Do they understand learning differences and disabilities? Have they taught students with disabilities in the public or private setting? Do they know the laws that apply to students with disabilities? Can they differentiate their presentation, based on individual student needs? Is the teaching of self-advocacy skills part of their service? Are they familiar with the different types of support systems in the many colleges and universities? Are they willing to do added research for individual students, beyond looking in a database?

The home stretch does not have to be any more daunting than the normal stresses of any new transition, but finding the good fit could be easier with the correct guidance. Many students with disabilities are entering college, staying in college, and succeeding in college. Some have managed the search on their own. Others have been lucky to be in a high school where the counselor understands the added obstacles for students with disabilities. And still others have made the effort to find an excellent educational/college consultant (such as Ruth Brodsky Consulting), with a background in disabilities, who eases the family and student towards the home stretch with compassion, wisdom, and patience.