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•Our Philosophy •Some of the Available Services •Taped Textbooks •Computer Assistance •Notetakers and Tutors •Advocacy •Waivers or Substitution of Requirements •Writing Assignments •Requesting and Using Our Services •LD/ADD Network

Lewis & Clark encourages students to take responsibility for their own academic strengths and weaknesses and to actively seek alternatives for the conventional ways of learning that don't seem to work for them. The student support group, the LD/ADD Network (described below) plays an active role in this process, since learning disabled students themselves are some of the best teachers of new strategies. We also believe in openly confronting one's disabilities and working around them rather than treating the condition like a "disease" that should be kept hidden. Part of this effort has involved students themselves participating in panel discussions on learning disabilities for graduate education classes; teaching workshops; giving talks in psychology, communications, and education classes on what it's like to have a learning disability; and leading support groups for children with learning differences from the community.        Student Support Services, located in the Student Development Center at Lewis & Clark, gives advice on study skills strategies and curriculum planning to learning disabled students, as well as coordinating and offering the services listed below to these students. Once a student has adequately documented a learning disability, the Coordinator of Student Support Services fills out a Notice of Disability form that describes the nature of the student's learning strengths and weaknesses and recommends accommodations that the student might request. Copies of this form are sent to the student's professors at the request of the student, who decides each semester in which courses accommodations will be requested. Listed below are some of the services which a student with a learning difference might wish to request from our office:   •Taped Textbooks          These are obtained from Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB & D), a nonprofit organization located in New Jersey. This is a free service for students, and the Oregon State Library supplies the special tape recorder that is necessary for the tapes free of charge. If documentation of the learning disability indicates that taped books would be a useful accommodation and a student believes that listening to taped versions of his or her textbooks will increase reading speed and comprehension, requests for tapes can be processed through Student Support Services in the Student Development Center. The student decides which classes he or she will be taking each term, fills out a form requesting books on tape, and they are requested from Recordings for the Blind & Dyslexic. If a particular book is not available from RFB & D, we can arrange to record the text on campus if the student requests it. Since all of this takes time, the student must be quite organized so that texts can be ordered well in advance of the term they are needed. Those who have used this service at Lewis & Clark have found it very beneficial.   •Computer Assistance          Students who have difficulty with writing speed and/or legibility because of their learning difference often profit from taking essay exams on computer. They can sometimes arrange with the professor beforehand to take the exam in a nearby office or classroom on a computer (lent by Student Support Services) or can arrange to take it in the Student Development Center. Students need to make these arrangements well in advance with the professor and the Coordinator of Student Support Services (if involved) to ensure that the procedure runs smoothly.         The software program Ultimate Reader is installed on ten Macintoshes and one PC in the Throckmorton computer laboratories. This program allows students to hear text on the screen read aloud, whether the text has been scanned onto a disk from a book or articles or written by the student him/herself. The program highlights the words or lines as they are read, and the student can adjust the speed and even the voices reading the text. This allows the student to hear and see papers he/she has written in order to catch possible errors, as well as allowing the student to simultaneously see and hear reading assignments that have been scanned onto computer disks.        There is also speech-to-text software (Dragon Naturally Speaking) on a PC in the library, in a room specifically designated for Student Support Services use. This technology allows students to speak to the computer, which learns to recognize users' voices and translates speech to text. While perfect transcriptions are not possible, this program is a good way for a student to communicate his/her ideas to paper. The student can then proofread and edit his/her work or show it to a tutor for further editing. Each year a student technology assistant is trained to help students learn how to use this equipment.   •Notetakers and Tutors         Funds are also available in the Student Development Center budget for hiring student notetakers and tutors at the request of learning disabled students who have trouble taking notes in their classes. A reliable student in the class is hired to share copies of his or her notes and to explain and discuss the notes when necessary with the learning disabled student. Other peer tutors can also be hired from outside the class if that is preferable. Our student government has also developed a peer-tutoring program that is financed through a special student-controlled budget, and, in many cases, this service has also been helpful for our learning disabled students. Occasionally, if a student seems to need extensive tutoring that is beyond our services' capabilities to provide in a particular subject, we have recommended that he/she use a private tutor and pay that person him/herself, and we have offered assistance in locating such a tutor.   •Advocacy          Sometimes students need assistance in explaining their specific learning differences to a professor or in negotiating accommodations for tests. The Coordinator of Student Support Services should be called upon for such assistance.        In addition, the Writing Center, the Math Skills Center, and the Counseling Center all provide services for the student body as a whole and are especially helpful to our learning disabled students. The Math and Writing Centers offer one-on-one work with students by professional instructors and/or trained peer tutors. We are fortunate also that the College's classes tend to be small, and students have the opportunity to work directly with faculty members.        The Coordinator of Student Support Services assists students in requesting the waiving or substituting of certain requirements via Lewis & Clark's standard waiver procedures. If we cannot work out a viable way to handle the requirement with appropriate accommodations, and the student's disability appears to prevent the successful completion of the course, the student prepares a petition and he or she supplies evidence of his or her disability, along with any other appropriate supporting materials. In the case of requesting a waiver or substitution of a General Education requirement, the petition would be directed to the College's Petitions and Waivers committee. In the case of requesting a waiver or substitution of a requirement in the student's major, the petition should be submitted to the chair of his or her department, who would, in most cases, consult with other members of the department. In either case, faculty would be deliberating over whether this waiver or substitution seriously compromises the academic goals or integrity of the program involved.        In the case of the foreign language requirement, a more streamlined policy exists for the substitution of the foreign language requirement for students who have documentation that clearly demonstrates a disability that would compromise learning a foreign language in a college classroom. After providing documentation and completing the appropriate petition with the Coordinator of Student Support Services and receiving the approval of his or her adviser, the student is allowed to substitute International Studies courses for the required foreign language courses.        Lewis & Clark places a strong emphasis on writing. We do not encourage our learning disabled students to avoid writing tasks, but we do encourage them to be realistic about their strengths and weakness. For example, we advise that dyslexic students "balance" their courses so that they aren't overloaded with heavy reading and writing courses during a given term, or we advise students with learning disabilities to take a slightly reduced course load and plan to stay in school a bit longer than the average. We encourage our students to work with the assistance of the Writing Center and their teachers on their writing assignments and develop, over time, effective strategies for organizing and expressing their ideas.        This emphasis on writing has produced some exceptionally fine papers from among our learning disabled students, papers that have won high praise from professors for their creativity and unique perspectives on a variety of subjects. These have included senior theses, honors projects, and papers chosen for presentation at campus symposia.        The learning disabled student at Lewis & Clark is encouraged to take advantage of an administration, support services, and faculty who will respond to his or her needs, but the initiative to take advantage of our services is wholly in the student's hands. Students are responsible for utilizing the resources that are available on campus; taking that responsibility involves coming to terms with one's learning strengths and weaknesses and dealing realistically with them.        This means that students themselves must decide whether or not to send the Notice of Disability to professors. We encourage all learning disabled students to do this, but some are reluctant to do so, and it could be considered a breach of confidentiality for college staff members to inform faculty members without a student's consent. Most faculty members tend to be flexible in dealing with students when students both inform them of their learning differences and act responsibly in trying to meet the course's requirements. If students or instructors request help, however, the Coordinator of Student Support Services can often assist in working out difficulties in communication or problems in finding strategies for handling coursework.        It also becomes the student's task to decide whether he or she should carry a full course load during any given term. We often suggest that students with learning differences carry a lighter course load when they take required courses that they realize will be especially difficult for them. This may mean that the students will need to make up credits during the summer if they want to graduate in four years, or they may simply decide to take a little longer going through school. (If a student receives financial aid, however, he or she must work closely with Student Financial Services to see if this is possible.) Neither of these options has been unusual for learning disabled students at Lewis & Clark.      The LD/ADD Network is an on-campus support group for students with learning differences that meets regularly to share ideas and strategies for coping with college life. This group of students is an important factor in the success of many of our learning disabled students. Sharing their experiences and feelings helps give them the morale boosts students with learning differences sometimes need. Meetings are also opportunities for students to communicate with guest "experts" in study skills, relaxation techniques, etc.