Transition to College or University with a Learning Disability

Are you or your child with a learning difference worried about the transition to post-secondary education?

Do you wonder if your child will still receive accommodations in University or College?

Do you want to know what the process is for getting support through the accessibility centre?

If your child had access to accommodations in high school through an IEP or IPRC, how wILL you access these in a post-secondary setting, and will they be the same?

Starting a new school can feel very exciting, but can also feel overwhelming. Add in the uncertainty of what sort of support you might receive with respect to your learning difference, and we get that this can feel like a lot.

The good news is that within Canada, many post-secondary institutions are mandated under the human rights code to have an accessible learning office on campus. So there are people at each educational institution who are there to help you to find success at college or university with your learning disability.

Universities and Colleges will offer various types of accommodations where appropriate, but the process and the specific supports will be different from what it was in high school.

What may be different from high school:

The terminology - instead of using the terms “IEP or IPRC” when talking about accommodations and other supports, you might hear this whole process referred to as “Accommodation Planning” or something similar.
The linkages with the Accessibility Centres to receive supports is self-initiated by an intake process or meeting. Unlike high school, this will not be something that is initiated by a teacher, professor or parent. You need to do it yourself.
Parents will not be involved unless the student provides written permission for them to be.
Specific documentation will likely be needed to receive and access any sort of accommodations. The IEP and IPRC document does not normally transfer over (although they may be looked at for historical information and reference), and supporting documentation such as Psychoeducational Testing reports may or may not be able to transfer depending on who they were completed by, and how recently they were completed.

So what might this process look like for a new student who has a learning difference for their first year on campus?

Here is an example of what this process might look like at a college or university (refer to your specific institution to confirm their process):

Visit your college or university’s accessibility/disability website as soon as you can. Many of them have checklists, videos and resources to guide you through this process (see bottom of this article for some samples!).
Self-identify with the Accessible Learning office. It is suggested to do this during the Summer before your first semester of school. Get to know the staff, the facility, and what you need to do in your unique situation.
Fill in required forms and provide recent documentation that confirms a disability.
Meet with a Disability Consultant/Accessibility Counsellor/Learning Strategist to create an accommodation plan (which will replace IEP).

The post-secondary staff at the Accessibility Centres take on a number of different roles in order to support you. They may help to:

Develop strategies in note-taking
Provide tips about reading
Help you to create good time management strategies
Assist with teaching you best practices for writing
Help you devise strategies for your exam prep
Help you get set up with special equipment *note: there are sometimes bursaries available such as the BSWD (Bursaries for students with disabilities) to help cover costs of items that are not covered otherwise by the school
Help to set up for exams and tests to be taken in a specialized test centre which is a distraction-reduced environment
Help to set up accommodations such as extra time
Provide access to an FM system in the classrooms
Provide access to adaptive technology (either to borrow, or some schools have labs with workstations equipped with special assistive tech software)

Remember: academic expectations will be the same for all students, but some supports and accommodations may be available to you, so be sure to self-advocate and let them know what you need to be successful.

Here are 4 recommended steps as you transition to post-secondary with a learning difference:

Research the support services at the Universities and Colleges that you are considering. Call them, visit their website, understand what supports they offer. The supports that are available could be a consideration in choosing your school.
Self-identify early, and get the process started. Many schools will let you start the process in Spring or Summer before you officially start at their institution.
Make sure you have all documentation ready. You may need to get certain papers/reports/results collected and/or have a new psychoeducational test completed, so leave yourself time to do this before school starts so that everything is ready to go for September.
Know that you will now be the person most responsible for ensuring you get the supports you need. The teacher and professors will not initiate this - you need to advocate for yourself and reach out when you need help (or even better, before you need help!)

Though transitioning to a whole new environment will be a different experience, each school has processes in place to make it as simple and supportive as possible. It does not have to be an overwhelming experience. Ryerson University states that 1 in 10 students register with their Accommodation Centre, so know that you are not alone, there are many other students who will be going through the same thing.

Sample Resources from Post-Secondary Institutions in Ontario:

Accessible Learning Transition Connections (WLU) Video

Accessibility Services Handbook (OISE)

Accommodations for Accessibility (Fanshawe) Video

Academic Accommodation Support Services Video (Ryerson)

Learning Disability Documentation Requirements (UofW) Checklist