Lincoln College Program Helps Students With ADD

By Michele Steinbacher, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Apr. 20–LINCOLN — Lincoln College student Stephen Calomino has struggled to pay attention, to turn in his work on time, and to complete required readings.

But, he’s an “A” student, whom Lincoln leaders say has a bright future ahead.

For Calomino, the challenge has been real and intense, and something he’s lived with since he was a child, diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder.

On May 12, he expects to leave Lincoln with an associate’s degree and a near “B” average. It’s a huge accomplishment for Calomino, and he credits his success to a new Lincoln College program specifically tailored to students with his condition.

“Before I found out about this program, I attended two different colleges, but not successfully,” he said.

The ACCESS program, which is the short name for the Academy of Collegiate Collaboration for Effective Student Success, is finishing its second semester at Lincoln, said Stephanie Gaddy, the program’s director.

Nearly all colleges and universities offer assistance to students diagnosed with attention disorders. What makes ACCESS different is its specific, intensive and comprehensive approach to coaching the students, said Gaddy, who also heads the college’s office of disability services.

The idea to create the program stems from Lincoln’s long-time attention to students who might seek an extra supportive college environment. While it doesn’t have open enrollment, unlike many private residential campuses, Lincoln is not highly selective, said John Hutchinson, Lincoln president.

“It’s been amazingly successful, a very good surprise” she said. About 16 students enrolled in the program this fall; with 14 remaining.

Getting notice

That kind of retention is catching the attention of those following students with attention disorders.

About halfway through its first year, ACCESS got a positive write-up from the Association on Higher Education and Disability, based in North Carolina.

Cathy Heissler, an attention disorder expert who runs Bloomington’s Learning for Tomorrow educational center, also thinks the ACCESS program is a great idea.

Heissler works with students age 3 to adult who struggle with learning.

Prior to opening her G.E. Road center, Heissler worked at Illinois State University in Normal. There she spent 11 years in ISU’s disability office, heading programs for learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders.

What she finds interesting about Lincoln’s program is that its offered through a private college. She also thinks students will benefit from the small residential environment.

“I think it’s a great idea. These students can succeed,” she said, noting she has an attention disorder, and has earned a master’s degree.

“They’ll be able to learn the strategies in a smaller environment, and then when they are ready, go on to a bigger university setting,” she said.

Sometimes, if students with the attention disorder arrive on a big campus, they first struggle, face academic probation, then seek the extra support, said Heissler.

Figures for the 2000-2001 academic year show less than 3 percent of college students with disabilities manage to stay and complete a four-year degree, said Gaddy.

The ones who do succeed tend to be nontraditional students, older than 24 years old; and they tend to have extremely low grade point averages with more “D” letter grades and course withdrawals than other students, she said.

After tracking Lincoln’s ACCESS program just one year, the outlook is promising, she said.

ACCESS students are between 18 and 24, on average maintain GPAs near 2.5/4.0, and they are sticking around. “The retention alone is important,” she said.

Her staff is creating a database of what works, and what kind of academic success is tied to the ACCESS program.

Hidden disability

Attention disorders, like other learning disabilities, are hidden disabilities, said Gaddy. Some students never are identified. But the disorder is being diagnosed more often now, and Lincoln hopes families see ACCESS as a way for students to develop skill sets to take them into adulthood, and often on to a four-year degree program.

“The idea is: Disability or not, people can learn to succeed,” said Gaddy. “The whole goal of ACCESS is to get them out of the program,” she said.

At Lincoln, Calomino meets nearly every day with academic coach Jodi Thies.

She helps him and others in the program stay on track, by developing individual goal programs.

“We work on improving organization with a daily assignment planner, just one,” said Thies.

And if a student misses an appointment, she doesn’t let it go. “I track them down, and we talk about why that’s a problem,” she said.

Strategies for studying, improving self-discipline, and developing effective reading patterns are key, she said. Thies monitors ACCESS students’ grades, attendance to class, and keeps them on task with research projects.

For Calomino, enrolling in ACCESS has helped him maintain motivation to keep working.

“People who don’t have ADD don’t really have any idea just how hard it is for someone like me to keep doing an assignment I’m not interested in. You might not want to do your assignment, but for me, I really needed to learn how to make myself go back to the page and keep reading — maybe 10 times in 15 minutes,” he said.

But, he’s found the lessons have meant a 180 degree turn in his academic life.

This semester, Calomino took 18 credit hours, and he’s expecting nearly all “As.” He now wants to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Lincoln officials goal for ACCESS students is to arm AD/HD students with skill sets and new learning strategies that will allow them to work independently and graduate from the program.

“Eventually they’ll have to be able to work and live in an environment without support systems,” said Hutchinson. “The goal is to begin to wean them off that support,” he added.

Worth the cost

ACCESS does require a financial commitment, but Calomino said it was worth it for his family.

A year at Lincoln College costs about $24,000 in tuition, fees, room and board. Students enrolled in ACCESS pay about $3,000 more. But Hutchinson said, it is not a moneymaking venture. The extra fees allow the college to hire staff to operate the program well, he said.

Just because students diagnosed with attention disorders may not thrive in a traditional campus environment without support doesn’t mean they should be written off, said the president.

“Often they are very intelligent, creative and intuitive thinkers,” he said. Some of the characteristics of those with AD/HD can make for a more lively and exciting college experience, he said.

Lincoln College also is looking at whether some of these lessons catered to ACCESS students might be applied across the campus.

Hutchinson pointed to ACCESS lessons as similar to other universal design functions that’s orgins lie in serving populations with disabilities.

Communities first altered sidewalk corners as ramps to accommodate people in wheelchairs. But the creations also have benefited bicycle riders and mothers pushing strollers, for example.

And close-captioned tapes at the bottom of television screens first helped hearing-impaired viewers. “Nowadays, its used as much by the general population watching TVs in restaurants and bars to get more information,” said Hutchinson.

He thinks some of the learning strategies his staff employs to assist students with attention disorders, also could be duplicated for the general student population. Many of those students also could benefit from assistance in test taking strategies, textbook reading strategies and organization, said Gaddy.

Lincoln mission

ACCESS fits in well with Lincoln College’s longstanding mission, said Hutchinson. Part of the campus long-range plan includes focusing on efforts to lead the nation in engaging students in learning efforts, he said.

The college attracts a unique mix of students he said. An honors program and students with high ACT scores also are in the Lincoln College mix, he said. Some attend the campus because they want to spend their first two-years at college in a small-campus residential environment.

The campus in Lincoln offers arts and athletic programs, as well as on-campus dorms. But, with about 700 students, the environment differs tremendously from that of a large state university, he said.

ISU, for example enrolls about 20,000 students.

With ACCESS still in its infancy, Hutchinson and Gaddy say the sky is the limit on how it can develop. “Parents are excited, ecstatic to find something like this in the Midwest,” said Gaddy.

“People are finding out about this program and they are excited we’re offering it,” he said.

——

Attention, please

Colleges and universities offer services to students with disabilities, including those diagnosed with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The ACCESS program at Lincoln College builds on that, with features tied to assisting students with such disorders. Below are some facts:

Definitions: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is characterized by problems with attention and impulsive and overactive behavior.

AD/HD or ADD?: The term now preferred is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or AD/HD. Of the condition’s three subtypes — inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined — it is the inattentive type that is known commonly as attention deficit disorder, or ADD.

The numbers: Experts say anywhere from 3 percent to 7 percent of elementary and secondary students have the condition; for adults the figure is 2 percent to 4 percent.

SOURCES: Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Web site, www.chadd.org; Lincoln College staff; Cathy Heissler

Compiled by Michele Steinbacher

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.