Not everyone learns the same, but that doesn't mean students with a learning difference have to call it quits after high school.
Liz Wayne makes school work seem easy, but look closely, "I actually write upside down. I read right to left when i'm writing upside down. I don't know, I just sort of learned to do it that way."
Her creative learning style allows her to see things differently. She's getting an ivy league education in physics! "I like thinking about things and how they all connect," says Liz.
"They have incredible abilities. And I think that the tendency now has been to look not just at disability, but at ability," says Dr. Myrna Cohen.
She says kids should get tested to identify learning disabilites before they arrive on campus, "It's good to get it done at least the summer before. Send the documentation to the institution so it can be reviewed. I suggest that for students with disabilities, when they're looking at a college, and they're trying to decide where to go, that they make the support systems a part of their decision."
Some don't spot problems until they get there. "I just found out i had a learning disability as a sophomore in college. So if you think about it, kindergarten all the way to the end of my sophomore year, I've been compensating," says Liz.
Now, counselors help Liz plan out study strategies, and she gets extra time on tests. It's working - a P-H-D is next.
"I've learned more about how to learn from the students I've worked with, with disabilities than I have from any, any class I've ever taken," says Dr. Cohen.
Each college campus is different. But Dr. Cohen says federal guidelines are in place and governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure students with all disabilities are served.
