Before starting to write about the difficulties of students with Learning Disabilities who enter regular college studies after having had special education facilities till standard 10, I would like to quote extracts from the personal story of Kourt Koch who is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Ball State University, Munice. The abstract of his paper, Learning to Learn despite LD, says that his Learning Disability was not recognised until age 17. Failing school, he was excluded from a college bound academic track in junior and senior high school. He eventually went on to earn a doctoral degree after first becoming a special education teacher, certified reading teacher, and school psychologist.

Understanding a student’s Learning Disability (LD) and the impact it has on academic learning, social and emotional well-being and, eventually, performance in the school and later in college is an ongoing and evolving process. Making successful transitions from school to the college can be particularly challenging for students with LD. In our country, colleges have student enrolments touching 80 to 100 per section and for a student who has been in a school where special care has been taken regarding his capability and vulnerability to peer pressure, getting into college may be like getting into a river without learning to swim. Once in college with other students the disability is naturally not disclosed. Support from the administration, teaching staff and peer group hardly happens. Shifting away from a protected school environment into unchartered territory can be fraught with unexpected and overwhelming challenges.

The key to a successful transition, depends on the student’s personal toughness and support from parents. There have been successful people (like Kourtland R Kouch) who have had problems in learning and the student should take cues from them. In the west, about two-thirds of students with LD receive instruction in transition planning from school to college. Most of their parents attend transition planning meetings. This is something missing in our country.

Though parents cannot help their wards by riding along with him/her to college and being there, there are a number of ways by which they can help them adjust to college life. They could talk to their ward before starting college. Here, we take it for granted that the parents are familiar with the emotions and turmoil that the ward is likely to face in the first few weeks and months in college. Parents can provide a comforting shoulder to lean on. In doing so, they will be walking a fine line between offering support and encouragement.

In fact, finding the skills to adapt and thrive in the regular atmosphere without ‘hand-holding’ is part of what college after school is all about for a student who has been given special attention in school. The first week can be overwhelming. It is common for a ‘Special Student’ to feel a range of emotions, anxiety, confusion, nervousness and exhaustion as he tried to appear cool and normal in the beginning.

Reality sets in when the student finds out the vastness of the subject matter and the cursory lectures that is delivered in colleges. It can hit hard. He/she may have to adjust to too many new people and situations in every facet of his/her own life. This is a very important time. He/she may feel lost academically because of the numerous assignments and projects handed over each week without much personal guidance.

I have personally found that for such students the first few weeks in college are the hardest time. Some have gone through a bout of ragging. Some have not hit it off with their peer group and many have problems understanding what is happening in college. All said and done, it is imperative that the student adjusts to the new environment.

The social and personal skills that the student develops during this period will help lay the ground work for successful college experiences. He/she has to develop lasting habits, attitudes and ideas on his/her own which were all up till now handed over to him both at school and home.

Some of the usual problems are:
Academic pressure
Social awkwardness
Feelings of self-doubt and inferiority, trouble finding sense of self
Not able to get very close to tutors (who are now lecturers)
Not having a proper identity.

I am personally associated with such students who are sent to the Examinations conducted by the National Open School so that the burden of all the subjects and syllabus does not fall heavily on their shoulders. We have a team of teachers who try and develop a remediation plan with the help of councellors based upon the results of a psycho-educational assessment.  We try to increase their reading comprehension in a step-by-step method and try to slowly include them into overall academic success till the10th grade. The school counsellors and psychologists try to inculcate selective behavioural techniques to teach them self-discipline, effective study habits and a love for learning. These interventions have worked. We as teachers of LD students should make learning an adventure and the teachers have to be perceptive. We have about 3 to 4 years of relationship with these students and try to offer stability and support for their academic endeavours as Secondary Students.
Our final ambition is that these students be empowered with the necessary skills to become productive and independent individuals who can handle the transition from school to college without reservations.