Learning Disability (LD) and ADHD/ADD Testing
For many students, college may be the first time they are experiencing academic difficulties, and they wonder if they have a disability that may be preventing them from reaching their full potential. For others, they may have wondered in the past if they have a learning disability but were not fully ready to explore this as a possibility for themselves. The good news is that it is never too late to explore this as an option and see if additional learning supports may be right for you.
The Academic Resource Center has provided a few quick steps for students who want to start looking at testing and some local resources on where the testing could be done. The ARC is not endorsing any of the providers listed, just sharing some basic information on the process and potential local providers that students may use.
The ARC also recognizes that nationally significant learning disruption and learning loss has occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that not all academic difficulties are necessarily due to a learning disability. We strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment with the Academic Resource Center to discuss your difficulty and concerns. There are many services and supports that all students can use, regardless of diagnosed disability or not.
Services available for all students:
- Free use of Kurzweil, an electronic text reader (reads e-versions of text out loud, plus many more features).
- Assistance setting up your laptop/device with built-in accessibility features, such as read-aloud.
- Free use of Reading Plus, a web-based learning platform that helps students strengthen reading and academic vocabulary skills in as little as 10 minutes a day.
- One-on-one academic support for executive functioning help. Plan out your priorities, set goals, and stay accountable for progress.
- Free Peer Tutoring in many introductory subjects.
- Our Study with Me program, which pairs you up with another student to aid in studying focus and impulse control.
- Academic Life Coaching, which includes one-on-one conversations helping you to define what goals you want to reach and how you can achieve them.
If you have had lifelong academic difficulty that you suspect may be due to a learning disability and are interested in exploring a possible diagnosis, here are steps you can take:
- Consult with the Academic Resource Center DSS staff about your concerns and academic difficulty.
- Identify a professional provider that can administer the types of testing you think you need.
- Consult with your medical insurance. Call the phone number on the back of your insurance card. Ask if you have in-network or out-of-network coverage of learning disability testing. If they ask you for a billing code, you will need to call the office at which you want to complete the testing and ask them to provide you that information.
- Ask the office at which you are seeking testing if they have a reduced fee or sliding scale fee for eligible individuals. You might need to provide information such as last year’s tax return to demonstrate need. Most comprehensive learning disability tests average $500-$2500, but some offices are able to only test for one disability at a lower rate.
- Consider your availability. Most LD testing takes place over a series of visits of several hours.
You can also find more information and resources at Learning Disabilities Association of America.
Residents of Ohio
For students who are residents of Ohio, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities offers several great resources including assessment of disability and some financial aid for qualifying applicants. To find out more, please visit the OOD website or make an appointment with the Director of the Academic Resource Center for more information.
