By Zoe Adams, Will Farrington & Kevin Watson
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
What this story covers
Making the transition from high school to college can be hard for any college student. Making it with a learning disability like dyslexia can be significantly more difficult.
Why it matters
Dyslexia can trigger anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Students say accommodations and support are often lacking.
College students face many challenges — school, work, family, social life — that can lead to anxiety, depression or other types of mental health issues. According to research from Active Minds, a nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for students, 39 percent of college students experience a significant mental health issue.
What happens, though, when college students who are already vulnerable have yet another stressor like a learning disability?
Three student journalists from Towson University examined the college experience for students with dyslexia — a common learning disability — and the toll that having a learning disability can take on a student’s mental health.
Listen to their podcast, featuring a student with dyslexia, two licensed counselors, a special education professor and a learning disability specialist to learn about the added difficulties that many students with dyslexia face, and how that impacts their mental health.
To find out more about dyslexia, watch this motion graphics video.
Photo courtesy of Billy Vermillion 
Photo courtesy of Billy Vermillion
