By Avéon Laine
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
As the coronavirus pandemic has forced universities throughout the country to shut down campuses and move to remote online learning, college students with learning disabilities are having difficulties with their studies as they try to cope with sitting in front of a computer screen for hours a day.
Whether classes are conducted live via online video conferencing platforms like Zoom and WebEx or through pre-recorded lectures that students can watch on their own time, those who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or other disabilities say it’s difficult for them to adapt to an online learning environment that does not provide the same level of support services they receive when they are on campus.
“To say the least, my grades and studies have struggled due to online learning,” said Zoe Bridges, a senior at Towson University studying early childhood education and special education who has been diagnosed with ADHD. “I am a very kinesthetic learner and need to be able to move around and interact to fully grasp things, but I’ve been forced to sit at my computer for multiple hours a day to attend class.”
In an online format where there is no physical presence of an instructor to keep an individual’s focus, many students say they are straying away from their course work.
Marcia Wiedefeld, director of Disability Support Services at Loyola University, told The Baltimore Watchdog that some students have expressed difficulties with how course content is presented.
“Some students said too much screen time aggravated their symptoms,” Wiedefeld said. “Some students were having difficulties with too much reading and writing, as opposed to class lectures.”
According to the CDC, individuals with ADHD and other cognitive disabilities tend to struggle more with boredom and putting mental effort into challenging tasks, hence why virtual learning can be difficult. This format lacks the novelty and interaction that keeps students with ADHD and other cognitive disabilities engaged in learning.
Garrin Adolphe, a senior at the University of the District of Columbia, deals with ADD, a subset of ADHD that includes symptoms like disorganization, lack of focus and forgetfulness.
“My biggest challenge has been establishing a healthy routine that keeps me on track and focused on course work,” Adolphe said.
According to the Maryland Higher Education Commission, about 4% of undergraduate students, 14,892 students to be exact, are registered with the disability services office at their respective colleges.
Although universities are utilizing a remote format for the time being, some schools have adjusted learning accommodations even further in hopes to fully support students who rely on their services.
Kelly Rogan, learning disabilities specialist at Towson University’s Accessibility and Disability Services department, says the office has been quite busy with ongoing adaptations to the current learning format.
“We are currently servicing approximately 2,000 students, still providing services for students with documented disabilities despite and vast majority of courses being held remotely,” Rogan said. “In fact, we have been quite busy adapting accommodations to the online format as the needs of some students have changed with this new set up.”
Rogan also pointed out how online learning isn’t typically ideal for students with learning disabilities.
“Most of our students would never have chosen to do online learning but now there are not many other options,” Rogan said.
According to a survey conducted by the Association on Higher Education and Disability, 56% of survey participants reported difficulty for students with disabilities receiving previously approved accommodations. Additionally, 75% of survey participants reported difficulty for students with disabilities communicating with their course instructors.
Tawny McManus, the assistant vice provost for accessibility and disability services/director of Student Disability Services at the University of Maryland – Baltimore County, believes that it is important for faculty to understand the challenges students with disabilities face in the new learning environment.
“It is important for faculty and administrators to be aware of the challenges all students are facing in the online environment, but particularly for students with disabilities in thinking about how accessible their course materials are online,” McManus said. “A student approved for accommodations due to a disability must still get their accommodations regardless if the teaching is being done face-to-face or online.”
Although universities are still trying to adapt to the changes of virtual learning, Bridges feels as though the support she’s receiving would be more prevalent if she was a student in a lower level of education, such as elementary school.
“I definitely believe I’m getting less support than I would be in other school levels,” Bridges said.
This is not uncommon. Angelo University’s disability service office and the American Psychological Association have identified the differences between disability services for lower and higher education.
For younger students, parents, teachers and institutions have more of a role in ensuring students are accommodated for through specialized classes, learning plans and more. However, most college students have to self-identify their disability, advocate for themselves, and curriculums are not modified for these students.
Some professors have proven helpful when it comes to adapting to the online learning environment. Others not so much.
“Being an early education/special education major, most of my professors are aware of the effects of siting down for too long without movement, so they try to accommodate the best they can,” Bridges said. “Some of my professors have us take 5-10 minutes breaks about three times a class.”
“Surprisingly, many of my professors haven’t been as flexible as I would’ve expected, especially with the changes that have come since transitioning online,” said Brianna Smith, a Towson University senior public health education and promotion major who was diagnosed with ADHD.
As the pandemic and distance learning continue, so will the challenges for students dealing with learning disabilities.
With no concrete timeline of when in-person classes can safely resume, these individuals and the departments that support them are continuing to adapt to their new online reality, with hopes that things will begin to go over smoothly in the months to come.
In the meantime, resources remain available to students through online tools, peer educators and most importantly, disability services through their universities.
“Remote learning made us pay extra attention to make sure documents, websites, testing sites, and other online materials are accessible to people who use screen readers,” Wiedefeld said. “Some hard-of-hearing students relied on sitting in front of the class and lipreading when we were in-person. We provided closed captioning for these students in their online classes or events.”
Those individuals seeking support are encouraged to contact disability services should they need assistance or accommodations as the school year and online learning progress.
“Faculty and staff don’t need to be experts, that is what ADS is here for,” Rogan said. “We encourage anyone to reach out to us for guidance and support in assisting students during this time.”