Being learning disabled and Greek

Lisa Fishman · #1 04-08-2003, 07:26 PM

I know many people (including myself) who are Greek and have learning disabilities. I was just wondering how both being LD and Greek affected each other. For some people, it did not have any affect on them, others it had a fairly big impact. I know that the key to doing both well is time management, because many LD students need extra help, or time with assignments to keep grades up. Not only do these students require extra time, but then they have their Greek life as well. I thought this could be a good discussion to give tips to help other LD students.
I guess what I am asking is: How do learning disabled students handle both school and their Greek life?

ZTABullwinkle · #2 04-16-2003, 06:37 PM

On my campus we have a "Disability Services" office that I am registered through. I have accomadations so that I can take tests in a setting that has reduced distractions, extended testing time, etc. It helps greatly, considering that I have been newly diagnosed with ADD and am struggling with how to cope with it. I would look into seeing if your campus has this service available to you.

As for being Greek and having my disabilities, I recently was in our magazine, Themis, about my struggles with depression and anxiety. It has been a long hard road, and one that not many can understand (including my sisters). But they love me anyways.

Time management is key here. If you can get that down, you will be way ahead of the game!!!

Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you need any more help or have any more questions!!!

Meredith

Kevin · #3 04-18-2003, 02:00 PM

Personally I have disgraphia and ADHD -- used to take ritalin. No real effect on my college life though.

#4 04-29-2003, 01:25 PM

They finally realized i was LD my junior yr of college. ADD and Dsylexia. All through out Elem , jr and Sr HS they said iw as either not discplined or had no drive or lazy.... that wasn't the fact i had LD and they never realized it.

I got to college after being told i shouldn't but to prove i could i did and graduated.

Yes it was hard ,and yes ppl viewing you differently, but i had great accomadations made for me once it was pronouced i had it. Exams were taken in private with more time and less distractions, i had lectures notes copied from honor students so i could make sure i got what i needed in lecture( to see if i missed anything from my own lecture notes) and one on one tutoring.

It is a roadblock being LD but if you look at it that way you will fail. I took it and turned it around and made sure i was going to succeed and not let it get me down. There is help out there for students....just go to your Disability dept on campus and they will get you on a positive path with it and get you help.

Laura

Dionysus · #5 04-29-2003, 02:39 PM

In school what helps and what hurts varies from person to person. But, I do have to say one thing about College or Greek Life: Be very careful who you reveal this to, many many people are extremely ignorant when it comes to this subject.

For me, I'm vice versa of ktsnake.

My problems don't effect me that much in academics anymore, unless it's math or long long long reading asssignments.

However, it has really effected my college life in both bad and good ways. Good that ADHD gives me the energy to take on everything, I'm very hard to tire. Bad that I have extreme trouble listening, get distracted very easily, and make impulsive decisions...it annoys the hell out of people.

LXAAlum · #6 05-01-2003, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dionysus
I'm very hard to tire. Bad that I have extreme trouble listening, get distracted very easily, and make impulsive decisions...it annoys the hell out of people.

Wow - we must be related - I'm the exact same way - never diagnosed with anything though...sure pissed off the wife the other night when on a whim I started painting our sons bedroom (which has been a "someday" project for a while now) at 11pm at night, and went until 2:30 am, on a weekday)....

Kristin UTD*AGD · #7 05-01-2003, 06:54 PM

I have only recently been diagnosed with ADD. When I was in college I was told I was depressed. (Even though I am always the most optimistic person around!) And ADD is rarely diagnosed correctly in girls, they are considered 'talkative' rather than hyper. Now that I have read up on ADD it is very common to be misdiagnosed as depressed. I always tested into gifted classes, but never finished my projects. I usually made B's instead of A's because I couldn't concentrate on my homework.

I ended up dropping out of college, several times, but the disability did not affect my greek experience. Actually the opposite. Being part of the group gave me much needed self confidence & sense of belonging that I really needed. And I know that my sisters would have done anything possible to help me through. But it was ultimately up to me. I always look back at that time and think how lucky I was to have such a great support system. They backed me up even when they didn't know there was something wrong. They just accepted me as I was.

I ended up finishing my degree at a school with a much more single focused program. And after all that work and confusion, now they tell me I have ADD!!

Natty · #8 05-26-2003, 07:36 PM

I too have never been diagnosed, but at times have felt that I might have ADD, but my Sisters have always been there for me all through my years here. I have trouble staying focused and I am very talkative. I try very hard but can only get B's and C's. Thanks for having this thread, its great!
Natty