0 0 MEDICINE Newsweek OnCamuusN OvrcomingDyslexia A misunderstood disorder frustrates its victims, but new programs help them continue their education. D ebra Schulze, a 26-year-old engi- were administered, 80 percent of them to neering student at Hunter College, the learning disabled. has spent more than two years in Colleges do give allowances for certified therapy. She now feels in control of her life, learning disabilities when making admis- but she remembers how it used to be: sions decisions; handicapped students, in "You're angry. You don't care what goes on fact, stand a slightly better chance of admis- around you. You only care that something sion than nonhandicapped students with is wrong. You can't function in the world." the same test scores. But after admission, a The condition that almost ruined new battle begins. Learning-disabled stu- Schulze's life is dyslexia, a learning disorder dents may study as long on a routine day as in which the brain cannot proc- ess correctly either visual or aural information. Dyslexics may confuse similar words (reading "quiet" for "quite"), reverse letters ("b" for "d") or jumble word order ("Go sleep to"). They frequently exhibit poor skills in memory, coordi- nation and organization. This can make learning excruciat- ingly difficult, even though dyslexics are often above aver- age in intelligence. Dyslexia is not uncom- mon-an estimated 25 million Americans suffer from it-yet its cause is unknown, and many F dyslexics are misdiagnosed. Debra Schulze's learning prob- lems were first blamed on schizophrenia, then mental re- tardation; finally diagnosed correctly at 23, she was lucky. Ira Wyman Officials at the Maryland- Helping hands: Curry College's PAL program, Antonoff based Orton Dyslexia Society estimate that fewer than 1/10 of1 percent of. nondisabled students would for final exams. dyslexics are properly diagnosed. "Because they are so bright, they may spend "Say you're born without an arm," says endless hours trying to go back and under- Lynne Hacker, a New York speech-and- stand," says Gertrude Webb, director of the language pathologist who specializes in Learning Center at Curry College near Bos- treating dyslexia. "At least people can see ton. "It's an extremely exhausting process." that. But a person with a language disabil- ity-no one can see that, and you don't get urry pioneered a system to help dys- any compassion or understanding." Worn lexics deal with college life. Its 12- out by years of frustration, many dyslexics year-old Program of Advancement simply giveup ontheideaofgoingstocollege. in Learning (PAL) offers individual tutor- Over the past decade, however, new steps ing and small-group work to about 100 stu- have been taken to help dyslexics reach dents, all of whom carry a full course load college and stay there. High-school pupils and are encouraged to pursue their aca- with learning disabilities can request special demic strength. PAL graduates have gone arrangements for the Scholastic Aptitude into law, fashion design and carpentry, Test (SAT) and the American College Test- among other fields. "Once they can cope ing Assessment (ACT). Says Marjorie Ra- with language," says PAL founder Webb, gosta of the Educational Testing Service, "they can do whatever they want." Similar which administers the SAT: "All special programs have since begun at Hofstra, testing is done on a one-to-one basis, and SouthernIllinois and a dozen other colleges. timing is up to the student and proctor. In Some institutions rely on less formal essence, that means unlimited time." Last measures-such as allowing dyslexic stu- year more than 5,000 "nonstandard" SAT's dents to tape-record lectures, take untimed NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS/MARCH 1984 tests or prepare oral presentations rather than written papers. "We try to provide an environment that encourages learning-dis- abled students to go at their own pace," says Harriet Sheridan, dean of the college at Brown. But some professors balk at the special treatment. "My battle," says Sheri- dan, "is to convince others that it is possible to have language problems and still be able to think at a high level." Graduate and professional schools seem more reluctant to accommodate the learn- ing disabled. Although the Graduate Man- agement Admission Test (GMAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) can be "nonstandard administered," the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) cannot. But a breakthrough occurred last fall when the Georgetown law school waived the Bernard Gotfryd-NEWSWEEK screening student at NYU LSAT requirement and admitted a dyslexic woman. At present only one professional school in the country, New York University College of Dentistry, offers special assist- ance to dyslexics. Begun in 1979 by Dr. Stanley Antonoff, the program demon- strates a variety of ways in which students can compensate for their disability. Antonoff concedes that professional training presents extraordinary problems for dyslexics. The academic load is greater than in college, and the learning process is largely visual, not auditory; in addition, state licensing requirements demand many prescribed courses, thus depriving dyslexics of flexibility in course selection. Still, change appears to be poming. Antonoff has organized a national conference on learning disabilities among professional-school stu- dents, to be held in Dallas March 10. He hopes his four sons will-like Antonoff himself-overcome severe dyslexia to pur- sue professional careers. BILL BAROL with CYNTHIA I. PIGOTT 31