Students with learning differences adapt to succeed academically

Taking a test can already be hard, but adding a learning difference can make any easy task seem virtually impossible to complete.

A big portion of students at University Prep is affected by a learning difference.

These students with a learning disability can often have a harder time focusing and learning in class.

Learning Resource Coordinator Jane Cutter believes that there are around 80 to 100 people at University Prep this year with learning accommodations.

Cutter doesn’t believe that there are normal learners and different learners.

“Everybody is unique as a learner. There are just some students who are diagnosed with a learning disability,” Cutter said.

Cutter doesn’t think that a learning difference has to impact a student’s academic career at all. “A lot of our students with learning differences are our top students. It really depends on the student and what difficulty they have,” Cutter said.

While each learning difference is unique, they all target similar areas. Dyslexia by definition affects reading, but it can also affect writing, spelling and organization.

Sophomore Hana Neutz has both dyslexia and dysgraphia, affecting her writing and motor skills. Both of these learning disorders make certain tasks harder to complete in a short amount of time. “Having dyslexia and dysgraphia impacts my learning a lot because I have to take extra time [on tests] which usually cuts into my lunch or other periods where I could be studying,” Neutz said.

Neutz feels that U Prep does a great job at accommodating students with learning differences. “I took language training for two years, and that definitely helped me a lot,” Neutz said. Neutz doesn’t believe that U Prep needs to change their accommodation’s system at all.  

Senior Kaeley Pilichowski agrees that U Prep has done a great job helping students with learning differences have an easier time at school. “If I went to any other school I don’t think they would understand a lot of the things I have trouble with, as well as U Prep does,” Pilichowski said.

Sometimes doing it on your own isn’t sufficient. Students may find that going to teachers or peers for help can benefit them a lot more than trying to work on it by themselves. Pilichowski has specifically felt that History Teacher Abigail Hundley has supported her significantly throughout her career at U Prep.

“Ms. Hundley really helped me work on formatting and writing my essays during sophomore year as well as always giving me great feedback to improve,” Pilichowski said. Going to teachers for help can create better relationships between them and the students. This allows teachers to have a better understanding of how to work with each student, whether or not they have a learning difference.

Students with learning differences often find tricks that help them overcome any obstacles they may encounter. “I’ve always been better at memorizing song lyrics as opposed to anything else, so I learned my times tables with a CD that had different songs on it about the tables,” Pilichowski said.

After learning to deal with the challenges that come with having a learning disability, students can then find the best way to learn, making them more successful and efficient in their academic career. Every student has trouble learning certain things. The key is to get help from others and find ways to overcome the obstacle.

By: Jen Wen And Emma Van Deursen