What is Academic Supports

Students with disabilities are choosing post-secondary educational options at increasing rates. While students with learning disabilities are endeavoring to earn degrees, many have typically struggled to meet the academic requirements. Research findings suggest that appropriate academic support tailored to individual needs and provided throughout the course of study can be effective in assisting students to attain a bachelor's degree. Effective supports for college students with learning disabilities include strategies that allow for multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression. This chapter will explore the college journey of a young man with nonverbal learning disabilities. The characteristics of NVLD and how those characteristics were expressed in his life will be reviewed. The student and a professor from the university discuss specific supports that lessened the effects of deficient executive function and information processing. The author also shares how the ongoing supports provided in college facilitated the student's attainment of a bachelor's degree.