LD/ADHD Program
The LD/ADHD Program at Bishop O’Dowd is designed to support students with documented learning disabilities and attentional deficits through a team-based approach case-managed by a credentialed Learning Specialist. Students with these cognitive profiles tend to have tangible disadvantages within the pedagogical structures of a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum. At O’Dowd, they are supported through disability-specific educational counseling and an educational care plan that incorporates focused skill intervention and maintenance through appropriate elements of the academic support program. Most importantly, the Learning Specialist works with the student, his/her caregivers, and his/her teachers to devise a system of targeted accommodations to his/her educational environment that allows the student to maximize his/her academic potential.
In order to maintain standards of fairness, equality, and comparability with other college-preparatory high schools across the country, students have to comply with the documentation requirements stipulated under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) to be considered eligible for O’Dowd’s LD/ADHD program. O’Dowd requires a full psycho-educational evaluation for documentation of a Learning Disability and a full ADHD evaluation for documentation of an attentional deficit. In order to qualify a student for O’Dowd’s LD/ADHD Program, these evaluations must state explicitly that the student both has a disability and that he/she is therefore substantially limited in the major life activity of education and learning.
Documentation Requirements
In order to receive accommodations, a student must have a psycho-educational evaluation completed within the last five years (and/or a full testing and diagostic report from a qualified physician in the case of ADHD). The evaluation must include:
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The specific disability or disorder which has been diagnosed
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Relevant educational, developmental and medical history
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Thorough documentation of the techniques and methods of evaluation
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Test results and subtest scores
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A description of the functional limitations resulting from the disability
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A description of specific recommended accommodations and a rationale explaining the need for the accommodation
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The professional credentials of the evaluator (license, certification, area of specialization)
Reasonable Accommodations
When a documented learning or attentional disability is identified, Bishop O'Dowd faculty will be provided with an Individual Educational Plan summarizing the student's strengths, areas in need of support, and the formal accommodations to which s/he is entitled. Depending on the student's specific needs, accommodations may include:
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Preferential seating
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Text-to-speech software; books on audio media
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Speech-to-text software (dictating written output)
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Distraction-reduced testing environment
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Extended time for assessments
LD/ADHD Program FAQs
Q. What is the process for identifying students with learning differences?
A: Students come to the attention of the Director of Academic Support in a variety of ways: parent referral, teacher referral, counselor referral, and self-referral. The Director of Academic Support will collaborate with the student's teachers to pinpoint specific areas of difficulty through meetings and classroom observations. If the student has not been evaluated before, a recommendation may be made that a student undergo educational testing to identify or rule out a learning and/or attentional disability.
Q: What is an Educational Care Plan?
A: Once a student’s educational testing is received, the Director of Academic Support reviews the report and presents the findings in the form of an ECP to the student's teachers. The ECP contains information about the nature of learning disability, the student’s learning strengths and areas in need of support, and a list of formal accommodations.