For many families, the summer before college is filled with excitement, pride, and a fair amount of uncertainty. Students are preparing for greater independence, new academic expectations, and unfamiliar environments. For students with disabilities, particularly those with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, or executive functioning challenges, this transition requires more than packing boxes and choosing classes. It requires developing systems that will support success long after move-in day.
One of the biggest changes students experience is the shift from the protections of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in high school to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 in college. Under IDEA, schools are responsible for identifying student needs and providing supports. In college, students must advocate for themselves, request accommodations, and manage many important processes independently.
The good news is that summer provides an excellent opportunity to practice these skills before classes begin.
Start with the Student Portal
One of the most common reasons students encounter difficulty before arriving on campus is simply missing deadlines. Colleges increasingly communicate through online portals rather than email, and students may be expected to regularly check multiple systems.
Housing forms, financial aid verification, course registration, orientation sign-ups, required online training modules, placement testing, health forms, and accommodation requests are often housed in different locations. Missing just one deadline can create unnecessary stress.
Families should schedule time each week for students to log into their college portal and review outstanding tasks. Rather than parents taking responsibility for monitoring deadlines, consider creating a shared checklist and having the student practice identifying what needs attention.
Some helpful questions include:
- What deadlines are coming up in the next two weeks?
- Which tasks require additional documentation?
- What follow-up emails need to be sent?
- What information needs to be gathered before completing the task?
Understand the Accommodation Process
Another important summer task is connecting with the college’s disability services office.
Many families assume that accommodations automatically transfer from high school. They do not. A helpful framework for preparing accommodation requests is what I often call the “functional limitation equation”:
Disability + Functional Limitations + Previous Accommodations = Accommodation Request
In other words, colleges are not simply interested in a diagnosis. They want to understand how the disability currently impacts the student’s ability to access coursework, housing, testing, or campus life.
Families should help students gather documentation that demonstrates both the diagnosis and its current functional impact.
Common accommodations may include:
- Extended testing time
- Reduced-distraction testing environments
- Note-taking support
- Priority registration
- Housing accommodations
- Assistive technology
- Reduced course loads (when available)
Helpful materials often include:
- Recent psychoeducational evaluations (within 3 years and adult-normed)
- Neuropsychological reports
- Medical documentation
- High school accommodation plans (IEP or 504)
- Lists of accommodations that have been effective in the past
One strategy I strongly recommend to help with the accommodation process is creating a transition portfolio. This can be a simple digital folder that contains:
- Evaluation reports
- Medical documentation
- Accommodation letters
- Medication information
- Contact information for providers
- Copies of insurance cards
- Educational records
- A personal strengths and support profile
Students should know where these materials are stored and be able to access them independently. The process of organizing this portfolio also helps students better understand their own learning profile, an important step toward self-advocacy.
Talk About Mental Health and Medication Management
While academic preparation receives significant attention, mental health and wellness planning are equally important. Students who have relied on parents to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, or coordinate care may suddenly be expected to manage these responsibilities themselves.
Before leaving for college, families should discuss:
- How prescriptions will be refilled
- Where medications will be stored
- What happens if medication is lost
- How appointments will be scheduled
- When and how to seek support if mental health concerns arise
Students should also know how to access counseling services, health services, and crisis resources on campus before they need them.
Focus on Progress, Not Perfection
The goal of the summer before college is not to create complete independence overnight. Instead, it is to gradually transfer responsibility while maintaining appropriate support.
Students who enter college having practiced managing deadlines, navigating online systems, understanding their accommodations, organizing important documents, and participating in conversations about their support needs are often better positioned to navigate the inevitable challenges of their first semester.
The transition from high school to college is not simply an academic adjustment. It is an executive functioning adjustment. By intentionally using the summer months to build these skills, families can help students arrive on campus with greater confidence, stronger self-advocacy skills, and a clearer understanding of how to access the supports they need to succeed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Morris-Wood, Ed.D. is Head of School at Franklin Academy and a nationally recognized expert in college readiness and transition planning for students with learning differences. He specializes in helping students with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, and executive functioning challenges develop the skills needed for success in college and beyond. Dr. Morris-Wood’s work focuses on building student independence, self-advocacy, executive functioning, and college transition readiness through strength-based supports. He serves on the Board of Directors for the College Autism Network and is Co-Chair of the Learning Differences Special Interest Group for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).