The Numbers

According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, 9 percent of students nationally, aged 6 to 21, receive special educational assistance. In 1978, 2.6 percent of college freshman had a documented disability.

animation by Elliott Cramer

The percentage of freshmen with learning disabilities has increased to 9 percent, according to HEATH Resource Center. This increase may be a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which has helped colleges to make their services more accessible.

Yet, American and British professionals have different ways to label disorders, such as ADD. In the United States, 20 percent of the entire population is said to have ADD. In Britain, the incidence of ADD is 1.6 percent. According to Ruth Mark, a writer for Pagewise Inc., this is because of different labels for the disorder.

But it is not always the case that disabilities hinder a student. In fact, some students say their disability has helped them learn from a different perspective.

"My friends call me 'the alphabet,'" Brittany Vonderau, a cultural anthropology major, says. "In a region of about 300 thousand people, I have the rarest case."

Vonderau, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, dyslexia and Central Auditory Processing Disorder, says although her brain is "basically miswired" and she has "no inner compass," her disabilities give her a unique perspective.

"People will say, ‘Why don't you just use a mirror to read?’ I wish it were that easy, but it doesn't work that way."

"People with ADHD have active brains, but are also active people. A lot of energy helps," Vonderau says, while reaching into her book bag for the fourth time to get a bottle of water.

She adds that everyone has a different learning style, whether they have a learning disability or not.

"My disabilities have allowed me to do a lot of artsy things,” she says, “For my Pacific Island cultures class, I had to draw a big map on the wall to remember where the islands in Micronesia were. I used a lot of colors to help me."

Walker says ADD has helped him with graphic design.

"The randomness of my thoughts allows me to be more creative,” he says. “Ideas happen sporadically."

Walker describes a man who has ADD and dyslexia that he works with at a bar in Akron as having the same advantage.

Walker says the man can see someone in the bar and remember his or her face and can draw them perfectly detailed two years later. It is just a different way of thinking and he remembers things in a different way, Walker says.

Vonderau says people sometimes don't understand her different ways of thinking.

"People will say, ‘Why don't you just use a mirror to read?’ I wish it were that easy, but it doesn't work that way," she says as she looks down at her shirt.

"I almost forgot! My boyfriend in England bought this shirt for me because he said it reminded him of how I look at things."

Voderau pulls on her black shirt that has the word "Shortys" spelled backwards on it.

"He also wrote me a letter in mirror image. I thought that was sweet."

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