Considering Culture: Service Challenges in College Learning Disabilities All eyes in the family are on Alan. He is to be the first member of the family to go to college. His parents have worked hard all of their lives for this moment, and they are so proud that Alan was admitted to the premier university in the state. Their words of advice as he trundled off to his new experience were to "always work hard and make your family proud!" But his first semester at col- lege has been a learning experience in more ways than one! Alan has alternately been thrilled to be in college, and totally disheartened and determined to drop out of college and get a job. He often laments, "Why does this have to be so hard! Why is it happening to me now? How can I face my family? I can't tell them that I need 'special help' in college!" Alan reflects on the support he had in high school. There his teachers did so much to help him, because he was identified as having learning dis- abilities and he had an IEP. He typically was allowed more time on tests, his teachers reviewed notes with him and worked with him individually, and at times they gave him optional assignments. He also received individualized coaching on study skills. His grades were excellent. In fact, in his sen- ior year when he told a friend that he had learning disabilities, she exclaimed, "How can that be? You're so smart!" But college was a whole different ballgame. No one seemed to care. He was truly on his own. At the advice of classmates in his dorm, he signed up for a linguistics class that freshmen often took. He floundered. Learning the phonetic alphabet was not his cup of tea! His academic world seemed to be falling apart. But then his life turned around when one of his professors suggested that he work with the campus Office for Students with Disabilities. What a difference that made! The staff there helped him find notetakers for classes, encouraged him to use computers in class as needed, and helped him get approval to have more time for tests. They even worked with him to find an alternative to fulfill the university's foreign language requirement. He also learned to screen classes and then select those that best suited his learning style. Questions to Consider 1. Think about your family's expectations for your development and your future. What cul- tural values, beliefs, and events in your fam- ily's history have you internalized and have probably played a role in your goal setting? (Some of these may be so subtle that they are difficult to identify.) 2. We often think that cultural issues apply only to people who speak a language other than English or who were not born in this country. What are some primary values inherent in the majority culture? How are these enacted in our educational systems? -By Eleanor Lynch, San Diego State University, and Marci Hanson, San Francisco State University