Kacee Jones spent her elementary, middle school and high school years thinking she was “stupid” and destined to fail her schoolwork.”I would stay up until 2 a.m. learning vocabulary words and still fail them the next day,” she said. “It’s traumatizing when you’re young.”The English senior said she didn’t understand how studying more than other students could result in worse grades. But finally in her junior year of high school, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services in the Department of Social Services diagnosed her with dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.”I was on the verge of dropping out of school,” Jones said. “My parents got the school and the state to find my learning disability. Things changed from there. I realized I wasn’t stupid. [In college,] I’ve been able to keep a GPA over a 3.0.”Jones said her dyslexia affects her reading, writing and speaking skills.”I think in motion,” she said. “Abstract words [like wind, love and fear] are difficult. I have to put something into wind, like a leaf blowing, to make it happen and give it motion.”The National Center for Learning Disabilities defines learning disabilities as “a group of disorders that can impact many areas of learning, including reading, writing, spelling, math, listening and oral expression.”Benjamin Cornwell, Disability Services associate director, said students registered with the Office of Disability Services with learning disabilities are classified by DSM-IV-TR, a manual used to diagnose mental disorders.”There are a lot of different definitions of learning disabilities,” Cornwell said. “Someone may have high IQ but have a slow processing speed or a low reading comprehension rate.”Cornwell said the ODS requires a psycho-education evaluation to determine what type of accommodations students with disabilities receive.”We get documentation, look at the scores, meet with the student, see the accommodations they’re requesting … and help make sure they get those accommodations,” Cornwell said.Cornwell said the most common accommodations are priority registration, extended time on tests and class note taking. Other accommodations include a distraction-reduced environment for testing, E-text, a reader, a scribe, recorded lectures, spell checker, consideration for spelling and the use of a computer. Jones said she goes to the ODS in Johnston Hall to take her tests. She said she is eligible for the note-taking accommodation, but she prefers taking her own notes.”I don’t want to be dependent on someone else for notes,” Jones said. “I’ve learned to cope and make it work for me.”Jones said she takes Vyvanse medication to control her ADHD symptoms. She said the medication helps her focus, but does not help her dyslexia. Cornwell said Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD are different types of learning disabilities.”ADD/ADHD is problem with attention, the ability to stay focused and concentrate,” he said. “A learning disability is more of an information processing problem.”As of October, 966 students are registered with the ODS. There are 154 University students with learning disabilities. Three hundred and eighty-five students have some type of attention deficit disorder, 22 students are deaf or hard-of-hearing, 180 students have a psychological disorder and 225 students have some kind of physical or medical disability, including temporary conditions registered at the ODS.Cornwell said the ODS will register students anytime except for dead week and finals week, and by the end of finals this fall, the ODS will have proctored more than 2,000 exams.The Center for Academic Success also provides students with learning and study strategies, tutorial sessions and supplemental instructions.”We are not counselors when it comes to specific accommodations, but we do work with [students] on strategies,” said Diane Mohler, learning strategies consultant in the Center for Academic Success.Mohler said the Center for Academic Success’ tutorial services covers biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. Other subjects are covered online with SMARTHINKING, a free online tutoring service available on PAWS.Mohler said the study-strategies workshops, co-sponsored by Student Government, provide students with different learning strategies like “pre-viewing,” which allows students to let their brains see information in advance in a non-stressful environment, so that when they are in class, they see it more accurately.The Center for Academic Success’ Project COPE  — Cognitive Outlook and Performance Evaluation — is a new program this semester to help students deal with stress from studies, which fills a need for students who experience more than the average amount of stress, Mohler said.When Jones transferred to the University, she studied studio art because she was more comfortable with drawing and painting. However, as she progressed, she developed a passion for reading and writing — the two subjects her disabilities hinder the most.”As I began reading more, it became a passion,” Jones said. “I had to start slow with children’s books, [and] now I read Jane Austen.”Jones plans to attend graduate school to get a master’s in education when she graduates. She said she wants to be an English teacher.”I don’t like calling it a disability,” Jones said. “I’m impaired in the sense of an academic way, but I’m able to succeed in ways some other people can’t or don’t understand.”—-Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]