ld

Thomas,

Sounds pretty frustrating.
To get a diagnosis you need to have some specialized testing done to see exactly what areas your problems are in and to measure the extent of your problems in those areas. Testing is usually done by a psychologist, or educational therapist. If you have particular colleges in mind, you may want to check with them (LD services) about criteria for testing — some colleges have requirements about exactly who can perform testing (what professional field the tester is in, & what credentials/degree he/she must hold, or what specific tests must be included in the evaluation). In testing you will be asked to do a series of tasks — everything from answering factual questions about things you probably learned in highschool (they take into consideration how long you’ve been out of school), doing math problems, some basic writing/spelling/reading tasks, and some things that are more like games or puzzles — such as using pieces of wood or plastic of different colors and geometic shapes to make a design matching one you are shown, or looking at pictures and figuring out what seems to be missing. (Don’t worry about how you will do on testing, or what the tester will think. The tests are designed to highlight what specific tasks you do well, and what you have problems with. The person doing the testing anticipates that you will have problems with some of these tasks — otherwise you wouldn’t be going to him/her for testing.)

If you have been in touch with particular colleges or learning centers, they should be able to give you some referrals for professionals who do this testing. Better yet — if you know anyone who works with persons with learning disabilites, ask him or her first who they recommend. If you don’t know anyone, I’d say start by calling the learning disabilities services (or equivalent) or counseling centers at one or more nearby colleges, and asking for a list of referrals. If you call several colleges, compare the lists, and see who comes up on several. (but remember that just because a college gives the name of someone who does testing, it is usually not an endorsement by that college of the competence or quality of the person they refer you to, but rather just information on people who do testing.; the list might just be people who have asked to to have their names added to the list.)
Take a look at the “Postsecondary education” forum on this website, since it is directly relevant to you as you consider college. There are a lot of messages there about choosing a good college for a student with LD, and some sharing of personal knowledge/experiences (good and bad) with particular colleges, which you should probably look at. There are also some messages from people wondering if they have and LD, or asking questions about diagnosis, testing, etc., and some good responses to these questions. You may find browsing that forum helpful as you get the “lay of the land,” and as you plan and move forward. If you post a message about referrals for testing, and let people know what area you are in, others may be able to give you some specific suggestions/referrals for people who could do testing.

good luck.

Research the Sharper Minds web site out of Oregon.

take a psychoeducational evaluation w/ a psychologist