There isn't just tutoring for helping students with learning disabilities – there is technology, too.

Such technology includes software applications that scan textbooks and allow students to take notes on their computers, that read what students are writing back out loud to them, and that help them to find the right word to use and to spell it correctly. Some software can even be loaded onto smart phones and mp3 players.

A local educational program not only introduces this technology to students, but also helps them figure out how to learn, and subsequently, how to do better in school.

“We actually equip them with tools that they can apply now with whatever classes they’re taking, and throughout higher education and with jobs,” said Susan Garber, executive director of AT:LAST, a Columbia-based nonprofit that helps people learn about, get and use technology that will help them in various aspects of their lives.

“The important part of getting them started with the technology is to help them understand that the reason school seems hard to them is that they learn differently, and that they are not stupid,” Garber said.

AT:LAST started this program in the summer of 2009. This year, the organization is expanding its program to an offering of four courses, each running for six 90-minute classes. The courses are on organizational and executive functioning skills, reading, writing and math.

The first course, on organizational and executive functioning skills, is for “the kid whose notebook is always a mess, who might do his homework but might lose it before he turns it in, who might be doing the semester project the night before,” Garber said.

The classes will max out at 10 students each and can be taken either on Wednesdays or Saturdays. Each six-week session costs $240, or $220 if a student registers with a friend. The classes are also supported through an $8,400 grant from Columbia Foundation that went toward updating AT:LAST’s laptop lab and purchasing more assisting technology for the classes.

The first class begins Jan. 15. The next set of courses, beginning in April, will offer both the organizational skills class and the reading class.

The organization skills class teaches “everything from managing time and setting priorities to using electronic tools to keep you on task, and what their home study environment is like and changes you might make,” Garber said.

The students will start with on-line exercises that determine which part of the brain they use most in learning. Some might be visual learners, for example, while others might learn best through hearing.

“One of the big things that we try to get across to them is ‘Now that you know this,  and with the tools that we show you, you need to take responsibility for your learning,’ ” Garber said.

About those tools...

“We’ve really concentrated on identifying different software programs and devices, then we took a look at the mainstream technologies kids are into these days – mp3 players, smart phones – and point out to them that these devices can really help them tremendously with school and their assignments,” she said.

“I always hear the student say, ‘Isn’t this cheating?’ It’s not. It’s not any more cheating than an amputee using a prosthetic leg. We want that amputee to be able to get everywhere he wants to go and do everything he wants to do.”

Because of their disabilities, some students aren’t getting to their goal of learning, because schoolwork becomes an arduous process in and of itself, Garber said.

“Most parents will turn to tutors as the solution – it tends to be a very part-time solution,” she said. “It works while you’re being tutored, but there’s very little carryover.”

Parents asked AT:LAST to set up this program, Garber said.

“Parents of students with learning disabilities really struggle,” she said. “It’s not pleasant at home when you’re always on your child about grades. Very often they will be the kids who end up using alcohol or being arrested.”

There is a correlation between students struggling with learning disabilities and them struggling with substance abuse, according to Joan Webb Scornaienchi, the executive director of HC DrugFree, a Columbia-based nonprofit dedicated to keeping youth free of drugs, including alcohol.

Scornaienchi previously worked in the state Department of Education’s division of special education and early intervening services.

“While it’s no surprise to say that teens, in general, are at risk of consuming alcohol and other drugs, the research has one common theme: Teenagers with learning disabilities are at an even higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs,” Scornaienchi said.

“Sixty percent of teens being treated for substance abuse have learning disabilities. Some studies have shown that between 30 and 40 percent of alcoholics have undiagnosed learning disabilities. These can impact writing, reading, speaking, hearing, learning and the ability to pay attention.

“Teens with learning disabilities can experience additional frustration, academic challenges and isolation – all reasons any teen might self-medicate to escape these pressures.”

On the Web:

http://www.matcoop.org/training/training.html