ADHD in College

Scholarships for Students with ADHD or LD

College acceptance letters have started to trickle in, but now how to finance university tuition? These national and state scholarships, specifically awarded to students with ADHD or LD, might be able to help.

Scholarship application form for ADHD and LD Students on table
Scholarship application form for ADHD and LD Students on table

Several college scholarships are specifically designed to help assist students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities (LD) and autism. We’ve done our best to highlight them here. If you know of any others, please share them in the comments.

Nationwide Opportunities

The American Association on Health and Disability awards the AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability annually to a student with a disability who is pursuing secondary education in the fields of health and disability.

The Disability Care Center offers $500 scholarships to students who are disabled, or seeking a degree in special education.

The Dyslexia Advantage awards the Karina Eide Memorial College Scholarship ($1,000) to 5 students with dyslexia and financial need who are attending a 2- or 4-year college.

Gem Learning offers a scholarship twice a year to students with dyslexia or auditory processing disorder in the U.S. and Canada to attend college.

Learning Ally offers the Marion Huber Learning Through Listening® (LTL®) Awards to high school seniors who are Learning Ally members with learning disabilities.

The Lime Network, in partnership with Google, offers the Google-Lime Scholarship for students pursuing a computer science or computer engineering degree, and living with a disability in the U.S. ($10,000) or Canada ($5,000).

The Microsoft disAbility Scholarship gives $5,000 (renewable annually up to $20,000) to students with disabilities who plan to attend a vocational or academic college and target a career in the technology industry. 

The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers two scholarships annually for students with learning and attention issues: the Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship ($5,000) to a graduating high school senior who will enroll in a two-year community college, a vocational or technical training program, or a specialized program for students with LD and/or ADHD in the fall and the Anne Ford Scholarship ($10,000) to a graduating high school senior who will be enrolled in a full-time bachelor’s degree program in the fall.

The Joseph James Morelli Legacy Foundation Scholarship is awarded annually in the amount of $500 to $2,500. Applicants must be pursuing a degree in STEM field (science, technology, engineering, math). Applicants must have a demonstrated learning challenge of dyslexia or similar reading and/or language-based disability. ADD alone does not qualify a student for the scholarship.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) invites full-time students who will be or who are currently enrolled in a graduate program in communication sciences and disorders to apply for graduate scholarships.

The Foundation for Science and Disability (FSD) offers the Science Graduate Student Grant Fund to fourth year undergraduates (who are disabled and have been accepted to a graduate or professional school in the sciences) and graduate science students who have a disability.  Awards of $1000 each are made to support research projects of qualified university students in any field of Mathematics, Science, Medicine, Technology, or Engineering.

Landmark College — Vocational Rehabilitation Grants are packaged financial aid opportunities for disability scholarships based upon need. The college participates in private and federal grant programs.

The Ability Center Disability Scholarships require that you have a disability of any type that may require additional assistance not provided to a traditional student. Scholarship recipients must be from Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Henry, Ottawa, Defiance or Williams county in Ohio or Monroe or Lenawee county in Michigan.

State- and School-Specific Opportunities

  • Arkansas: The Ralph G. Norman Scholarship offers $2,500 to an Arkansas resident pursuing higher education.
  • Indiana: The Indiana University Bloomington awards a variety scholarships for students, funded by their donors, the Division of Student Affairs, and the Office of Disability Services for Students. Learn more on the Indiana University website.
  • Florida: Florida State University offers a scholarship to students with learning disabilities. Information can be found on the FSU Student Disability Resource Center website.
  • Michigan: The University of Michigan has the Nabi Family Scholarship , two awards of $4,000 for students enrolled in the University of Michigan Services for Students with Disabilities.
  • Oklahoma: The DREAM Institute has established a scholar award for Oklahoma students with physical and/or learning disabilities that are pursuing a higher education degree at an Oklahoma in state college or university. Students must be enrolled as a full time student.
  • Oregon and Southwest Washington: Incight, a leading non-profit supporting people with disabilities, offers yearly scholarships for students attending college in Oregon or Southwest Washington. Check the Incight website for more information.
  • Texas: Texas A&M University awards a variety of scholarships for students with learning disabilities. Learn more in the Texas A&M University Disability Services website.

College Scholarships: Next Steps


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