Law H.E.L.P.

The H.E.L.P. (Higher Education for Learning Problems) Program was organized in 1981 by Dr. Barbara Guyer, the founder and former director.  College H.E.L.P. began with three dyslexic, has grown steadily, and now has two hundred students. The H.E.L.P. Program also encompasses Community H.E.L.P., Diagnostics, and Professional H.E.L.P.  The H.E.L.P. Program provides qualified students with Learning Disabilities and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity the rights guaranteed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

In 1986, the academic dean at Marshall University’s Medical School asked if the H.E.L.P. Program could meet with a promising young student who was struggling in his first year of medical school. The student was tested and found to have an I.Q. in the genius range, but his reading skills were deficient. Through remediation, study skills, test-taking methods, and self-esteem strategies, the medical student excelled. He has become a well-respected plastic surgeon in a large metropolitan area.

Since that time, Medical H.E.L.P. has worked with approximately 600 students from across the United States and several foreign countries. Most classes have a waiting list and many academic deans send students to attend Medical H.E.L.P. For the last twenty years, the Medical H.E.L.P. Program has remained dedicated to the belief that individuals with learning difficulties can in fact become competent, skilled physicians.

Recently, a law student who had failed the bar exam five times contacted H.E.L.P. and said that he was trying to find a program like the Medical H.E.L.P. Program for law students, but nothing existed. Lynne Weston, the Director of H.E.L.P., realized the potential for a program to help students improve LSAT scores, excel while in Law School, and to pass the bar exam once they graduated.

Mrs. Weston approached the Medical H.E.L.P. staff about establishing Law H.E.L.P. Cortney Castle, former assistant coordinator of Medical H.E.L.P., worked with a young man who had previously failed the bar exam. They worked on reading, studying, and test-taking skills in preparation for the bar exam. He was able to PASS his bar exam. A number of other students have experienced the same success.

It is our vision to expand the H.E.L.P. Program to meet the needs of advanced level students. Through the generosity of Anne Hill, the Philip Pendleton Gibson Center for Professional Development has been established to allow the continuation of Medical H.E.L.P. and the establishment of Law H.E.L.P.

Program Description