Mom-for-hire ready to help UI students with disabilities

An Iowa City newcomer hopes to serve as a “mom away from home” for University of Iowa students in need of some extra assistance this fall.

Owned by former University of Iowa parent Leslie O'Hare, Your Campus Mom aims to help students with “executive functioning disorders” - otherwise described as students who have problems with organizing and schedules - get ready for success on campus by providing mom-like services such as prescription pick-up, room/desk organization, healthy grocery shopping and laundry assistance.

O'Hare said she hopes to assist students with disabilities when various UI departments cannot by providing services and accommodations to students outside the classroom.

“Once kids leave that (home) environment and go off to school and it is, for the common student going off to school, that leap of faith and it's time for you to organize and it's time for you to get on task,” said O'Hare. “And these particular students by no means are lesser academically, they just don't have those (organizational) qualities developed yet.”

When it comes to students with disabilities or special needs, universities are only responsible for providing accomodations within the classroom, such as extra time to take tests, and accessibility to campus buildings and facilities.

For that reason, Mark Harris, director of UI Student Disability Services, said he feels there is a need for a personal service like O'Hare's.

“It is something that I think more and more people have been contacting our office about because they understand what we can do in terms of students in the classroom, but they want someone who will sit down with a student on weekly basis to go through their notebook and syllabi's and prioritize what they will will need to complete for the week,” Harris said. “For a number of students just starting college, those have been functions that the parents have been taking care of.”

Harris said his office typically serves a little more than 600 students a year, and a majority of them suffer from executive functioning disorders such as attention deficit disorder or learning disabilities.

“I do think the idea of having a local parent or campus mom is responding to a need that I haven't seen any other business attempt to fill,” Harris added.

O'Hare said she came up with the idea from her experience as a mother of a college student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety. Once her plans were in order she moved from Hinsdale, Ill., to Iowa City last spring with the intent of helping other students with similar needs. However, she said she is open to helping all students who request her services in order to grow her business.

A parent of two, O'Hare said she understands the need for students to learn independence during their college years, saying her service is intended to “empower, not enable.”

O'Hare said the costs for her services are based on the tasks she completes for each client, but they will likely available by an hourly, monthly or semester rate.

Contact information

(630) 532-8280 or lesliekohare@gmail.com