<p>ek,</p>
<p>I think people do not mind the accomodations. The issue is with who is getting the accomodations, apparently many who do not deserve it. It just makes it harder for those who should receive an accomodation.</p>
<p>And the psychologist says:
</p>
<p>Thanks, Captain Obvious!</p>
<p>Oh, the lessons these students are learning!!! “You are capable of competing on a even playing field so we will just shorten it for you”. “We have money and don’t have to play by the rules the other people play by.” “The ends justify the means.”</p>
<p>And these are the same folks who are likely to complain bitterly about AA policies!</p>
<p>No, jym.
I thought it was common knowledge that 2% would be laughably low. I just didn’t say it because I thought it was obvious both by my post & from common knowledge of educated parents on PF, etc.</p>
<p>epiphany-
I have learned not to make assumptions as to whether someone is being serious or being flippant. I know the statistics re: the % of LD in the population. I must admit though, that your post while quite vehement, is anything but clear. I was asking to be polite, but also to ask for clarification re: your statements. I would appreciate clarification as to your point.</p>
<p>** and please clarify as well… “no”… what??? I had asked several questions (in one of several posts)-- what is the “no” in response to?</p>
<p>hope this doesn’t sound trite, but here goes</p>
<p>my H is a golfer, there is something in golf called an 'handicap" unfortunate name, but what it means is that players are given a few strokes so the playing field is even and fun and fair</p>
<p>Everyone who golf is supposed to be VERY HONEST about their strokes, and if a player finds another is lying about the handicap, the players lose total respect for the fibber</p>
<p>i am not saying LD kids are handicapped, by no means, I am talking about honor and honesty</p>
<p>Many kids have LD, my Ds best friend for one, and need that extra time, they often struggle daily in a cookie cutter world, and i would never want them denied what they need</p>
<p>But those kids that scam the system and those parents that pay for it, in regards to the SAT angers me to no end</p>
<p>I hope i was clear and made my point…honesty and class and compassion, some parents just aint gotit</p>
<p>I also remember one school district where a large amount of boys were put on ridilen, one doctor was just prescribing it willy nilly, to the harm of many kids</p>
<p>It was to make it easier, but it was horrible- dishonest doctors, MDs with an agenda, and parents who didn’t see that some kids really needed the medication and to put their own kids on it for convienence for the teacher was just horrid</p>
<p>citygirlsmom-
Do you have the data to support this? These seem to be rather scathing, blanket statements about “large numbers (sic) of boys” and “dishonest doctor(s)” prescribing “willy nilly”. Yes, there has been concern that ritalin has been overprescribed, but the vast majority of doctors are good, caring, responsible healthcare providers who get appropriate data before prescribing medication. Psychostimulants, like all meds, have potential side effects, which can include hypertension, sleep disorders, appetitie suppression and even cardiac symptoms, and is usually prescribed and monitored carefully. MD’s don’t typically have an “agenda”. Please. But the research has shown that most people who go to the doctor “expect” to have a prescription for something in their hand when they leave the office. Patients get upset with their doctor if they leave empty-handed. This has led to the overuse of antibiotics, and the pressure to prescribe psychostims for ADHD. Now I won’t even BEGIN to rant about what the insurance industry has done to the provision of healthcare, but suffice it to say that doctors are unfortunately pressured to see more and more patients in less and less time, and are paid less and less for their services. </p>
<p>Yes, there are bad doctors, just as there are bad attorneys, bad architects, bad teachers, etc. But it is quite uncommon that a parent would medicate their child to appease, or for the “convenience” of a teacher. While ritalin may be overprescribed in some communities, I do not believe it is for the reasons you suggest.</p>
<p>This was a true story, a very big deal a few years back, I am trying to find the story. it was the doctor and the teacher recommending to many parents that their student needed ritilan, a much higher # than in the general population</p>
<p>I will find the story as you think I am lying.</p>
<p>I have no problem with Ritilan per say, just it CAN be misprescribed, and has been. If a child needs, it they need it. But too often its an easy fix when it is not warranted</p>
<p>I am looking, but in the meantime:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/backlash/un.html[/url]”>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/backlash/un.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“Born To Explore - CFAH”>Born To Explore - CFAH;
<p><a href=“Schools forcing children to take drug, parents say | UK news | The Guardian”>Schools forcing children to take drug, parents say | UK news | The Guardian;
<p>from Austraila
More than 5800 prescriptions were written for Ritalin in January this year, compared with 523 last August. Prescriptions for the other favoured ADHD drug, Dexamphetamine, jumped from 96,000 a year to 232,000 in the 10 years to 2004-05.</p>
<p>jym,
you asked a question. The first question you asked I answered in the negative. I don’t see actually what the big deal is. You sound as if you’re trying to pick a fight with <em>me</em>, for some reason, instead of staying on topic. You didn’t think I was sounding flippant when I talked about the alphabet channel & arrested development? Whatever. Anyway, let’s move on here. The issue is the article, the story, the compromises to LD needs for those who truly need it, the deflecting of the whole issue onto the small proportion of rich folks (relative to the entire group seeking accommodation, & esp. relative to the genuine group who does deserve it, & for whom it would not raise any score to any material degree). The usual sensationalism & non-intellectual approach of the mass media – & the distortion of the facts & statistics to achieve an entertaining “angle.” The problem with focusing on a profitable “angle” is that in many cases, including this one, the angle is at the expense of the credibility of valid categories of accommodation. So there’s a moral component to the ignorance of the CB (“2%”) and to the sensationalism & distortions of mainstream media, who prefer superficial judgments to accuracy. I don’t know how I can get clearer than that. But I’m not required to justify my posts to you – unless you’re the mod. </p>
<p>I get to be flip once in awhile & vent, just like others get to. Why do you get to be my editor? Have you appointed yourself to that position? Jeez. Why is this about me? Why isn’t this about the underserved LD population & the too-frequent idiocy of the CB?</p>
<p>And anyway, ABC (getting back here to what was originally posted), goody for you that you think you’ve “scooped” something. Um, you haven’t, or not much. The real “scoop” is that selective colleges are becoming increasingly turned off – not necessarily just to the SAT I, but to the whole assumption of competitive stats as the litmus test – the whole ambitious numerical frenzy. Check out the acceptances & rejections threads. Sure, certainly many still get in with impressive numbers, no question. However, more & more (it seems, anyway – no objective research pretended) candidates who are just plain interesting & different are being preferred – people with fascinating backgrounds & unusual life experiences. That would be not necessarily the singular “niche” idea for that college (the oboe player, etc.) Rather, I was interested in students like the one from the Netherlands, & similar ones accepted by various Ivies. (There were domestic examples, too.) Many creative types got in – some associated with the visual/fine arts in particular, but others with a broad-based creativity not limited to producing art.</p>
<p>It would be an irony, & I guess a positive one, if the SAT in general ends up being less valued as an admission factor – reducing the need for LD accommodation in the first place. I’ll promise anyone here that LD families will take that option. We would so much rather just deal with a non-accommodated test that means little to admissions than to bang our heads about 500 times against the brick CB wall. Oh, whoops, the alphabet channel didn’t cover that “angle.” Not sexy enough.</p>
<p>jktbre, my older son was in the same situation of being offered extra time but electing not to use it. He said he didn’t think the extra time would help him. (I think he just didn’t want to spend any more time taking the darn test.) The thing is - he also decided not to notify his college about his learning disability once he enrolled, although he had gotten some support throughout high school. He figured he’d have to compete without any help once out in the “real” world, and he might as well start in college. Of course, his LD was very mild.</p>
<p>kluge, </p>
<p>Your son sounds like my son.:)</p>
<p>Is anyone on this thread really doubting that there are doctors prescribing too much Ritalin or psychologists diagnosing too many processing speed disorders (so that kids qualify for extra time?)?</p>
<p>Stats prove it! That’s what’s great about numbers!</p>
<p>Whoa, epiphany, turn down your burners! You are totally misinterpreting. WHEN YOU TYPE IN CAPS IT COMES ACROSS AS YELLING and I had no idea what you were yelling about. All I could glean is that you were being AWFULLY INTENSE ABOUT SOMETHING. At first it sounded like you were coming down on ABC for their sensationalism, like when they did that bit on “stupid in America”. Then you came down on CB, then back on the whole media. I couldnt follow your argument (as I tried to say politely). I genuinely asked for clarification. No attempt to pick a fight from this end. Don’t know why it came across as such to you. Then, in the meantime, there had been many other posts and comments, so when you responded “no” I had no clue to what you were responding. I cannot guess what “no” is in response to. As you said, I had asked a few questions in one of my earlier posts. I don’t want to make assumptions when I am asking for clarification in the first place. Oftentimes when people respond to something later in a thread they put the original question in quotes. This would have been helpful.</p>
<p>Ironically, I think we are on the same side of this issue. I believe that the true LD kids are getting scr—ed by the those trying to “game” the system. But I also don’t believe that the attempts to “game” the system are as prevalent as is being suggested by the ABC article. In my practice, I am in the middle of a 3rd appeal for accomodations for a bright kid who had a head injury as an infant, and who has dysgraphia. We are trying to get extended time or a computer to write the essay. So far CB has only offered a “quiet room”. That isn’t going to help this kid, who has a true, documented disability. I have strong feelings about how I think CB has gone overboard in the opposite direction to deny kids with legit LD accomodations that they deserve. BUT I AM NOT YELLING IT . Epiph- this isn’t about you. Chill. I was trying to understand your arguments. And I still am…</p>
<p>Hum, maybe you’re both right, jym and epiphany, and CB is not being consistant with the accomadations - depending upon the individual one is dealing with.</p>
<p>ohiomom-
True enough- And it seems that the CB reviewers in NJ differ from the CB reviewers in NY. Frustrating…</p>
<ul>
<li>… and ironic that students are taking the SAT today… on April fools day…</li>
</ul>
<p>Allmusic, </p>
<p>i do believe that kids are being overly diagnosed and overly medicated. I think that society is expecting these children, especially boys, to fit in to a little compartment where they all are expected to behave the same, think the same and perform the same. This is impossible as kids develop on their own schedule, not the one that schools set out for them. Plus I think that lots of kids are spoiled and that parents are too busy either ignoring them or trying to be their friends then trying to teach them values and work ethics. Our kids are raising themselves. It is frightening.</p>
<p>The kids on this board really impress me. They are looking at the future and preparing a plan to be a part of it. You guys, as their parents, should all be very proud of them. I know that I am:)</p>
<p>This is a bit disappointing. College Board, personally thinking, is NOT a nonprofit organization as they allege to be.</p>