Accomodations for Disabilities- Ever Hear of the ADA?

Parent Cafe
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<p>jbusc, okay, sorry. I thought you were using 2 standard deviations as a “legal” definition of a disbility. BTW, for accommodations one does not need to have a learning disbility. For example, someone who is a diabetic might be entitled to accommodations based upon that diagnosis. The accommodation might be that this person may eat in class as necessary even though other students are not allowed to eat in the classroom.</p>

<p>2collegewego, sorry I cross posted with you when I used diabetes as an example of someone who might have a disability requiring accommodations.</p>

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<p>As a college professor myself, I would never put the comments this professor did in writing. Whether it is legal or not there would be big push back at our school for taking this position, especially leaving a paper trail about it. The reality of it is that employers and faculty both hold feelings like this, but honestly, why would you put it in writing. DUMB. So I have my reservations about this professor to begin with.</p>

<p>Second, with regard to the recommendations the professor made in the past, unless the applicant self disclosed his/her disability, the faculty member may have provided the first instance of a heads up about the disability and may actually have impeded the student’s application (not that it should, but again, reality). Again, in my estimate, DUMB. I always double check what is and is not on the application itself.</p>

<p>Third, it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. The student is entitled to accommodation. Disabilities are variable. Just because someone needs extra time and someone else doesn’t it doesn’t matter. It’s not your job to assess this.</p>

<p>If you want to give advice, call the student in to your office or offer to go for coffee. Disassociate the advice from the specific test in question.</p>

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<p>A college professor would be wise to avoid putting the last 2 in writing…confidentiality, privacy, FERPA… :)</p>

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<p>This is not a learning difference- it is a disability/disease and the student is an advocate on the local, state and national levels and has gotten quite a bit of press/accolades. He was a sought-after applicant to this school and others because of his service work in this area.</p>

<p>This school prides itself on its commitment to students’ success and its support of students with various special needs. They seem to be addressing this issue appropriately and have been very reassuring to the boy and his family.</p>

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<p>This is a timely thread for me. D1 is a manager of a retail shop and recently hired a deaf employee. She says he’s smart and prepared, but she’s struggling to help him learn the ropes in terms of waiting on employees. He’s struggling a bit with taking orders because they are so individual and the words are unique to the field so he hasn’t experience with lip-reading those particular words. He also has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder in that he gets defensive when asked to do the grunt work that all employees start out with (washing dishes, wiping counters, mopping floors) because he feels that he’s being picked on. She’s not sure how to help him and he isn’t particularly receptive. His mother, though, is often in the store and wants him to succeed. Daughter thinks it would be great to get advice from the mother, but she doesn’t want to go behind his back. The employee is 16. any advice?</p>

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<p>Methinks thee doth protest too much. </p>

<p>way too much…</p>

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<p>Working with students who have ADA accommodations can be frustrating. Our ADA coordinator has only recently accepted responsibility for proctoring tests in an extended time format. Prior to this year, our college paid for notetakers that were requested by students, but now no longer does this. Professors are expected to find notetakers at the beginning of the semester for students requesting this service, but we have no idea as to the quality of the students who might volunteer and not many step up given that it is no longer a way to earn extra cash. According to our ADA coordinator, professors may not supply their own notes, but must act as an intermediary between the note taker and the student requesting accommodations. It is frustrating because many of the publishers (particularly McGraw-Hill) provide wonderful resources for students in the form of PowerPoints, narrated PowerPoints, iPod content, etc., yet we are told that this content is not acceptable for the note taking component.</p>

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<p>Regarding employment statistics for disabled people: a major factor is access to medical insurance and/or affordable care. Many disabled people who are able to work to some degree and would like to have at least a part-time job cannot because it would mean losing their access to Medicaid. And of course, disabled people are very likely to need access to health care. (I’m not talking about a disabled person who is able to hold down a full-time, well-paying job of the type that typically includes health insurance, of course.)</p>

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<p>Its hard dealing with schools and such when it comes to this.</p>

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<p>This seems crazy to me!! I’m no expert, but I know that in fact an employer IS required to make reasonable accommodations for a disabled employee, and a student is never obligated to forfeit their ADA rights. Also, in an interview or on an application the employer should not be asking about physical limitations accept to the extent that the directly impact a person’s ability to do a specific job. Even in that case, I don’t know that it’s ever required or appropriate to disclose a diagnosis. I think every disabled student has been humiliated at the hands of an ignorant professor or teacher. Mine tried to make me fail vocab tests by telling me I was lying about my extra time and attempting to take my test. When she realized she couldn’t do that anymore she would stand in front of my desk screaming at me to hurry up. I finally went to an advisor. I’m now in AP Eng Lang so I’ll never have her again!!! The point being it makes sense for students to have a working knowledge of the ADA!!</p>

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<p>While I am sure the student in question actually has a learning disorder, it is well known that some people try to ‘fake’ a learning disorder to get extra time. Unfortunately, many tests in college (from my experience so far) are difficult BECAUSE of the time constraint. Teachers purposely provide exams that tests a student’s ability to critically think in an efficient manner. I understand the argument that a student with a real LD needs the extra time, but the professor’s point is a good one as well. How can you be an Investment banker making quick and high pressure decisions if your mind is slow? </p>

<p>However, I believe the professor went over the line. The professor has no right to give ‘career’ advice to a student. She did say she would accommodate the student, but she said it in a way that would make the student look like a bad person if she agreed to extra time. If I received that email, I would be afraid my professor would grade my exam harder than the rest of the class or write in my class profile that “so and so got extra time on the final”. The professor clearly has a strong opinion on this subject, but should keep that opinion to herself.</p>

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<p>My husband’s a professor. He’s very open with the fact that he’s also dyslexic. He’s been asked to serve on panels for the rest of the faculty for ADA accommodation presentations to give his perspective, so I showed him this thread and asked him what he thought about the situation.</p>

<p>My husband was furious. He said that the student needs to go immediately to the disability office and show them the documents. He said that there are a few types of professors when it comes to addressing disabilities, and the worst kind are the ones who are covertly hostile towards disability accommodations and who don’t recognize their own biases. It’s very possible that subconsciously, that professor has already drawn some conclusions about the student’s abilities. It is just as possible that the professor is going to be grading that student’s test differently from the other ones, even if it’s done unintentionally.</p>

<p>The student needs to go to the disability office to report this immediately (edit: I see now that they already have, which is good…). They need to take the professor’s e-mails with them and show them to the disability services people and to start a physical record of what has occurred. “Definitely, there needs to be a paper trail, if for no other reason than the Disability Office needs to have this guy on their radar,” my husband said. The professor needs to be reminded of the fact that he or she is not allowed to discuss ANYBODY’S disability with ANYONE-- in letters of recommendation, in conversations with students or other professors, ANYWHERE-- because of disability privacy laws, and that reminder needs to come from the Disability Office.</p>

<p>There are certain classes where accommodations can’t be given. In music, my husband’s field, there are auditions, sight reading and sight singing exams, things like that, where it’s not feasible for time extension accommodations to be given, but if it’s a written examination of knowledge, that’s different, and accommodations have to be made without consequence.</p>

<p>We talked about the PE licensing exam that engineers take in order to be licensed by the state. There are provisions for ADA accommodations to be made during <em>that</em> exam, even, and that exam is taken several years into an engineer’s career. “How much more professional a situation can you get than that? A professional engineering exam?” my husband asked.</p>

<p>There aren’t many things that can get a tenured professor fired from their job. Sleeping with a student is one of them. Embezzling money from the university is another. Very high up on the list is violating ADA requirements, because it can leave the university vulnerable to major civil suits. Universities take this sort of thing very seriously, and professors should take it seriously, too. This needs to be reported immediately.</p>

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<p>I would just like to chime in and say that the above poster’s (aibarr) statement is what I was told about D’s school. I was assured that if any professor ever disclosed a disability to anyone that person would most likely lose their job. Only the teachers whose class required an accommodation would be notified and all knew the rules. </p>

<p>I would have taken this to the Disabilities office. The threat is clear. Yes, the extended time thing has been overdone BUT if a student has it you must give it. The egos of these people who think they know better really gets to me.</p>

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<p>Thanks, aibarr. (and zoeydoggie). That is certainly the view of anyone who works in the labor/employment area. The disability office is completely behind the student on this.
I have to admit that I’m quite surprised by some of the responses to my original post. I have no skin in this game and wasn’t seeking advice, but I didn’t expect some of the comments. I guess there is a fear that someone might gain an edge on one’s child???</p>

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<p>MomofWildChild- I have a question about this issue that you seem to be the perfect person to answer. I’m not trying to be part of an argument, I’ve just always been curious about this. Let’s say there’s a very bright student who has dyslexia. They have made it through high school, college and law school with extended time on exams. But when it comes to practicing law, don’t they bill their customers by the hour? (Billable hours?) We have a friend who has this backround, and he is practicing in the area of trusts and estates. Is it possible to bill your customers by the job and not the hour? At some point, would a law school counsel a student where the best area within the field would be for their strengths and weaknesses? Or do they usually figure it out themselves?</p>

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<p>Pete Wright is the big name in special ed law. He is dyslexic, dysgraphic, dis-everything (in his own words). Very bright people find ways to accommodate their disabilities. Pete uses a lot of technology that was not available when he was in school. In other words, I think the student gravitates to where he belongs.</p>

<p>MomofWildChild- I was also surprised by some of the responses. I think a lot of people don’t know the requirements of ADA, only what they have heard. A person applying for a job does not need to disclose a disability, for example. IF he is hired, he then has the right to ask for accommodations. The business then has to provide them or show a reason why it is not possible. The poster that said something about everyone being on a level playing field especially made me wonder. The whole idea of ADA is to level the field for the disabled.</p>

<p>Yes, I’m sure there are parents who have pulled strings to make sure that their child got an ADHD or ADD diagnosis so they could get extra time. Not my problem, and the funny part is that a student with ADD is not all that likely to take the extra time. LD’s are a lot harder to fake but if someone wants to go to all that trouble to get an edge their priorities are way messed up.</p>

<p>Maybe I am ultra sensitive to this because I do have a dog in this hunt.</p>

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<p>In June 0f 2008, the ADA laws were changed to broaden the scope and definition of “disability”. MOWC, can I defer to you and your legal training to summarize the changes?? Here are a few links to discussions about the changes (the 3rd link is a webinar, so may not be helpful) [ADA</a> Amendments Act Report | Council on Law in Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.clhe.org/clhe/emerging-issues-reports/ada-amendments-act-report-complimentary-copy/]ADA”>http://www.clhe.org/clhe/emerging-issues-reports/ada-amendments-act-report-complimentary-copy/)
[Higher</a> Education | ADA One, LLC](<a href=“http://ada-one.com/focus/higher-education/]Higher”>Higher Education - ADA One, LLC)
[Charting</a> the Changes: FERPA and ADA](<a href=“http://www.magnapubs.com/catalog/cds/602174-1.html]Charting”>http://www.magnapubs.com/catalog/cds/602174-1.html)</p>

<p>Within the work environment, I thought there were slightly differing rules for a small (ie less than 50 employee) vs large company, especially when it came to defining “reasonable accomodations”. For example (and I am making this up off the top of my head before having my morning cup of coffee, so it may not be a good example), if a qualified quadraplegic applicant applied for a position in a small company, but it would require the company to face major expenses to remodel the office to put countertops, work surfaces, etc all at wheelchair height, would they risk litigation if they didnt hire the candidate and were not able to take on the expenses to remodel the office (even if other aspects of the office or building were already handicapped accessible). Just wondering, as I don’t know the answer to this question.</p>

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<p>And additionally, another poster posted elsewhere this link to a powerpoint presentation on the ADA changes as it relates to the educational environment <a href=“http://www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/advocacy/adaa.webinar.mar09.handout.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/advocacy/adaa.webinar.mar09.handout.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Lawyers are pretty good at self-selection. We focus on what we are good at. Lots of lawyers basically read for a living while others talk for a living. It is highly doubtful that a lawyer with reading issues would choose to go into an area of law where she had to read long documents every day for hours on end.</p>

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<p>^^ Agreed. There are many areas of law (including the one I’m in) where you don’t bill time to clients.</p>