Accomodations for Disabilities- Ever Hear of the ADA?

Parent Cafe
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<p>MOWC,
Perhaps if you had provided more facts, some of us would have had a different opinion. As you told it, the student does not have an LD, he did not ask for extra time throughout the semester until the final exam, and apparently his performance led to the prof to be surprised that he even required accommodation.</p>

<p>While I do my best to be sensitive to the disabled, I think people need to remember that profs are human and imperfect, and I still don’t think his response warranted “outrage” or “fury.” Until there is evidence that the student is, in fact, treated in a discriminatory manner (i.e., no accommodation granted or punitive bad grade given), I don’t see a cause of action.</p>

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<p>^^ I said the student has a mild disability that is not a LD. My read from the prof’s email as that the prof was questioning whether the student really had the disability, even though he was registered as such and had, in fact, disclosed it to the prof.
I love when people fall back on the “well, if you had given us more facts” argument and then jump all over people who share too much information and identities can be determined.<br>
The professor was wrong and the school administration has acknowledged that.</p>

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<p>I am not surprised that the school administration took that approach, as it is the swiftest way to dispense with the issue, but in a court of law, the prof’s free speech rights would likely enter into the equation as well.</p>

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<p>This would never see a courtroom. The prof has free speech rights, but the prof still has to abide by the ADA.</p>

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<p>Bay–Are you a lawyer ?</p>

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<p>Why do you ask?</p>

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<p>Because you expressed an opinion as to what would happen in a court of law, and I wanted to know if you are an attorney and thus had some basis for expressing that opinion. You also said that you didn’t see a “cause of action,” which is legalese. So, again, in weighing the import of your opinion, I wanted to know if it’s based on legal knowledge.</p>

<p>MOWC is an attorney–and almost everyone here knows it–so in weighing your opinion vs. hers…I’d like to know, that’s all.</p>

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<p>I think I have read somewhere that David Boies is dyslexic . </p>

<p>[David</a> Boies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Boies]David”>David Boies - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>I don’t know how rules are applied elsewhere, where we are, one needed to have well documented disabilities as in dx by a neuropsychologist or someone as qualified to have extended time and other support. The ADA is supposed to level the playing field, not gave unfair advantage to the undeserving.</p>

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<p>Lawyers who bill by time do so regardless of how efficient they are. That has nothing to do with disabilities. So, for example, years ago I hired an attorney who was new and I fired her because she took forever in working on my case. I doubt she had a disability but she had too many billable hours and took too many weeks for something that an experienced attorney was later able to accomplished in fewer hours. Even though the experienced attorney charged more per hour, he cost less. The idea that attorneys complete <em>anything</em> at the same rate is erroneous. Perhaps one takes more time because of a reading disability but perhaps she has an amazing memory and doesn’t have to look up as much. Or perhaps she has handled a similar case and still has draft documents. Or perhaps she assigns the paralegal to tasks which the other attorney does herself, saving you $. Really, reading speed is just one factor in cost and if I was hiring an attorney where close reading was critical (for example, a contract attorney), I wouldn’t worry about speed.</p>

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<p>jonri,</p>

<p>I have a J.D. and have represented employers in the distant past, including with regard to some ADA compliance issues, but do not profess to be up to speed about the law in this area. I simply have an ingrained habit of looking at an issue from both sides and making the contrarian argument to see how it flies. Isn’t that what CC is all about? :)</p>

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<p>Thank you for your answers, they make a lot of sense. I have always wondered about how the extended time thing would transfer to real life. My spouse is dyslexic, but in a completely different, hands on line of work. He has a secretary proofread everything before it goes out.</p>

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<p>If you think this is crazy you should hear my D’s story. Diagnosed with fine motor incoordination at age 10. Received accommodations through senior year of high school as well as on the SAT and ACT.</p>

<p>Goes to college. College hires “outside consultants” to evaluate documentation. Consultants paid by the university are split - one says she is disabled; another says she is not. College says our consultant says she is not disabled - therefore no accommodations!</p>

<p>Consultants never re evaluated or met with D in person. Looked only at the documentation submitted.</p>

<p>OCR says this is legal - since the college hired consultants to evaluate the documentation and one of them concluded she was not disabled and therefore not qualified for accommodations.</p>

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<p>Hi everyone. I’ve never posted on this forum, though I’ve been hanging around since my D started the application process in the fall. The wisdom has been invaluable and I never felt I had anything worthwhile to add which wasn’t already being expressed better by others.</p>

<p>In this area, however, given that my D is high iq dysgraphic, dyslexic/ 2300’s Sat, high gpa student, I think I can say that stories like the above are exactly why we pointed our daughter towards schools with proven track records for accomodations for dyslexics. Very important.</p>

<p>It is difficult enough to leave home, do the college level work and work about five times as hard as everyone else without having your integrity questioned, without the added hassle of fighting for what is legally right. The truth is that it is not only uneducated bigotted people who have issues with dys-kids…as can be evidenced by posts all over this website. </p>

<p>When she said Brown, we said talk to some kids and parents. When she said Yale, we said talk to some kids and some parents. (websites are not recommendations but advertisements!) And so she did.</p>

<p>In the end, she didn’t choose a top tier school ala USNWP. She did choose a top flight school in terms of sciences and how they accomodate thier dyslexics. The truth is, and we can see it right here, we haven’t come that far from the days when Churchill was ridiculed for his LD or Patton was crying and kept out of school til he was 16. Einstein and Edison would still be seen as lackluster students, and Da Vinci, with his mirror writing would have been sent to an alternative school of some sort. </p>

<p>But that is the way of the world and something these kids have to learn to handle, along with doing three times as much as anyone else to get as far. I really think the lessons they learn along the way serve them well and that Schwab, Kinkos and Virgin Atlantic are pretty good testaments to what we can expect from these kids in the future, oh, and lest we forget…Microsoft.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about how these kids will do, just be grateful for the out of the box and innovative, three-dimensional thinking they bring to the table. I’m sure it will be one of them who finally solves the energy problem in some bizarre out of the way university lab where the professor’s didn’t care if she or he could spell, just that they could “see” something the rest of us will never be able to “get” for example E=MC2</p>

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<p>wow dmd!! i think u just said what i was trying to say! on behalf of my disabled son…ty:) I think you put that together very well…as I babble along in life…lol.</p>

<p>my experience has always been so positive while my son was in HS. the shock (more for him…I was prepared) was…what happens now? Mom??? ugh…he is 22 now…and still asking me the same question! I’m in the process of swtiching him from DVR to DDD (disability rehab vocational) (dept of developmental disabilities)…the first one is there to help our child work…but no on is even slightly interested…there hasn’t been a call since before xmas…so…while his bro and sis are off at college…we planned to find a “job” for d3…life isnt working that way…</p>

<p>We now have to take him out of the DVR program…(the one that makes him a prosective employee) into the program that has no expectations of having them work</p>

<p>Now…he’ll be eligible to go to the gym…to help out at a nursing home…loads of things…unpaid!</p>

<p>paid in a skewed way by DDD?</p>

<p>If there is someone who can actually make this make sense…I’ll be grateful
i KNOW the diff between ddd and dvr, …oy vey…its sad that it is so hard</p>

<p>bottom line is…the most my son will (can earn) is less then $500 a month…YA think i’m trying to scam the government? lol…someone did say that to me!!
arghh</p>