Disability accomodations in college

Parents Forum
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<p>There have been a lot of discussion about students with learning disabilities and how that influences their performance in college. There’s also been some discussion on what colleges should be expected to provide to students who have learning disabilities.</p>

<p>I found this on one college’s website and thought it was interesting and worth posting here.</p>

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<p>Many of the things that people have wanted for those with learning disabilities sound like things that may have been provided in high school (under IDEA) but are beyond providing opportunities to participate that is required by college.</p>

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<p>I’m guessing that’s because children are entitled by law to elementary and secondary education but not beyond?</p>

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<p>At our community college students can get accommodations, but the responsibility shifts from the school doing the testing and evaluating to the student providing the proof of disability.</p>

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<p>I told myself i wouldn’t engage but I couldn’t help it. You are mis-reading both this text and what people have actually been asking for in terms of accomodation for students. </p>

<p>The text is explaining that colleges are not required to provide special programs for disabilities. This refers to, for example, programs you regularly find in secondary schools and some elementary schools for children with severe developmental disabilities, such as severe mental retardation, non-socially functioning autistic children, children who are non-verbal or in other ways not able to learn at the normal pace (down’s syndrome, etc) and meet the standards of children who are developmentally delayed. Elementary schools and secondary schools have to, by law, provide classrooms, teachers, student aides, and other resources to these children to provide them with what level of education and skills are possible. These classes go under a lot of titles such as “Self-contained special Education” where students with severe developmental disabilities are segregated in their own learning environment. Or Life Skills classes, where students are taught a minimum of skills they’ll need to function when they leave the school system, understanding that some of them may never live as fully independent adults, but some may go into group home or other settings where they’ll need some life skills. In my home state, if an elementary or high school can’t provide this for the child, then the district has to pay to send the child to a private school or program that can provide for them. </p>

<p>This is DIFFERENT than what is required in college. No college is required by law to provide a severely delayed child with a degree. Indeed, children with these kinds of delays usually don’t go to college. THey aren’t required to provide Life Skills majors or Self Contained classrooms. Colleges are however required to provide reasonable accomodations to make their programs accessible to students who are not developmentally delayed, but have other challenges that make it difficult for them to learn without assistance. These kids are able to do everything thier peers do, but they do it slightly differently. So a college is required to make classroom buildings wheelchair accessible so that a quadrapalegic student can get to class. If they had blind or deaf students, they would be required to make some accomodation for that student to learn, such as providing a sign language interpreter or braille textbooks (or braille on the room numbers outside of doors). They are required to give extra time to students with documented disabilities on exams because they read at a slightly slower pace or they process information differently. Otherwise that exam would not be accessible to a student with say, dyslexia. And again, these are accomodations within reason. The college doesn’t have to provide the student three extra days to do the test, but maybe 60 extra minutes. So far, these seem to be the kinds of accomodations people are asking about. Their kids are able to use computers to write essays, have notetakers, get extra exam time, and sometimes have a private room. With those minimal accomodations, they’re able to function just like any other student. </p>

<p>Colleges do not bear the same burden as high schools and elementary schools, largely because college is not mandatory in this country. If we say kids have to go to school until they’re 16 or 18, then they have to be provided with the facilities and programs to go to, even if they have minimal capacity to proess information at what we might think of as a “normal” level. College is a choice, so it can’t be held to the same standard. But it is held to the same standards as other public buildings, facilities, even businesses have legal responsibilities under the ADA to make their workplaces accessible. </p>

<p>You seem to be a litle obsessed with this issue and for turning people into your cookie cutter vision of how they should be. But life is messy, it’s not always perfect, or up to grade level, and each person is not the same as each other person. Frankly, I’m personally just grateful for my own good health and don’t begrudge others who need extra accomodations to make their lives work. I know for them it’s very hard to ask for help and can be very isolating. I try to just be as welcoming and understanding as I can. Having some kind of developmental difficulty can make your life tough enough.</p>

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<p>Although I find your obsession with this a little bizarre, here is a simple explanation of the civil rights 504 law:</p>

<p>"College Policy/Disability Law</p>

<p>Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) governs the accommodation services CVCC provides students with disabilities. Detail regulations regarding the implementation of 504 may be found in 34 Code of Federal Regulation Part 104. The law states: “No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the U.S. shall, solely by reason of handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
Some of the specific implications of this law include: </p>

<p>1.No student can be excluded from any course, major, or program solely on the basis of a disability.
2.Certain accommodations are mandated, such as the provision of alternate testing and evaluation methods for measuring student mastery.
3.Modifications, substitutions, or waivers of a course, major, or degree requirement may be necessary to meet the needs of some students.
4.It is discriminatory to restrict the range of career options for students with disabilities as compared to non-disabled students with similar interests and abilities, unless such advice is based on strict licensing or certification requirements that may constitute an obstacle.</p>

<p>Please Note: According to recent court decisions, if students mention having difficulty with their class work due to a disability, even though they don’t ask for specific accommodations, the College is responsible for directing them to Disability Support Services for information"</p>

<p>Basically, what this means is that if a school is recieving any Federal funds, including grants for research, they must offer accomodations. If they are not recieving any federal funds, they do not have to offer accomodations. Very few colleges could survive without the research and the Pell Grants…they are all federally subsidized to some degree, therefore, they all provide accomodations.</p>

<p>Some schools are better at this than others, but given the frequent correlation between very high iq and some form of LD, schools don’t really WANT to discriminate against these kids, for the most part, much as you would have it otherwise. Good luck to you. I hope you can find a new interest soon. ;)</p>

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<p>Smithie,</p>

<p>There’s a big difference between what you posted above and what others have posted regarding Aspergers and other learning disabilities. What you posted above makes sense and is reasonable. What you said</p>

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<p>are all reasonable accomodations.</p>

<p>In particular, the things that bug me are when parents think their kids should be exempt from proper grammar and spelling on homework assignments and exams in classes that require proper grammar and spelling, exempt from 4 sequence classes in a foreign language (or permitted to skip the part where the person has to speak or write the language), etc.</p>

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<p>Thank you Poetgrl for telling me to go away.</p>

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<p>well, so far I haven’t heard of any parents demanding that from the colllege. I know one parent said their child received certain accomodations similar to those you mentioned in high school. I think it’s reasonable for high school accomodations to be more lenient than college ones. </p>

<p>But honestly, those things you just listed are not what people are demanding for/usually worried about for their children with learning disablities. There’s not some huge overwhelming wave of parents demanding their kids not have to use AP style or take foreign languages. Those are minor quibbles in the much broader and more serious issue of disability accomodation within colleges and in graduate school. I’m sorry if you’ve been tricked into thinking that’s really the crux of the issue. If you look at the vast majority of threads on disabilities on this board, that’s not what they’re asking about.</p>

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<p>These are the threads that have been most demanding on what the parents (or student) expects from the school. If these threads don’t represent LDs in general, then I rest my case (and will find a new interest).</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/887187-ba-general-studies.html?highlight=twistedxkiss[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/887187-ba-general-studies.html?highlight=twistedxkiss&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/881763-bright-child-failing-ivy.html?highlight=aspie[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/881763-bright-child-failing-ivy.html?highlight=aspie&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/881019-expectations-college-office-disability-aspergers.html?highlight=executive+function[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/881019-expectations-college-office-disability-aspergers.html?highlight=executive+function&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>but the responsibility shifts from the school doing the testing and evaluating to the student providing the proof of disability.</p>

<p>Unfortunately- this is true at our K-12 level as well.
According to our district, if student is passing, they must be doing OK- </p>

<p>this has info RE: colleges and LD’s
[LD</a> OnLine :: College & College Prep](<a href=“http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/college]LD”>http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/college)</p>

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<p>bigtrees—you stated above "In particular, the things that bug me are when parents think their kids should be exempt from proper grammar and spelling on homework assignments and exams in classes that require proper grammar and spelling, exempt from 4 sequence classes in a foreign language (or permitted to skip the part where the person has to speak or write the language), etc.</p>

<p>usually I don’t find spelling mistakes bothersome on cc, however are you aware you misspelled the word accommodations in your thread title?</p>

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<p>Bigtees, what experience have you had in life that made this such a hot button issue for you? Were you beat out as Val by someone who had accommodations in high school? Did someone who got extra time on the SAT get a higher score than you? Did a disabled person get a job that you wanted?</p>

<p>Don’t you agree that it is in the best interest of society for everyone to live up to his or her potential? A few accommodations may mean the difference between someone becoming a valued high school teacher and being the stereotypical unemployed guy living in his parents’ basement playing video games all day.</p>

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<p>Right but the parents in these threads all seem to either be asking for reasonable accomodations, or be asking for suggestions for private therapy or options THEY have as parents, not demanding that there be more than the things which you yourself have agreed are reasonable. Or else they’re offering examples of things that were done for their child in high school, but aren’t done for them in college (not demanding that the college do X, Y, or Z).</p>

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<p>There’s nothing wrong with providing a way for students who have mastered the skills necessary to prove their knowledge and earn the degree. But they have to master the knowledge and skills required as part of their degree.</p>

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<p>Right but Kids with accomodations DO master the skills and knowledge to earn their degrees. So I guess we’re all a little confused about what the hang up here is?</p>

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<p>Good characterization of recent threads, SmithieandProud. And it is my understanding that at least in some of these cases, parents and students were led to believe that certain accommodations would be available, but that hasn’t happened. These are families who did the research, who asked the questions in making their college selection, and then the school failed to honor its promise.</p>

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<p>bigtrees - I hope you never have a sibling, child, grandchild, niece, nephew, etc. who has a learning or physical disability. One does not fully understand until one has a strong connection to someone who does need accomodations.</p>

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<p>Bigtrees: Some schools or departments either do not wish to put in the time and effort, or do not have the resources available to them to provide accommodations for some disabilities and instead offer waivers of requirements pending a lengthy approval process. Or, alternatively, some schools allow waivers of gen ed requirements that are completely unrelated to the degree being sought out if the student has a diagnosis of a disability that would cause undue hardship. For example Wayne State in Detroit waives the math requirement to some liberal arts programs with a diagnosis of mathematics disorder. It’s not that students are refusing offers of accommodation in favor of demanding waivers, sometimes that is just what the university is willing to offer and they are required under the ADA to offer /something./ Sometimes they would rather not allow a student that opportunity to master the material in the best way that they can if that means they have to put in more effort to work with them, or if it means expending resources they don’t have. I don’t think you can blame the students or their parents for that.</p>

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<p>Bigtrees likes to stir up trouble, and has already done so on several other threads. That’s all.</p>

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<p>Big Trees, </p>

<p>In a completely unrelated thread about tact and the college admission’s process, you told a story about a friend of yours who was always a little peeved about your superb test taking skills. It’s a common peeve i would guess. However, by your own admission, you claimed the kid was actually “smarter” than you. You know this person as your friend and you know this person is very intelligent. But what if that kid was more than merely slow on taking a test. Should he have been deemed “dumb” because he lagged at filling in a bubble sheet? </p>

<p>See, here’s the thing about education: We have learned quite a bit about how the brain works or doesn’t work. How it processes information or how it doesn’t sometimes. I agree that SOMETIMES parents might rush to a disability defense when their otherwise smart kid doesn’t seem to be stepping up to the plate to do the work, but we don’t have the whole picture of that kid. And if an otherwise really smart kid seems to be working exceptionally hard and spinning in mud, there absolutely could be an issue in how they learn. And just because “learning” comes easily to you or that you are a wiz at regurgitating information for a test, does not mean you’re smart. It just means you’ve mastered taking tests. I am not saying you aren’t smart, I am just saying, that one kind of smart isn’t the only kind of smart. </p>

<p>My brother is brilliant – BRILLIANT. But he has dysgraphia. Do you know what it would be like to know exactly how a letter or word should look and simply not be able to force your hand to replicate it? How about having to struggle with this in a time long before computers were the norm? When every spelling test became a nightmarish pursuit? How about writing a paper - long hand. An essay? Today, we hand this kid a computer and he can type up his papers and it would hardly be called an accommodation, but back in 1974? You would be shocked to know the lengths my parents had to go to to ensure that this clearly brilliant kid wasn’t labeled dumb, lazy or a discipline case simply because he was so frustrated in merely holding a pencil. Do you have any idea what it’s like to know you know the material and yet can’t seem to shut out the clatter when taking a test in a room with 100 other people. Sure, some jobs require that you work faster than other jobs, but as you said so yourself… does it really matter if you could fill in those little bubbles faster than your friend on standardized tests? Did you think less of him because of this “weakness”? Did it speak to his character or abilities? That’s why there are accommodations. </p>

<p>And while I will agree that there does seem to be an influx of diagnosis’ over the past decade (my SIL - a professor - has seen a tremendous rise in kids who need accommodations in certain “required” classes), we know so much more about how people learn. Think of all the wasted talents there must have been “before.” Before there were eyeglasses, and computers, tape recorders, books written in braille, etc etc. Life is not black and white. There is not just one “right” way to learn nor is there only one way to demonstrate that learning. </p>

<p>I realize you feel a certain level of frustration about fairness and all that, but do you think it “fair” that you were given the gift of speedy test taking and someone else didn’t? I’m just saying… sometimes you only need to see the potential of one person who isn’t being given an opportunity to see what unfair really looks like.</p>