LD and Elite Colleges

aspiemom2
Thu, 07 May 2009 14:06:38 +0000

My son is an aspie in 8th grade who does well academcially and survives socially because of the tremendous effort he puts into trying to make his life work for him. As a mother, I have often found it painful to watch what he has to do and what he has to put up despite all the support my husband and I have tried to give him. Watching someone overcome adversity can be inspiring, but it is also often heartbreaking. That said, I think recent comments relating to Toadstool are too harsh and uncivil, and I believe it is important to remain civil on a board like this. Further, I am not opposed to hearing from those who think differently from myself. Finally, those who take advantage of the “LD” system hurt people like my son more than anyone else, and so I am opposed to the abuse which I know occurs in the diagnostic community, especially with respect to diagnosing ADD. Services must be provided for those who need them, but some common sense needs to be inserted into the process. My experience as a teacher is that the quality of services declines for those who really need them when 20-25% of students are on IEPs. Teachers simply start ignoring the requirements of the IEPs regardless of the law, and parents are often the last to know.