Student Sues Princeton Over Learning Disability Accommodations

MomPhD
Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:40:38 +0000

Cardinal Fang, while exact accomodations can’t be locked in prior to acceptance, I do think I could have ruled out some colleges if I had made queries prior to application. If the service refused to talk without documentation in hand, that in itself would be a clue…Some of the disappointing answers would have been the same before as after admission, such as answers to the documentation question. One university required documentation of certain LDs from early elementary school years (I am told this is probably a violation of ADA). In gifted/LD kids, this may not exist, because the kids’ gifts mask the LDs or because they figure out how to compensate, or because teachers don’t recognize the LDs (or if they do, they don’t alert the parents). For example, attention deficit without hyperactivity is often missed by teachers, especially in female students. Another issue is that some public districts, in an attempt to control special ed costs, actively discourage teachers from identifying LDs for as long as possible. We have students in our district with indisputable dyslexia who were never identified by their teachers, or who were only identified late in high school after a legal battle.

The college LD service’s answers to other generic questions prior to admission can be revealing (like, for what LDs do you allow time accomodations, and what % do you usually approve? Are certain technologies readily available? How many students use your services and how many have accomodations?). I also would do a sort of gut check–how responsive and engaging are the directors? Did they make time to talk or were they rushed? How expert and current on the research are they? Are these people that my student would be willing to spend time with or rely upon? If the answers are not positive, I would cross that college off of the application list.

I post this to potentially save some application and college visit costs–and even some wasted tuition or legal fees–for other families with LD college applicants.