Need Extra Help? Just Ask
Students with learning disabilities expect a place in college. Schools will go out of their way to support them
What's legal, what's not. Although it's illegal for colleges to discriminate against those with disabilities, some students may decide to discuss their learning disability in a separate essay or give permission to include the information in a letter from a high school guidance counselor. That could be used to explain, say, the discrepancy between poor grades one year, before a learning disability was diagnosed, and improved grades later, after accommodations and tutoring were put in place. However, "if you meet the requirements for college admission, there is no reason to tell the admissions office that you have LD, because that is irrelevant," says Funckes.
Although at first she was undecided, in the end Todfield decided to identify herself on her applications as having LD because she knew that every school on her list had a strong support program that she would use. "My advice to anyone applying to college," she says, "is it's a difficult process, but don't be ashamed, don't be embarrassed. You don't have to hide your learning disability."
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HEATH.gwu.edu, an online clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities, provides answers aplenty for collegebound students and their parents.
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Tax Dollars and Federal Laws Guarantee an Education for Disabled Students
It is true when a student with disabilities enter into an educational setting it can be difficult to receive the help they need. There are processes they must go through to receive the help. If a parent is unaware (as most are) of the opportunities for their child, then yes they will miss the boat. For anyone out their looking at this response, know that there are federal laws on the books that say students with disabilities have rights. First, it is the parents "right" to request help for their child (while in k-12th grade). If a parent waits for the schools to do it for them, then it usually will not happen. A parent must push to get everything possible for their child. The key is to begin when their child is young. If a child has a documented record of their disability before graduating from high school, then it will make it easier for the child to use their documentation to move further in their education. In secondary education, unless your child has a power of attorney, the child must handle all of their educational needs on their own. This causes a problem for the young person because not only do they have to handle the every day stresses of college, but they also have to handle all of the requirements of receiving financial aid, disability accommodations, and any other situation that may arise while in college. This sometimes is overwhelming for the regular college student, and definitely affects a student with disabilities. If a student has documented information, they can present the information to the college’s disabilities division and get their modifications (required by the federal gov't) in place. Of course, states have vocational rehabilitation services division that will also step in and help the student receive the services they may require. Whether it be financial or supportive services. The answer is, you must ask for it. A child will run across many teachers in colleges who will not provide the modifications/accommodations unless they are given a letter from the disabilities division of the college that explains exactly what the teacher needs to do for the student. Once this letter is documented and given to the teacher, then legally they are required by law to do exactly what is stated in the letter. At this point the disabled student is where they need to be. The student is now on an even playing field as the other students attending the school. How do I know these things? I know these things because I raised a son who had learning disabilities. He was able to graduate from high school (passing all work on his own). He then went to a technical college where he graduated with a 3.6GPA. It wasn't easy, and I had to battle teachers and the schools throughout his whole eduational experiences. The key was I had the federal law behind me, and I had a determination that my child deserved the best education my tax dollars could get for him, and the best education this country could provide him with.
Misleading title: It's not as easy as that
Perhaps for people with learning disability caught earlier in their life, it's that easy. But for many disabled students, the title of this article does not ring true.
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine (with a 3.9 GPA through his Junior year of college) was starting to show the first signs of schizophrenia. After hospitalization, and now medicated, his return to classes was very difficult. In addition to the side-effects of the medication affecting his cognition, there were still some symptoms to deal with. One paper he turned in was rambling in nature, so poorly written that the professor accused him of cheating on prior papers, and gave him a choice between failing for the semester or taking a D on all of the prior papers...
A counselor from the local mental health agency recommended working through the school's disability services program to be able to take tests alone or have deadlines extended, and to simply have official certification of his condition to avoid situations such as the one mentioned above.
When he went to the Student Disability Services office, they turned him away with little emotion, saying he needed documentation to even get started with them. (I was with him, so it's not just his impression). When he brought the letter from his psychiatrist, they said they would "make a determination as to whether his condition met their criteria". Three weeks later (a long time during the end of a 15 week semester), he received a written letter in the mail stating that his condition did not meet their criteria for assistance. He got another letter from his doctor, and didn't get a decision before the end of the semester. By then it was too late, disheartened by the school's unwillingness to recognize his problem as "real", he did not return to school the next semester.
So perhaps the title of this article should have been, "Need help? Just prove it."
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