More Answers to Your Questions on Applying to University With a Learning Disability
From The New York Times: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/marybeth-2/
Q. My son has Dyspraxia, a disorder that impacts motor skill development, and has an aide to help him with assisted typing. Is there any obligation or any type of service available at the college level to provide him with an aide? — Mike
A. It is really important that your son learn in high school the strategies that will help him compensate for Dyspraxia. Progressing from needing an aide to self-sufficiency in high school is key to helping students be independent in college. Check with your high school to find out what they may recommend and what technology is available so that your son is proficient in it before matriculating to college.
Many colleges have outstanding technology available on campus, including programs that can highlight and provide note-taking support, auditory programs that will spell-check work and voice-activated programs that can write and edit documents.
Colleges are not obligated by law to provide aides. Based on appropriate documentation, however, colleges can provide note-takers, scribes, class notes, and voice-activated computer programs for assistance with voice-to-text. More specifically, a scribe will write down exactly what a student dictates. The student can review what is written and ask the scribe to make any corrections. Scribes are also responsible for spelling and punctuation. This particular accommodation might be helpful for your student.
If there is a need for one-on-one aide support, then this usually requires the student to pay. It is extremely important that the student or family asks each of the colleges they are considering to provide details on what kind of support and technology are available to students with disabilities.
Q. Most colleges require a current assessment to certify a student for services related to a learning disability. High schools in Virginia retest students every three years. Our dilemma is this: most students at the time of retest are under 18 years old and are evaluated using child norms. Colleges will not accept these results even if a student has been identified since elementary school; they require a test based on adult norms. The student ends up having an expensive high school test that can't be used to qualify for college disability services. Then parents have to pay for a private test within a year. The major difference in the test is the use of adult norms. Is there any hope for a change in policies like this? — Ruth Hylton
Read the full story at: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/marybeth-2/