posted January 22, 2010 08:20 AM         

In 2008, a similar scenario played out in Britain, where 21-year-old dyslexic medical student Naomi Gadian claimed certain tests’ multiple choice portions were discriminatory. According to the BBC, Gadian challenged Britain’s General Medical Council to do away with multiple choice, but the council asserted that it had “no powers to set medical examinations.”

Similarly, in March 2009, a group of “aspiring medical students with learning disabilities” was denied “extra time or other accommodations when taking the Medical College Admission Test” by the California State Supreme Court, according to Amy Lynn Sorrel of American Medical News. However, writes Sorrel, certain “recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act” could have repercussions for some issues raised by the case.

The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity says the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination should change its policy. “There should be no ifs or buts, as neurobiological evidence now provides indisputable evidence of the absolute need for extra time for those children and adults who are dyslexic,” Yale reports.
Background: Dyslexia in the classroom
According to Public School Review, dyslexia is a tricky condition that “ranges in its symptoms and conditions,” and can’t be diagnosed with a simple test. Parents and children must be interviewed, and the child observed in the classroom before a determination of dyslexia can be reached. Public schools all provide support for special needs students, but some “leaders argue that Dyslexia experts are specifically needed.”

In a reader blog for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Melinda Pongrey, who works with dyslexic students, discussed how a typical classroom confronts the issue. Pongrey wanted to see “first hand” why one of her pupils had become “increasingly discouraged,” and decided to sit in on a day of class with him. She observed various activities that were either too difficult or done too quickly for a dyslexic student, and in her blog post offers suggestions for how a teacher could improve each situation.

Approaches Vary in Public and Private Schools

In a thread about “Schools for Dyslexic Kids” on the Berkeley Parents Network, one parent discusses her child's experiences with public and private schools.

“The private school has been very helpful, and accommodating, but my child is unhappy at school, finding the work difficult (reading and spelling below grade level), and, compared with others, feeling slow and dumb,” she writes.

Conversely, at the public school her child previously attended, “they were reluctant to notice there was a problem, saying it was developmental.”

FindingDulcinea’s Learning Disabilities Web Guide provides further insight into dyslexia, and has online resources focused on treatment options, news and research, and attending college with dyslexia.
Requesting More Time for SAT/ACT Due to Dyslexia
Mary Lee Anderson, who teaches high school students with disabilities, explains the process a dyslexic or otherwise learning disabled student must go through to gain eligibility to take the SAT with accommodations.

According to Anderson’s article on Helium, the procedure begins by completing the College Board Student Eligibility Form. Another option is to directly submit a child’s documentation “to the College Board for review by a panel of learning disabilities experts.” Anderson also notes that “most guidance counselors are familiar with the Board’s verification process,” so asking your child’s counselor is a good starting point. If your child is determined eligible, the accommodations can also apply to PSAT/NMSQ and Advanced Placement (AP) tests, in addition to SAT I and II.

The Princeton Review provides an easy-to-use chart that spells out which forms are needed to apply for test accommodations and when. Follow-up steps and test registration information are also included in the chart.
Opinion & Analysis: Ending SAT time limits
In an editorial for The New York Times, Mark Franek, dean of students for the William Penn Charter School, makes the case for ending the time limits on SATs. Franek discusses his and other teachers’ observation of the College Board’s inundation with accommodation requests. “The solution is simple: keep the test to one day but end the time limits,” he writes. Franek notes that accommodations are likely “not being awarded fairly across race and socioeconomic lines—it generally takes a lot of time, energy and, in some cases, money” to complete requests.
In January 2009, British MP Graham Stringer said dyslexia is not a real learning disability but an invented excuse for poor teaching, inciting angry responses.
Related Topic: Casey Martin case
In 2001, disabled golfer Casey Martin won a Supreme Court battle for the "legal right to travel in a golf cart between holes in competition," reported Time. Walking is painful for Martin due to a circulatory disorder. According to Time, "a majority ruling from the Supreme Court tends to eliminate the need for philosophical debate," which raises questions. Could a similar ruling be a possibility for dyslexia sufferers? Or, is the disorder too ambiguous?
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2010/jan/Medical-Student-s-Appeal-Highlights-Challenges-of-Dyslexia-.html

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted January 26, 2010 06:19 AM         

quote:

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Conversely, at the public school her child previously attended, “they were reluctant to notice there was a problem, saying it was developmental.”

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posted January 26, 2010 10:57 AM         

lazy=falling asleep due to mild Narcolepsy/mild seizure disorder

non conforming=early puberty or obesity. More non white kids than white, for no other reason than race. Physically handicapped kids. It mattered not if you had a low or high IQ, if you did not fit the stereotypical pretty or normal ideal, they stuck you in that class with all the stigma and shame and demeaning treatment.

stuttering=child was abused or traumatized by anything from a bad home life, to beatings, to rape or worse

And the list goes on.

posted January 26, 2010 11:55 AM         

Not all special education classes are for the mentally retarded though.

Half of the kids in special education are there for language difficulties,especially primarily in reading. Children with mild neurodivergent symptoms like Mild Dyslexic children don't qualify for special education services. These types tend to slip through the cracks and they get help late in school or not at all. It's the children with severe neurodivergent symptoms that qualify for special education services,and they benefit from early intervention education therapies. Unfortunately, it's these types of children that get mistakened for mentally retarded. Dr. Levinson used the term "pseudo-retarded", and that's how I was when I was a severely Dyslexic,Dyspraxic kid.

I started off in kindergarten in a regular classroom. I was the kid who didn't know my last name but my classmates did. I had very little understanding of words,language. words. When I was in 1st grade, I was placed in a special education class with the mentally retarded. It wasn't like I was being dumped there that I didn't learn anything. I had great special education teacher,aides,therapists that worked with me. They worked with me on helping me developing speech/language skills, social skills,and motor skills. I already had auditory therapy and motor skills therapy when I was in preschool.

Later on, I was found to have above average intelligence. It was mainly because I showed visual-spatial strengths as well I have benefited from speech/language therapy. I was placed in a more appropriate special education class when I was in 2nd grade. Not one kid was mentally retarded. These were children that had Dyslexia,Dyspraxia,ADHD,and/or Aspergers. We were all a bunch of odd children. Not only that...everyone of those children were far more articulate in speech than I was to the point that I felt stupid compared to them. I was intimidated by them. I was just a very shy,insecure kid. My special education teacher and her aide were very good with us. They were very understanding and compassionate. I remember one time, I started crying (I was a serious crybaby when I was a kid) because the other children were pressuring me when I was going over what I did (I was talking about how I saw Saturday Night Fever) which was naturally very hard for me to do with my speech problems,and my special education teacher comforted me and kissed me on the cheek. She had to be a highly sensitive. I believe that all special education teachers have to be highly sensitive to deal with special education needs children who are ultrasensitive types. I continued to get training in speech/language skills,social skills,and motor skills. I was trained in phonics. It was actually the combination of my auditory therapy,speech therapy,and phonics that helped me to very good with decoding and spelling words. I went to a regular 2nd grade classroom for Science class. Late in the year, I started getting mainstreamed in that same classroom and returned to special ed class in the afternoon for phonics. My mom was telling me that I was yelling at the other special education children for not getting the answers right. That was completely different from starting off as a child who was intimidated by all the other children in the classroom. I was the one that got mainstreamed,and they didn't. The year after, I was mainstreamed in a regular 2nd grade class and came back to special education class for more phonics training. BTW...Auditory,phonological Dyslexics don't learn from phonics naturally. We need to be taught phonemic awareness. Without it,phonics makes no sense. It was the combination of auditory therapy and speech/language therapy that helped me develop phonemic awareness to learn from phonics. I was called "retard" daily by many children even though I wasn't in a special education class for the mentally retarded.

By 3rd grade and beyond, I was a complete mainstream student and didn't get any special help which I actually really needed, but I was afraid to say anything. I didn't want to be singled out for being mentally retarded. There was no way in hell that I was going to go back to a special ed class and be called "retard" again. I did my best to compensate for my weaknesses.

All of this was in Sacramento,California.

"non conforming=early puberty or obesity. More non white kids than white, for no other reason than race. Physically handicapped kids. It mattered not if you had a low or high IQ, if you did not fit the stereotypical pretty or normal ideal, they stuck you in that class with all the stigma and shame and demeaning treatment."

Well.....I did have unconventional behaviors as a little kid. I was also too impulsive and overreacted. I did things without thinking, especially when I thought little in words to reflect. I have always been primarily a picture thinker,always visualizing things in my mind's eye. I had to be taught to think in words. Special education therapies made the possible. Other kids in my class rocked when they were upset. One boy was acting all goofy,giggling, pulled down his pants outside and he urinated in front of us. These were my classmates that I was with when I was in 2nd grade.

"stuttering=child was abused or traumatized by anything from a bad home life, to beatings, to rape or worse"

my maternal Uncle Eddie had a stuttering problem. My mother told me that my father had a stuttering problem too. I also questioned her some more, and I talked to her about cluttering speech. I talked to her about the symptoms. I have cluttering speech too. I asked if my father had that type of speech,and she told me "Yes." Cluttering speech can be mistook for stuttering. It can also easily be mistook for schizophrenic and/or bipolar speech. This happened to me,and so I know. Dr. Levinson pointed these issues in his book too. I tend to stutter a little myself when I am nervous too just like my father did.

"And the list goes on."

I agree with you on a lot of things.

Raymond

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"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"