Do “Universal Accommodations” level the playing field for dyslexic students?

[Anonymous]

I noticed that you said “the teacher is willing to make accommodations.” Is there an IEP in place or not? I think a lot of posters are assuming there is one but I don’t think that is what I am reading. Sounds like there is no IEP but she is willing to make accommodations and she made one in which you do not agree with but it isnt binding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

So you just want your kid to benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

It's not a competition. That's great if every kid has time to demonstrate what they know and write a good essay.

Also, I think you've never met any kids at all if you think some kid is going to finish in 45 minutes and sit there polishing the apple for another half an hour, instead of reading a book or doing their homework or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a cop out to getting around a real IEP that would hold school legally liable for services.

I would not take it and seek an IEP.

It’s a private though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

This is unseemly, op. If he needs extra time be happy with extra time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

I don’t think it should matter unless the work is graded on a curve. If the work is graded using a rubric, the non-LD kids don’t have an advantage.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP,

giving the entire class extra time on a timed test isn't my idea of a universal accommodation.

If it were a universal accommodation, it would have to be a completely untimed test (within practicality of course).

For example: a test to see if you can correctly answer 50 multiplication facts in 5 minutes is a timed test, and it is designed to measure automaticity/rapid recall as well as accuracy. If a student has slow processing speed, they might be given extended time on this test (10 minutes instead of 5? Or 7.5 minutes instead of 5) to reflect the disability they have. But giving everyone extra time doesn't make sense if the test is trying to get a measure of automaticity.

However, if the test was just to see if you know your multiplication facts (however long it takes) then the test could and should be given with no time limits. That's a universal accommodation and might help all sorts of students - those with test anxiety for example. No time limits is different from everyone getting the same amount of extended time.

Other universal accommodations could be things like text to speech (for tests that aren't designed to measure reading ability) or enlarged text (for tests that aren't designed to measure your ability to read small print), or allowing use of a calculator for tests that aren't measuring your ability to perform calculations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

Yes, it's an unacceptable way to provide the accommodation. If a student had the accommodation of extra time and the teacher gave it to the whole class, that would be a violation of the IEP. My dc had several hs teachers pull this bs.

[Anonymous]

You need to ask what your motivation is - to give your child the same chance to do well at the tests, or to always have advantages that nobody else has. It should be the former, but it sounds like it’s not, and honestly this thread probably makes other families feel like accommodations are an unfair idea.

My take is that typical students won’t benefit much from all that extra time but your child (and others with disabilities) will, so yes I do think that it should be enough. And I agree with a previous comment that some kids are undiagnosed or refuse their accommodations so this is a way to even the playing field for everyone. Surely you want that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is dyslexic and I think universal accommodations are really helpful. My kid won’t take many accommodations, but he is helped when they are just normal.

My feeling is that school shouldn’t be a competition. If giving everyone extra time means everyone writes a better essay, great. The point is to write a good essay, not do it faster than others.

Other examples are calculators or multiplication tables or word banks available to all students, and not just dyslexic kids in lower school. My kid needed those things, and it made it easier for him to use them if everyone else had them available, too.

but it is. It isn't fair to the child with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

Yes, it's an unacceptable way to provide the accommodation. If a student had the accommodation of extra time and the teacher gave it to the whole class, that would be a violation of the IEP. My dc had several hs teachers pull this bs.

Why is it bs if the extra time doesn’t help everyone else but it helps your child and others with special needs (anxiety, slow processing, etc)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

This is unseemly, op. If he needs extra time be happy with extra time.

Not op. Unseemly? You are clueless about disabilities and accommodations. They are there to provide a level playing field for the student with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good move by the teacher. At a certain point you need to accept your kid can't cut it.

It's pretty clear why this post was not put in the special ed section of dcum. People like this azz want to show their ignorance and intolerance of people with disabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is dyslexic and I think universal accommodations are really helpful. My kid won’t take many accommodations, but he is helped when they are just normal.

My feeling is that school shouldn’t be a competition. If giving everyone extra time means everyone writes a better essay, great. The point is to write a good essay, not do it faster than others.

Other examples are calculators or multiplication tables or word banks available to all students, and not just dyslexic kids in lower school. My kid needed those things, and it made it easier for him to use them if everyone else had them available, too.

but it is. It isn't fair to the child with disabilities.

Well if you look at it like that, school isn’t a “competition” that someone with a slow brain can win. Just like sports aren’t a competition that someone with a slow body can win.

If you look at school the right way, as a chance to master material to do okay later in life, then making sure that everyone has a chance to show what they know (and then progress further) should be enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn’t extra time writing an essay allow non-LD kids that much more time to proofread and edit? They can use the extra time to their advantage in a way that LD kids cannot.

Yes, it's an unacceptable way to provide the accommodation. If a student had the accommodation of extra time and the teacher gave it to the whole class, that would be a violation of the IEP. My dc had several hs teachers pull this bs.

If they just make it an untimed test, then that’s ok.