Language waiver in college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure if this should be posted here or on the college forum. DS is a senior and has made his college decision. He has a history of childhood apraxia though nobody would know it to hear him speak. He had many years of intensive high quality therapy. The issue is that he will struggle with a foreign language and his college requires it. Has anybody had success getting a foreign language requirement waived? I’m referring to taking the credit in college not having taken it in HS for admission. In MS and HS the IEP team discouraged a foreign language and he was able to take ASL. The college doesn’t offer ASL which would be a really great option. Finding someone to corroborate his diagnosis as a YA is a challenge since his speech sounds normal, though I have stacks of documentation from his younger days. This is a very small LAC that’s known to be supportive so I’m hoping I’m worrying for nothing but I’d love any wisdom or advice.

My child has apraxia as well. I was very worried about foreign language. His high school does not offer ASL. He took Spanish. He is doing fine with a B. I will say that the first year is mostly memorizing vocabulary. Conjugating the verb is hard but we figured out some methods that work for him. I hope he can get through the second year which I’m sure will be harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dyslexic son was waived out of foreign language in high school, but his college requires it. So he is going to take the minimum requirement in the easiest language/professor combo available.

I think at this point, having done all the things they need to do to persevere and get to college, passing Spanish 1 isn’t going to be the hardest thing. My son may get a C. That’s okay. And perhaps he’ll find he needs to take Spanish 1 again to pass. That’s okay too. I had to do that with calculus in college.

Have faith in your kid that he’ll figure it out. He doesn’t need to fulfill his FL requirement his first or even second year. He may not have to do it at his college, even - he may be able to do it over the summer while he focuses on nothing else.

So sure, try for the exemption. But if he doesn’t get it he’ll find a way to meet the requirement. He’s got this.

Thank you for this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does he have a psychiatrist or psychologist who can write a letter? My son’s offered if I recall correctly when he was struggling with FL. We didn’t use it but she seemed confident the school would accept it.

Yes, both. And this is actually what the HS transition coordinator suggested might be a possibility so I’m going to get their letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are going to need to be at a school that has a policy of offering a language waiver, as well as updated testing. I am baffled why this wasn't a priority in your college search.

For a kid with apraxia of speech, Latin is a common choice as there is no spoken component.

This is a fair point. Ideally he would have chosen a school with no foreign lanaguage requirement but there were a lot of boxes that needed to be checked and this narrowed options significantly. This school is known for being supportive and accommodating which is what swayed us to still consider it. But you just never know until you present your individual case with disability services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can he take something like Latin that doesn't involve speaking? Or see if he can take ASL at a community college in the summer?

Colleges aren't required to modify graduation requirements, but some do, so all you can do is ask. You may need a medical provider to explain why he *now* can't take a language, despite his improvement in speaking.

Very helpful! Our local community college has ASL so I’ll have him ask about that option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure if this should be posted here or on the college forum. DS is a senior and has made his college decision. He has a history of childhood apraxia though nobody would know it to hear him speak. He had many years of intensive high quality therapy. The issue is that he will struggle with a foreign language and his college requires it. Has anybody had success getting a foreign language requirement waived? I’m referring to taking the credit in college not having taken it in HS for admission. In MS and HS the IEP team discouraged a foreign language and he was able to take ASL. The college doesn’t offer ASL which would be a really great option. Finding someone to corroborate his diagnosis as a YA is a challenge since his speech sounds normal, though I have stacks of documentation from his younger days. This is a very small LAC that’s known to be supportive so I’m hoping I’m worrying for nothing but I’d love any wisdom or advice.

My child has apraxia as well. I was very worried about foreign language. His high school does not offer ASL. He took Spanish. He is doing fine with a B. I will say that the first year is mostly memorizing vocabulary. Conjugating the verb is hard but we figured out some methods that work for him. I hope he can get through the second year which I’m sure will be harder.

Thanks for responding. It’s hard to explain my concerns to those who don’t have a child with CAS. It gives me great hope to hear your son is getting a B! I hope his 2nd year will be successful too!

[Anonymous]

I came on here to suggest Latin but I see someone already has. No speech (or minimal speech) component. My DS’s high school spec ed counselor recommended this but the college he’s primary looking at lean heavily into ASL.

For him, Latin wouldn’t be super helpful because he has dyslexia but I can see it being helpful for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came on here to suggest Latin but I see someone already has. No speech (or minimal speech) component. My DS’s high school spec ed counselor recommended this but the college he’s primary looking at lean heavily into ASL.

For him, Latin wouldn’t be super helpful because he has dyslexia but I can see it being helpful for others.

It’s nice the college your son is interested in offers ASL. I wish that was an option here. We are checking if Latin is offered.

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to respond here. It helped me more than you know. We’re checking if Latin is an option or if they will accept transfer credit for ASL from Montgomery College. We are also checking to see if a course substitution (culture class) would be easier to obtain than a waiver. We reached out to disability services and are waiting to hear back. The big question is what they will require for documentation.

[Anonymous]

I was going to suggest checking if ASL was an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This won’t help you, OP, and I really hope you get the waiver, but for my kid we purposely researched programs that did not require FL. He’s a senior now and headed off in the fall.

I didn’t have a disability but struggled myself with FL back in HS and did the same back when I went to college. There was no way I ever wanted to take another language again when I didn’t need to.

For others, I’d avoid if you can’t guarantee you are getting the waiver before applying.

+1. I don’t think it’s common to waive a FL requirement in college and don’t see why they should/would. We prioritized this for DS. That said, I understand how you’d get to the place you’re at. When we tried to research disability support services on all the college visits, it was not easy to get more than generic “we’re so supportive, come see us after you’re in” type messages. Getting specifics before enrollment is tough. But now that you’re in you have the whole summer to work this out. Good luck! I think it’s very reasonable to know if they’re going to accommodate your needs over the summer and then you’ll have to decide what to do based on that.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why colleges require foreign languages. And I think it actually makes more sense for you to ask if it’s ok if he takes an online ASL class or class for ASL over the summer through another school to fulfill the requirement since they don’t offer ASL.

But realistically you should have had your child choose a program that didn’t have the requirement.

[Anonymous]

Be sure to look into the ASL classes at MC. I looked into it in VA and it didn’t seem like it was possible to enroll in a class if you didn’t have prior coursework in it.

[Anonymous]

DC has an accommodation for this. He has language disorder and taking a foreign language is something that would be very difficult. The Speech therapist that he sees wrote a letter and the school waived it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has an accommodation for this. He has language disorder and taking a foreign language is something that would be very difficult. The Speech therapist that he sees wrote a letter and the school waived it.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I will see if his former SLP can write a letter.