Accommodation Nation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The accommodation that pisses me off is they get to register for classes earlier than other students.

A parent I know whose child is at a big university told me that thank goodness he has an anxiety accommodation; otherwise he would have gotten shut out of the classes he really wanted. That’s really unfair and unnecessary.

This is the one that confounds me the most. Anxiety is *not supposed to be accommodated.* that is literally the main therepeutic intervention for anxiety. You learn to cope with it an accept it, not avoid it through accomodations. Acceptable accomodations for anxiety might be some scheduling flexibility for Dr appts; allowing some assignments to be scaffolded (ie - allowed to do a shorter presentation then work up to a full one - but not excused altogether from public speaking). If a student has to take a lower course load that should be allowed too. But otherwise the main service colleges should provide is excellent therapeutic support in the college mental health clinic that delivers CBT/ACT.

Is this a joke? Or do you want your kid’s tuition to increase by a million dollars? It is much less expensive to give a kid an early enrollment option than to give “excellent therapeutic support.”

It’s not that expensive in the scheme of things …. And it would be much better than handing out accomodations that are not only unfair but also make the problem worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ultimately not every job requires excellence in every area and the job market will eventually shake that out. My kid has a hearing disability. She is not going to seek a job as a piano tuner. If she did she would be fired.

Kids will eventually self-select careers that work for them, or the market will force them into careers that work for them. Kids with disabilities may not be well suited for some kinds of jobs. Kids with diabetes might not seek jobs where they have to be away from insulin for long periods of time (deep sea diving). I think everyone acknowledges that not every career works for every person with disabilities. That doesn’t mean that they can’t be educated and get a career that does work for their disabilities.

I think the point is that we should also accept that not everyone will get As.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

I think that we all agree that a serious disability merits consideration, but the article and concern is about trivial or imaginary or intentionally fabricated disabilities regarding anxiety that have become a form of institutionally permissible form of cheating.

The majority of the comments here don't suggest people think accommodations are appropriate for those with "real" disabilities. Most commenters seem to think if you need accommodations, you're a loser and can't possibly be a good employee deserving of a job.

This is about school, not work. School is (or should be) about all vectors of intelligence, including processing speed. Some jobs need fast processing speed and some don’t. It is the employers job to sort that out.

Then the school should not be imposing artificial time limits on any student, since that is not their job.

wtf?? Of course it’s their job and the time limit is not “artificial.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I half-imagine in a work context (something I think you legally can't do, right?) is an interviewer asking a candidate, "so did you have testing or schoolwork related accommodations in college? If you did how do or don't they relate to the work you intend to do here?"

While I think a 45 minute knowledge only timed test isn't a normal workday, but the number of times I've had to accurately summarize something plainly in order to get to a meeting happening almost immediately is very high. Workdays in some places are steady grind stress-free widget making, but none where I've worked.

+1. I do the same, all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

20-30 percent don’t have disabilities or if they do my son also has executive functioning issurs

17% of public school students have disabilities, at least as of 2020. So 20% isn't far off.

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-student-disabilities-snapshotpdf-21420.pdf

[Anonymous]

Maybe allow 3 days for all tests for all students.
This would be equitable for the poor students who don't have the money to get accommodations.

[Anonymous]

I think we need to get away from the thinking that if a kid doesn’t get 100% on a test then there’s something wrong with the test or the way it is administered. Some kids will get 100% and most won’t, because of a host of reasons. That’s not a problem with the test. Most kids just aren’t top performers, by definition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

I think that we all agree that a serious disability merits consideration, but the article and concern is about trivial or imaginary or intentionally fabricated disabilities regarding anxiety that have become a form of institutionally permissible form of cheating.

The majority of the comments here don't suggest people think accommodations are appropriate for those with "real" disabilities. Most commenters seem to think if you need accommodations, you're a loser and can't possibly be a good employee deserving of a job.

This is about school, not work. School is (or should be) about all vectors of intelligence, including processing speed. Some jobs need fast processing speed and some don’t. It is the employers job to sort that out.

Then the school should not be imposing artificial time limits on any student, since that is not their job.

wtf?? Of course it’s their job and the time limit is not “artificial.”

It's their job to suss out who has fast processing speed and who doesn't? To what end? And they clearly allow some to opt out of this very important mission. So how important is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman Ivy child has two roommates and both have extra time. They each are given 2-3 days to take exams that the rest of the kids are given 2-3 hours to complete. Both attended private schools. Both are very bright and very wealthy. Both have the extra time for "anxiety."

I'd be pissed if I was a professor or a person who had a kid with dyslexia or significant ADHD or a learning difference. It's apparently a huge difficulty to get these exams proctored, especially if the student also needs a quiet study pod because there are not enough pods for the onslaught of students who now require them.

I have no idea how this generation of kids will cope in jobs with deadlines and noise and without parents to run interference. But I guess the workforce will adapt. Maybe everyone will get a week and a soundproof pod to write an email.

Easy. You find a job that doesn’t have deadlines. There are lots of jobs like that out there.

When was the last time you sat for a timed test at your job? The lack of understanding here is unreal.

Most times your boss tells you "I need this today" it doesn't mean you get to nitpick and say "well, if you gave Legal 3 days to respond instead of 5, I could turn it in tomorrow, right? My reasonable accommodation says I get more time!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman Ivy child has two roommates and both have extra time. They each are given 2-3 days to take exams that the rest of the kids are given 2-3 hours to complete. Both attended private schools. Both are very bright and very wealthy. Both have the extra time for "anxiety."

I'd be pissed if I was a professor or a person who had a kid with dyslexia or significant ADHD or a learning difference. It's apparently a huge difficulty to get these exams proctored, especially if the student also needs a quiet study pod because there are not enough pods for the onslaught of students who now require them.

I have no idea how this generation of kids will cope in jobs with deadlines and noise and without parents to run interference. But I guess the workforce will adapt. Maybe everyone will get a week and a soundproof pod to write an email.

Easy. You find a job that doesn’t have deadlines. There are lots of jobs like that out there.

When was the last time you sat for a timed test at your job? The lack of understanding here is unreal.

Most times your boss tells you "I need this today" it doesn't mean you get to nitpick and say "well, if you gave Legal 3 days to respond instead of 5, I could turn it in tomorrow, right? My reasonable accommodation says I get more time!"

Again, the market will fix this for jobs that have high work rates and fast turn around times. You don’t have to personally worry about whether a kid you have no relationship to, that is getting accommodations in college, is going to be well suited for any single specific job.

Either the job will have less time pressure than you think OR the kid will be fired. Believe it or not the market really does usually sort itself out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

20-30 percent don’t have disabilities or if they do my son also has executive functioning issurs

17% of public school students have disabilities, at least as of 2020. So 20% isn't far off.

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-student-disabilities-snapshotpdf-21420.pdf

Accommodations take a range of forms. My kid has had a medical 504 due to a chronic gastro issue, and her accommodations consist of a permanent bathroom pass so she doesn’t need to ask each teacher if she needs to use the bathroom when she’s feeling ill. She also gets an extra day to make up work when she’s been sick and absent of school if she presents a doctor’s note or record of hospitalization.

How many of you are jealous of my child’s accommodation and think she’s getting an unfair advantage? Some of you on this thread are truly nasty people who can’t recognize how lucky you have to have a healthy kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

20-30 percent don’t have disabilities or if they do my son also has executive functioning issurs

17% of public school students have disabilities, at least as of 2020. So 20% isn't far off.

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-student-disabilities-snapshotpdf-21420.pdf

Accommodations take a range of forms. My kid has had a medical 504 due to a chronic gastro issue, and her accommodations consist of a permanent bathroom pass so she doesn’t need to ask each teacher if she needs to use the bathroom when she’s feeling ill. She also gets an extra day to make up work when she’s been sick and absent of school if she presents a doctor’s note or record of hospitalization.

How many of you are jealous of my child’s accommodation and think she’s getting an unfair advantage? Some of you on this thread are truly nasty people who can’t recognize how lucky you have to have a healthy kid.

Not everything is about you, Larmom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

20-30 percent don’t have disabilities or if they do my son also has executive functioning issurs

17% of public school students have disabilities, at least as of 2020. So 20% isn't far off.

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-student-disabilities-snapshotpdf-21420.pdf

Accommodations take a range of forms. My kid has had a medical 504 due to a chronic gastro issue, and her accommodations consist of a permanent bathroom pass so she doesn’t need to ask each teacher if she needs to use the bathroom when she’s feeling ill. She also gets an extra day to make up work when she’s been sick and absent of school if she presents a doctor’s note or record of hospitalization.

How many of you are jealous of my child’s accommodation and think she’s getting an unfair advantage? Some of you on this thread are truly nasty people who can’t recognize how lucky you have to have a healthy kid.

Not everything is about you, Larmom.

Go step on a Lego nasty dad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My freshman Ivy child has two roommates and both have extra time. They each are given 2-3 days to take exams that the rest of the kids are given 2-3 hours to complete. Both attended private schools. Both are very bright and very wealthy. Both have the extra time for "anxiety."

I'd be pissed if I was a professor or a person who had a kid with dyslexia or significant ADHD or a learning difference. It's apparently a huge difficulty to get these exams proctored, especially if the student also needs a quiet study pod because there are not enough pods for the onslaught of students who now require them.

I have no idea how this generation of kids will cope in jobs with deadlines and noise and without parents to run interference. But I guess the workforce will adapt. Maybe everyone will get a week and a soundproof pod to write an email.

Easy. You find a job that doesn’t have deadlines. There are lots of jobs like that out there.

When was the last time you sat for a timed test at your job? The lack of understanding here is unreal.

Most times your boss tells you "I need this today" it doesn't mean you get to nitpick and say "well, if you gave Legal 3 days to respond instead of 5, I could turn it in tomorrow, right? My reasonable accommodation says I get more time!"

How often does your boss say, “I need you answer three unrelated questions in 500 words each concerning topics discussed over the last 4 months in exactly 90 minutes”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in a tough STEM major. I am wondering if 20-30 percent of the kids have accommodations, then it’s kind of like my son starting a 5K 1/4 mile behind. That’s not fair.

Don’t worry, if the kids actually need accommodation they are starting a mile behind him.

Having a serious disability isn’t nearly the cheat code people seem to think it is.

20-30 percent don’t have disabilities or if they do my son also has executive functioning issurs

17% of public school students have disabilities, at least as of 2020. So 20% isn't far off.

https://www.ed.gov/media/document/crdc-student-disabilities-snapshotpdf-21420.pdf

Accommodations take a range of forms. My kid has had a medical 504 due to a chronic gastro issue, and her accommodations consist of a permanent bathroom pass so she doesn’t need to ask each teacher if she needs to use the bathroom when she’s feeling ill. She also gets an extra day to make up work when she’s been sick and absent of school if she presents a doctor’s note or record of hospitalization.

How many of you are jealous of my child’s accommodation and think she’s getting an unfair advantage? Some of you on this thread are truly nasty people who can’t recognize how lucky you have to have a healthy kid.

Not everything is about you, Larmom.

It’s too bad your parents didn’t get you accommodations when you were younger so that you could function in society.