Wall Street Journal on rampant growth in percentage of college students with “disabilities”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If psychologists tested the entire population of students who score at or above the 80th percentile rank on the SAT, the majority of the students would come out with at least one processing area that was lower than the others since most people have a profile of strengths and weaknesses. An articulate psychologist can then write that up justifying extra time.

If your Verbal IQ, Fluid Reasoning, and Visual Spatial ability are above the 80th percentile rank, you have
a higher chance of having lower processing speed (and it is 2 different 2 minute tests - so 4 minutes in total) due to regression toward the mean and the fact that processing speed does not correlate as strongly into overall intelligence. So someone could sneeze, be cautious, double check their work and their processing speed goes down- but that is good for extra time on the SAT.

I think I mentioned this earlier on this thread, but slow processing on its own does not get considered for accommodations on the SAT or ACT. There must be some other condition present such as ADHD or dyslexia. Just because a kid tests and exhibits below average processing does not mean he will be granted extended time. Slow processing speed is one possible symptom of a condition, but slow processing on its own is not a diagnosis that will get your kid extra time on a test.

That is why people pay the 3 to 5,000 dollars for a complete evaluation where they administer 40 to 50 subtests of various cognitive assessments. Most kids are going to score low in an area. Then have a parent rate their child as inattentive- seriously the criteria for ADHD is so vague - it is 6 characteristics such as:
1) often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli (what kid with a smart phone isn't easily distracted by constant texts - I am as an adult)
2 often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly ( I tell my kids 100 times to pick up their shoes, clothes, brush their teeth, turn off the tv, etc.)
3) Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort -e.g., schoolwork or homework ( my kids dislike homework and are reluctant to independently come home and begin homework.

You can diagnosis shop if you have the money. This is why
The College Board received (and approved 85 percent of) around 80,000 accommodation requests in 2010-11 and 160,000 requests in 2015-16!
So in five years the number doubled!

Parent assessment alone is not used to diagnose ADHD. A lot of weight is put on teachers' assessments and the doctor's observations during testing. And as a parent, if you are that desperate to get your kid a leg up that you would fake an ADHD diagnosis, that is extremely low. There are horrible people out there, but just because some game the system doesn't mean the benefits should be taken away from those who truly need it.

And yet NO poor kids are getting this benefit. These are all rich, privileged, mostly white kids getting these benefits for their kids. Remember that when you knock ‘affirmative action’ programs in college with this same passionate vitriol. Your kids are receiving all sorts of benefits and entitlements that you aren’t acknowledging.

What are you talking about? Of course poor kids can be diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, Learning Disabilities, etc. and receive IEPs or 504s.

If you can't afford $3k-$5k out of pocket, you just go to CNMC or KKI and receive a similar comprehensive evaluation from a trained neuropsychologist. The only real reason to go with a private practice over CNMC or KKI is for convenience and to save time.

Oh please. Tell that to the poor families whose mom and dad are struggling to keep the family aflloat with multiple jobs. Like they have the time/resources for this.

Oh wait! You're right! They can just have the nanny take the kid!

Yes, even for "free" testing at CNMC and KKI, someone will have to take time off of work and provide transportation to get the kid to the testing. More reasons why jobs should provide reasonable leave for their employees and a livable wage.

Did you know that prior to Obamacare there was no mandate for insurance companies to cover the cost of prosthetic devices? There were also lifetime caps on prosthesis, so a parent could have the choice of providing their child with a fitted prosthetic now or wait for their child to finish growing before getting them a good prosthetic. Most people look at situations like these and feel like the right answer would be to make sure that medical insurance does pay for adequate prosthesis for individuals at all stages of their life -- after all, this is what medical insurance is for. It's only someone like you that looks at a situation like this and chooses to shame someone who is fortunate enough to be able to afford to pay for their medical care and claim they should have their expensive prosthesis taken away because it's an unfair advantage over poor amputees. I mean, it is interesting that the Special Olympics sprinters beat the pants off of the regular Olympics sprinters, but taking away their racing prosthesis doesn't make the regular Olympics sprinters any faster.

Accessing medical care that is covered my medical insurance or by Medicaid doesn't still require a person to get themselves to the medical care. This is the same for evaluating someone for Autism as it is for filling cavities.

LD testing are not generally covered by medical insurance. They take that tack that it is an educational diagnosis and not a medical one. Conversely, many school systems will not diagnose specific LDs because they feel it is a medical diagnosis and not an educational one. Many of us are caught in a Catch 22.

And many in this country do not have any health insurance. That does not mean those with insurance should not expect to have access to excellent healthcare.

. I think you are on the wrong thread.

Do you understand the concept of an analogy? Obviously not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Why do you assume that people who are against widespread accommodations have mediocre kids?

[Anonymous]

Parent assessment alone is not used to diagnose ADHD. A lot of weight is put on teachers' assessments and the doctor's observations during testing. And as a parent, if you are that desperate to get your kid a leg up that you would fake an ADHD diagnosis, that is extremely low. There are horrible people out there, but just because some game the system doesn't mean the benefits should be taken away from those who truly need it.

And yet NO poor kids are getting this benefit. These are all rich, privileged, mostly white kids getting these benefits for their kids. Remember that when you knock ‘affirmative action’ programs in college with this same passionate vitriol. Your kids are receiving all sorts of benefits and entitlements that you aren’t acknowledging.

What are you talking about? Of course poor kids can be diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, Learning Disabilities, etc. and receive IEPs or 504s.

If you can't afford $3k-$5k out of pocket, you just go to CNMC or KKI and receive a similar comprehensive evaluation from a trained neuropsychologist. The only real reason to go with a private practice over CNMC or KKI is for convenience and to save time.



Oh please. Tell that to the poor families whose mom and dad are struggling to keep the family aflloat with multiple jobs. Like they have the time/resources for this.

Oh wait! You're right! They can just have the nanny take the kid!

PP, you are right in that this is a benefit of those with higher incomes. I agree that is a problem - one of many that exists in terms of healthcare and resources for those with special needs. However, simply because everyone cannot afford the medical care that it takes to get a diagnosis or lacks the time or knowledge to go through the school system to get evaluations performed does not mean that diagnosis of disability given to those kids whose families who secure private evaluations are somehow suspect or illegitimate. These are two separate issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

If your kid can blow others out of the water without extra time, why does he need it? LOL!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

If your kid can blow others out of the water without extra time, why does he need it? LOL!!!!

It's all relative LOL!! If the kid is mediocre and just average, yes he will blow him out of the water. But he can do even better with the extra time because he is gifted and 2E. A lot of people don't understand this concept and it is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Why do you assume that people who are against widespread accommodations have mediocre kids?

Because it is high likely in light of the fact most of America is mediocre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Why do you assume that people who are against widespread accommodations have mediocre kids?

There is no data showing that accommodations are widespread. In 2017, less than 7% of students taking the SAT had accommodations -- including accommodations such as braille.

The 22% of students at Pomona that people are throwing around includes students suffering from depression and anxiety who do not have accommodations. Considering the number of suicide attempts at TJ, I'm shocked the percentage is actually that low. This thread is just filled with a lot of ignorant hysteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Why do you assume that people who are against widespread accommodations have mediocre kids?

There is no data showing that accommodations are widespread. In 2017, less than 7% of students taking the SAT had accommodations -- including accommodations such as braille.

The 22% of students at Pomona that people are throwing around includes students suffering from depression and anxiety who do not have accommodations. Considering the number of suicide attempts at TJ, I'm shocked the percentage is actually that low. This thread is just filled with a lot of ignorant hysteria.

No one argues about the right of blind students to have special accommodations, such as to take the test in Braille. But the number of Braille reading high school students is not large. Here are the stats for all student aged up to 21 years of old. I'm assuming that SAT-taking 10/11th/12th grade students are just a fraction of the 5093 <21 year old Braille readers.

Blindness Among Children

Total number of students: 62,528
By reporting agency:
Reported by state departments of education: 52,003 (83.1%)
Reported by residential schools for the blind: 5,116 (8.2%)
Reported by rehabilitation programs: 3,860 (6.2%)
Reported by multiple disability programs: 1,549 (2.5%)

[url] By primary reading medium:
Braille readers[/url][b]: 5,093 (8.2%)
Print readers: 19,717 (31.5%)
Auditory readers: 6,686 (10.7%)
Non-readers/Symbolic Readers: 20,821 (33.3%)
Pre-readers: 10,211 (16.3%)

Source
https://nfb.org/blindness-statistics

Compare and contrast with these estimates for ADHD from the CDC:-

In 2016:

Approximately 9.4% of children 2-17 years of age (6.1 million) had ever been diagnosed with ADHD, according to parent report in 2016. [Read key findings]
Ages 2-5: Approximately 388,000 children
Ages 6-11: Approximately 2.4 million children
Ages 12-17: Approximately 3.3 million children

Source:

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Talking of legit, I found this great summary of a medical fad from the 17-19th century...

Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It is no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder, but still has lasting social implications. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for hundreds of years in Western Europe.[1] In Western medicine hysteria was considered both common and chronic among women. The American Psychiatric Association dropped the term hysteria in 1952. Even though it was categorized as a disease, hysteria's symptoms were synonymous with normal functioning female sexuality.[1] Women considered to have it exhibited a wide array of symptoms, including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and a "tendency to cause trouble".[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria

The diagnosis fell out of favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Talking of legit, I found this great summary of a medical fad from the 17-19th century...

Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It is no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder, but still has lasting social implications. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for hundreds of years in Western Europe.[1] In Western medicine hysteria was considered both common and chronic among women. The American Psychiatric Association dropped the term hysteria in 1952. Even though it was categorized as a disease, hysteria's symptoms were synonymous with normal functioning female sexuality.[1] Women considered to have it exhibited a wide array of symptoms, including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and a "tendency to cause trouble".[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria

The diagnosis fell out of favor.

Are you implying that LDs will “fall out of favor”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If psychologists tested the entire population of students who score at or above the 80th percentile rank on the SAT, the majority of the students would come out with at least one processing area that was lower than the others since most people have a profile of strengths and weaknesses. An articulate psychologist can then write that up justifying extra time.

If your Verbal IQ, Fluid Reasoning, and Visual Spatial ability are above the 80th percentile rank, you have
a higher chance of having lower processing speed (and it is 2 different 2 minute tests - so 4 minutes in total) due to regression toward the mean and the fact that processing speed does not correlate as strongly into overall intelligence. So someone could sneeze, be cautious, double check their work and their processing speed goes down- but that is good for extra time on the SAT.

What percentage of families do you think are taking the time and the money to get the testing done, using accommodations at school, and working with the college board to get accommodations on the test, that fit into "they basically paid off a psychologist" ?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:@657. It’s on the college forum, because parents are facing a tough college entrance environment. And it’s scary. So they are latching onto— but my kid could get into a top ten school if their spot wasn’t taken by an ADHD kid who cheated on the SAT. Which is crazy. These schools have 6% admit rates. If your kid does not have a significant hook or is is very lucky in their profile, they are not getting in. Neither is the ADHD kid. And no amount of extra time is going to give your kid the 1560 on the SAT they would need to even have their essay read. It is not a test you can do perfectly, even with u limited time. You have to be very fluent in the material. If you don’t know the vocal work or get the math problem, more time does not help.

It is also scholarships and merit awards. Kids who know the materials but do not get extended time or a calculator are the ones who are disadvantaged by those who gamed the system. I am not referring to kids w true disabilities but the wealthy parents who have connections and can get and pay for a diagnosis. Those of you who don’t believe this obviously is not in the prep school environment where there are a lot of wealthy parents and accomodations.

It's true that private schools have a much larger percentage of kids on accommodations. And I think there's some truth to the wealthy=accommodations. But one factor contributing to the prevalence of accommodations at private HS may be the fact that private schools are better and more responsive to kids with learning disabilities so parents specifically choose private over publice for their kids with learning disabilities. My dc is in a public HS and has accommodations. Private HS would be possible but really hard for us financially. But everyday, I wish we had moved him to private. Public HS is sink or swim. My son has accommodations but there are some classes he just refuses to use it in because the teacher is so hostile to it. Yes by law, they need to give him extended time. And I guess they would if dc pushed for it, but he's a kid and when you have a teacher who so clearly doesn't want to deal with it, he's not going to push for it. I see my friends with kids in private and see the responsiveness, willingness & feedback they get from teachers. You just don't get that at a public HS. I'm not blaming the public school teachers. They may be as every bit good but they just have too many students. If I could do it all over again, I would have sent this one dc to private HS. My other kids were totally fine in public.

Why would you think that? DC area privates are not exactly jumping out of their seats to admit kids with diagnoses and the need for additional support. Just read these forums when people ask for ideas for private schools their kids with HFA or ADHD. What the private schools have is very rich and connected kids whose parents can wrangle "accommodations" when it suits them.

Depends on the kids and the school. IIRC, about 30% of the kids in HS at GDS had some kind of accommodation. And there are learning specialists on staff for all grade levels. Don’t know how many families declared known LDs prior to admission.

Listen to my works. 30% of GDS HS students would NOT qualify for an IEP under IDEA. They have "accommodation" that mommy and daddy purchased for them.

So? Just because a kid doesn’t qualify for an IEP doesn’t mean he is not entitled to accommodations. IEP is extremely difficult to get and maintain. My DS had a 504 (which is not an IEP) for many years in public school before moving to private. The college board saw that he had a history of using accommodations and he was granted extended time. We are wealthy, but hardly gaming the system. We were just fortunate enough to have teachers who quickly identified problems at a very young age. He is the one with adhd, lowish processing speed but high working memory. Consequently, he does really well in school and on tests. Just needs the time to demonstrate that ability. That extra time makes a significant impact in his scores. We are quite pleased with how it all worked out for him.

Oh, I'm sure you are "quite pleased."

Do you have a problem with the fact that a family successfully helped a struggling kid? Or do you consider this situation “gaming the system.? Because it seems that people get up in arms when these kids actually become successful. I mean, isn’t that the whole idea of giving accommodations?

NP

I have a problem with the fact that a family helped a struggling kid because they were wealthy and had the means to do so. Not every kid is afforded that help. It tips the scales to the side of socioeconomic class. As most things tend to do. I just don't think it's right.

Other things that are not right, because they tip the scale to the high SES, especially since extracurriculars are important to schools like Pomona:

Buying into a good school district

Sending your kids to private school

Paying for SAT tutoring

Paying for any academic tutoring

Paying to have your child join any extracurricular activity. The FLL fee was $200 this year. Debate? Probably $400, including tournament fees and coaching. Marching band. Don’t even get me started.

Renting or buying instruments and paying for private music lessons

Paying for travel sports and private athletic lessons

Having a SAHM who makes breakfast, and runs kids to extracurriculars, to volunteers in the school, to give her kids the best chance

Sending your kid overseas on educational travel or service missions.

Etc, etc. etc.

Plus, of course, taking you kid to the doctor when they are sick, and getting them good medical care (because ADHD is a medical disagnosis).

A family struggling with two working parents certainly cannot afford to do these things. And even if the could, they can’t drive them to and from, because they are likely working 3 jobs between 2 parents.

I agree with you that life gives more opportunities to people with money. Which is why I volunteer in my kids activities and always donate to the Band Boosters fund for kids who cannot afford fares, and SHARE to help underprivileged girls afford scouting and attend camp and attend camp, and the FLL fund to buy equipment to Title I school teams. I donate extensively to programs that support underprivileged kids through the CFC. I strong “encourage” obe kid to participate in a program that readers with 2nd and 3rd graders in a Title 1 school and another to work with TJ STEM by helping free teach TJ test prep classes and mentoring a high talent FARMS kid through the admissions process.

And of course, I vote for politicians who want to expand healthcare to everyone, and better fund our schools, and certainly not cut SNAP and WIC and Section 8. I think less affluent kids should get as many opportunities as mine do. And IDEA should be strengthened to make it easier for parents to access free educational testing at school, to train teachers to recognize it, and require schools to offer it if they suspect an LD— not just provide it if parents ask.

But don’t you dare tell me I have an obligation not to diagnose and treat my kids ADHD— to watch my child struggle in school, be miserable, have terrible grades, and be at significant risk for not graduating from HS, forget college, develop substance abuse issues from self medication, and be at a very high risk for anxiety and depression, because not every can afford to properly teach ADHD. It is a crime that they can’t. But I will not sacrifice my kid to prove some point.

When you move to Mount Vernon or Lee, and only provide the supports— time and money— that a FARMS family can provide— including Healthcare, because ADHD is a DSM diagnosis, and covered by insurance as mental health impairment, then you can tell people not to help their kid treat a medical condition, because “unfair to the poors”.

Until then F*ck off.

Testy, aren’t we?

My kid would benefit from accommodations but we don’t take them. In our family it is far more valuable to teach our kids to make the best of what they have and find a way to make it work - not to not expect the world to offer them accommodations when they aren’t as good at something as someone else.

To each his own.

You might feel differently if they had more serious issues.

I’ll give you that. But How many kids with accommodations have serious issues? That is the question.

Who is defining "serious issue?" I think my child's dyslexia requires accommodations. His testing results also argue for accommodations, and his school supports accommodations for him.

There are children with issues more serious than my child's dyslexia. Does that mean we're scamming the system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If psychologists tested the entire population of students who score at or above the 80th percentile rank on the SAT, the majority of the students would come out with at least one processing area that was lower than the others since most people have a profile of strengths and weaknesses. An articulate psychologist can then write that up justifying extra time.

If your Verbal IQ, Fluid Reasoning, and Visual Spatial ability are above the 80th percentile rank, you have
a higher chance of having lower processing speed (and it is 2 different 2 minute tests - so 4 minutes in total) due to regression toward the mean and the fact that processing speed does not correlate as strongly into overall intelligence. So someone could sneeze, be cautious, double check their work and their processing speed goes down- but that is good for extra time on the SAT.

I think I mentioned this earlier on this thread, but slow processing on its own does not get considered for accommodations on the SAT or ACT. There must be some other condition present such as ADHD or dyslexia. Just because a kid tests and exhibits below average processing does not mean he will be granted extended time. Slow processing speed is one possible symptom of a condition, but slow processing on its own is not a diagnosis that will get your kid extra time on a test.

That is why people pay the 3 to 5,000 dollars for a complete evaluation where they administer 40 to 50 subtests of various cognitive assessments. Most kids are going to score low in an area. Then have a parent rate their child as inattentive- seriously the criteria for ADHD is so vague - it is 6 characteristics such as:
1) often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli (what kid with a smart phone isn't easily distracted by constant texts - I am as an adult)
2 often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly ( I tell my kids 100 times to pick up their shoes, clothes, brush their teeth, turn off the tv, etc.)
3) Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort -e.g., schoolwork or homework ( my kids dislike homework and are reluctant to independently come home and begin homework.

You can diagnosis shop if you have the money. This is why
The College Board received (and approved 85 percent of) around 80,000 accommodation requests in 2010-11 and 160,000 requests in 2015-16!
So in five years the number doubled!

Parent assessment alone is not used to diagnose ADHD. A lot of weight is put on teachers' assessments and the doctor's observations during testing. And as a parent, if you are that desperate to get your kid a leg up that you would fake an ADHD diagnosis, that is extremely low. There are horrible people out there, but just because some game the system doesn't mean the benefits should be taken away from those who truly need it.

And yet NO poor kids are getting this benefit. These are all rich, privileged, mostly white kids getting these benefits for their kids. Remember that when you knock ‘affirmative action’ programs in college with this same passionate vitriol. Your kids are receiving all sorts of benefits and entitlements that you aren’t acknowledging.

Poor kids aren't getting accommodations? Poor kids aren't getting diagnosed with ADHD? I suggest you actually get some facts, because you have just betrayed your extreme ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Talking of legit, I found this great summary of a medical fad from the 17-19th century...

Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It is no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder, but still has lasting social implications. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for hundreds of years in Western Europe.[1] In Western medicine hysteria was considered both common and chronic among women. The American Psychiatric Association dropped the term hysteria in 1952. Even though it was categorized as a disease, hysteria's symptoms were synonymous with normal functioning female sexuality.[1] Women considered to have it exhibited a wide array of symptoms, including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and a "tendency to cause trouble".[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria

The diagnosis fell out of favor.

Are you implying that LDs will “fall out of favor”

Some of them aren't exactly ancient disorders like diabetes or asthma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you are in a private prep school w lots of wealthy families, you have no idea the amount of gaming to get extended time and/or calculators going on for their kids. You have absolutely no idea how the whole system favors and tilts toward the wealthy.

Sorry, but you do realize that everything the world has to offer favors the wealthy. It's just how it works. Health care, education, jobs, housing, you name it. I still think wealthy people have every right to access to what they are able to pay for (i.e. a diagnosis for a LD), as long as it is legit. And you can bet the majority of diagnoses and accommodations are legitimate -- otherwise College Board and ACT would not be in business. Sorry, but your mediocre kid will have to compete against my very bright LD kid with extended time. He will probably blow him out of the water even without the time frankly lol!!!

Talking of legit, I found this great summary of a medical fad from the 17-19th century...

Female hysteria was once a common medical diagnosis for women. It is no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder, but still has lasting social implications. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for hundreds of years in Western Europe.[1] In Western medicine hysteria was considered both common and chronic among women. The American Psychiatric Association dropped the term hysteria in 1952. Even though it was categorized as a disease, hysteria's symptoms were synonymous with normal functioning female sexuality.[1] Women considered to have it exhibited a wide array of symptoms, including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and a "tendency to cause trouble".[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_hysteria

The diagnosis fell out of favor.

Are you implying that LDs will “fall out of favor”

Some of them aren't exactly ancient disorders like diabetes or asthma.

True. We used to just call people with learning disabilities stupid.

I hope that you are the person on this thread who wants us to go back to those days, and that there aren't more than one of you.