Reply to Claiming a disability on the SAT/ACT - have people been gaming the system?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DDs experience was exactly opposite. She’s had verified testing and accommodations since age 8. And lengthy neuropsych testing and reports every 3 years. She was denied extra time on the ACT. Our appeals were denied. (My full time day job is writing appellate briefs — usually successfully.) She’s since graduated college (where she chose not to continue accommodations) and is well employed. So I’d love to know how so many others were able to get accommodations. [/quote]

PP, I think your experience is interesting and I'd be interested in knowing, too, if others have found this to be the case.

My small POV: My fifth grader recently took a standardized test (independent school) for the first time. DC was flabbergasted that so many classmates (by observation, about 50%) were "put in a special room and given more time than everyone else." Not understanding this at all, my DC found this "very unfair." This leads me to wonder if it is easier to get accommodations for younger kids, but by the time they reach high school/ college prep age, they are not given the same consideration?[/quote]

I think that says more about the sample size.

It is kind of like autism -- more people are aware of disabilities like ADHD or dyslexia now than when we were young.

To get an ADHD diagnosis (the most 'common' one for school-age children), the child is supposed to exhibit significant difficulty at home, in school and with peers. Some percentage are probably truly misdiagnosed, or learn to compensate and can get by without accommodations as they get older.

I'm one of the PPs above who went rounds with the College Board. My DC has ADHD inattentive type but that's secondary to their language disorder (affects ability to get things down in writing without unusual effort), and developmental coordination disorder that affects fine motor skills.

If you look at my kid (anyplace but PE) you could not tell he has any disabilities. With literally thousands of hours of therapy from age 18 months through 6th grade, his deficits were remediated to where he doesn't need special instruction anymore but still requires some accommodations.

Back in middle school when he got permission to use a laptop rather than paper and pen, his classmates went crazy and literally all called it unfair. With my and my son's permission the special ed coordinator came in the next day and gave a strong but data-filled lecture on equity, access, disabilities. It was a close call between his privacy and providing a learning opportunity but we opted for transparency with his peers. My son's accommodations were never questioned again and he was not ostracized.
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