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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]@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.  [/quote]

That's not what this conversation is about, actually.  It's precisely the fact that these schools are SO selective that makes it incredibly hard to believe that suddenly 1/4 of the students have disabling conditions necessitating academic accommodations.  That makes a mockery out of actual disabilities.

As a side note, I do think it's untenable to offer accommodations like extra time and calculators to some kids, and not to other kids.  [/quote]

Kids can be 2e (aka twice exceptional) — i.e. gifted and dealing with an LD.  Wouldn’t surprise me if (a) 2e kids often have interesting and thoughtful stories to tell (b) 2e kids may themselves prefer (and/or have parents who strongly prefer) learning environments that are smaller scale and where teachers routinely engage with and get to know most of their students (c) parents and 2e kids, especially those who are attending college far from home, want a school that has experience, resources, and a good reputation for dealing with LDs.  Also, Pomona has a class size of about 420 kids. And it’s an expensive school with predominantly affluent students.  So, yeah, it doesn’t blow my mind that 22% of the students who enroll there have a documented LD.  It might well be the most LD-friendly elite college in the US.  [/quote]

No.  20% of Pomona admits have not suddenly become 2e.  [/quote]

Correct, most have no doubt been 2e all along.  But suddenly (or perhaps gradually) Pomona looked like a simultaneously elite and supportive environment.[/quote]

No, you're not "2e all along" if you manage to get through elementary, middle, and high school without an IEP.  That's not how "2e" works.  2e does not mean "smart but quirky" or "smart but makes careless errors." It means - you have a disability that requires special education to access the curriculum.  Perhaps you want to drastically downgrade the definition of disability - but at least be upfront about that.  Nobody is 2e and gaining admission to Pomona without a history of significant supports already.  [/quote]

Oh bullshit.  There are lots of 2e kids who fly under the radar because they are relatively high-performing and/or they may have an LD that impacts one aspect of their academic performance while they excel in some other discipline. [/quote]

There are plenty of successful adults in my generation .. including doctors, lawyers, and engineers ... who've only received an ADHD or ASD diagnosis after their own children's diagnosis.

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