Help Please! Preparing 2E son for college classes

[my2boysteacher]

My son will be in tenth grade in the fall, and can start taking (free!) classes at a local community college- up to 11 credits each semester. He has dyslexia and dysgraphia and is highly gifted. He has never taken classes outside of the home, so I'm not sure how to prepare him. Also, what accomodations should we ask for? How does that work in a college? He will most likely take classes in computer programmimg and finance. Thanks!

[kbutton]

He will need to talk to the disability services office to see what accommodations are available through them. They are not bound by IEPs, but they are bound by ADA regulations to some extent. If your son has a section 504 plan, they probably want to know about that.

 

I would google to find commonly requested and granted services, but some I can think of asking for are recording lectures, having a scribe, typed lecture notes, use of a livescribe pen, recorded textbooks, extra time on tests, help with scheduling and organization, tutoring, quiet room for testing, etc. I don't think they usually hand you a whole set of options--they probably have either accommodation A or B for any given problem a student has, not that a student gets all the accommodations.

 

I believe that a note from disability services needs to be presented to each professor, every semester/quarter that accommodations are requested.

 

I believe he will need to sign release forms if you want access to his academic records or to be able to talk to any on-campus people on his behalf or to check on things. 

 

Not all states have the same DE rules and requirements for students, so their rights and protections may vary slightly. 

 

The Coffee Klatch network has archived podcasts that include a lecture on college-level services and accommodations. 

[regentrude]

He should make an appointment with the office for disability support services. They will tell him what documentation is required to receive accommodations.

Accommodations depend on their disabilities. I have had students who require a scribe on exams, a note taker in class, permission to use a computer on exams, extra time, quiet testing conditions, permission to record lectures, large print in handouts, extra blank space....

Students take the exams at a testing center on campus where they can receive these accommodations and keep that confidential; the other students won't know.

Upon reviewing the documentation, the disability support services create a letter for the student  to give to instructors. The letter states the accommodations to which the student is entitled, but does not reveal a diagnosis. The diagnosis is known only to the DSS office.

However, I would strongly encourage you to have him share his diagnosis with the instructor. Knowing what difficulties a student faces can help the instructor meet his needs beyond the standard accommodations. (For example, one of my students disclosed that he would have the compulsion to draw extremely neat sketches and could thus not finish a class quiz in time; knowing this allowed me to provided him with a printed figure that eliminated his need to copy something from the board.)

I found that working closely with the student created the best outcome.

ETA: Dysgraphia is something I would especially recommend he disclose. Handwriting creates first impressions. Knowing that a student who turns in barely legible assignments is trying the best he can, but is dealing with a condition that makes it impossible to write neatly, changes an instructor's perspective. I recommend he be proactive and address his challenges up front.

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by regentrude

[Julie of KY]

Thanks, Regentrude.

I always appreciate your insights, especially now as my very smart, severely dysgraphic son will soon be navigating the world of college classes and professors.

[my2boysteacher]

Thank you, everyone!  This is so helpful.  We will make an appointment to meet  about these concerns as soon as he is registered.