My daughter is a Senior and has applied to UNC Chapel Hill. She has a bilateral hand tremor since birth. Her private school has accommodated her with more time as needed without us having to write out an IEP or other plans. Her balance also very slightly affected without putting a label on things, we have seen her work through most of these issues enrolling her in speech, occupational and physical therapy when she was young. Her hand tremor is non-progressive. I’m wondering if we should attach something about her disability with the application or if we should just go through the normal channels. I don’t want to hurt her chances either way. Any input from parents with children with mild disabilities who are at UNC Chapel Hill or other colleges would be appreciated.
I wouldn’t think you would mention it at all…just have a doctor’s note ready and have your daughter talk to the Student Disability office asap when she attends college.
There is no need to attach any info on her (mild) disability with her application. Admissions is entirely separate from any office responsible for accommodations.
Once she is accepted, she can meet immediately with the disabilities office if she chooses ( or communicate from afar). She would need to provide documentation. I recommend researching and thinking about accommodations yourselves (perhaps modeled on her current ones if they work well) and then list them in a letter for the MD to sign. Honestly, MD’s aren’t up on these things and also appreciate being provided a text rather than having to write it.
If there is a dean or other administrator, tell that person too. Does she need any adaptive equipment?
Any info on her disability will not affect her chances. That is illegal. It may show perseverance and the ability to overcome obstacles, which is a plus. If she wants to write about it in an essay or even a small optional essay, that’s fine too. Or not.
Good luck!
Whatever college she attends please make sure you go through the office that handles accommodations and are well aware of the policies and responsibilities on your end. Schools have official policies and methods they use and all staff and faculty have to abide by the policies.
Correct. Students are reviewed for admissions based on their qualifications for admissions. Applying for an accommodation with a diagnosed disability goes through the disabilities office and for Ch. Hill this can wait until after admission. Some schools have separate applications for admission to specialized disability services a programs but Ch Hill doesnt have one of these specialized programs.
And if for some reason your daughter is resistant to formal accomodations…tell her that if she has them she doesn’t have to use them, but if she needs them they need to be in place from the start.
This is an excellent article on the # of LD students who used accommodations in HS but not in college, and the affect it had on their performance/success http://hechingerreport.org/colleges-respond-to-growing-ranks-of-learning-disabled/
^^^^ This! I can’t tell you how many times professors have kids come to them who wanted to forge through without accommodations, only to find they needed them. A professor cannot retroactively change grades based on what a student might have been able to do if they had the accommodations in place. And a professor cannot provide accommodations unless there is proper paperwork with the disability services office - which may take time to process.
While the private high school was willing to make accommodation without paperwork, it’s unlikely a college would do the same.
K-12 follows IDEA and the government offers a right to an education. Not so in college. Colleges follow the ADA (or the 504 rehab act) and only guarantee equal access. No documented disability filed with the accommodations office, no accommodation.
To clarify, an IEP will not be used at the college level. They follow 504 and ADA criteria.
Thank you for your advice. We will definitely meet with the school if she gets in. She is receptive to accommodations so we will discuss what they have available.
While the IEP will not “used” at the college level it is most readily accepted that the college office of disability services/accessibility services.
The IEP will have recommended services, that include extended time and any assistive/adaptive aids.
I believe that if you can, you should purse the IEP to have additional documentation.
The ADA has updated their policies and recommendations, recommending that the colleges accept the accommodations (if offered by the college) that a student has had and has used in HS, regardless of whether it was written in an IEP or 504. But officially, the criteria used at the college level is a federal regulation, not an IEP, as that ends with completion of HS. The issue in this case is that the accommodations have been offered informally, and may or may not be accommodated at the college level. If the student has a documented disability, the school should put a formal accommodation in place to ease the likelihood of it being continued at the college level.