As an alternative to cleaning the kitchen, I looked up some good websites for students with and without disabilities. I tried for exact addresses, but you may need to dig at times: learning.guide.com, test.taking.tips.com, studygs.net, scholarship.com, how-to-study.com, Here are some personal favorites 1) smu.edu and search for ALEC There is good stuff for students with and without disabilities in 10 pages of downloadable loot. 2) ed.gov/about/offices/ocr/transition However you get there, you want the OCR section of the Department of Education. Click on reading room and if it gets picky you want the Section on the ADA. Two excellent pieces are Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know your Rights and Responsibilities and Transition of Students with Disabilities to Postsecndary Education: A Guide for High School Educators. You will find interesting dear colleague letters and links to other websites. 3) SAT and ACT have study guides etc. Both tell you how to qualify for accommodations. This is the transition to stage between high school and college. 4) Look to AHEAD.org for greater discussion of documentation and go to ETS for more. If you find any more cool stuff, let me know. The kitchen is calling and reminding me to remind you that IEPs and formal plans end with high school graduation. These high school documents are interesting but don’t satisfy the requirements of the ADAAA2008 and Section 504 because they are civil rights laws.Truly bye, z
Thanks…great sites! Good reminder re IEPs. We made sure our DD had up to date testing in her senior year in case she needed proof of need of services. We made an appt and she introduced herself on orientation weekend to the coordinator, who invited her to come in anytime. DD never needed the assistance, but she knew where to find it!
My DD is all documented and received accommodations - but doesn’t want them. She’s never accepted her ADD (and fought us all thru HS about accommodations and her IEP though she certainly did use the extended time for paper assignments and, occasionally, more time for tests). I’m just hoping that the disabilities coordinator has one of these wonderful personalities who can persuade my daughter to take advantage of the offered help. Or, we are going to have a difficult first semester (I’m already waking up at night with anxiety attacks, which is atypical for me.)
Prepare for a difficult semester. Parents can’t force students to register with disability serves. In college, students are adults. Until the student comes into a disability office. the director can’t talk to a student.
But there is hope. Students with disabilities think they can make it academically without accommodations. However, after the first test with a poor grade, kids start coming to disability services. The first test may be a mid- semester. When students with disabilities fail a midterm, they come fast to disability services.
What to do now? I probably would take her lunch at one of her favorite places with chairs and booths. When talking to your daughter about courses,find out her plans.Hold back on your comments and join her in her excitement. What time of day do you think will work best for you? Are there night or three hour classes? How far apart are classes? Let her tell you her plans and then join into a conversation. Get into a conversation. You can’t tell her what to do, but you can tell her your are pleased with her thinking and planning. can I add some ideas and talk to her as a supportive mother. If you start building rapport with her about college, I think then you can get into questions about her concerns and yur concerns.
Thank you for the links-great idea to look up! @MomofM btdt. I wish I could help! Dh and I lost a lot of sleep last summer after our very bright Aspie son chose an OOS engineering program and refused to apply for supports. I’d like to say it was ok but… He learned a lesson the hard way. While he succeeded in many ways (independence was a huge WIN), he stumbled first semester and then nearly failed imp classes second semester, not even getting credit. Intelligence carried him through enough that he didn’t lose his scholarship but it wasn’t from coping successfully. Scared him enough that he faced reality, and wants supports in order to succeed. The school has a policy that he can re-take those classes and replace the grades so this semester will be a second chance. HE emailed the Office if Disability Services (plus he got an increase in his anti anxiety med) this summer and will use supports (such as organization and help w advocacy; not extra test time etc). Was it my ideal? No. But I try to remind myself that’s it’s a process, and he’ll find his way. My biggest piece of advice? Although this is OT to the OP-sorry!-make sure your child knows that whatever happens, you love and support him. Last Spring, when I could sense something was wrong (boys don’t always talk about it), I was reading here about all the suicides and I was reminded about how we’d tried to use fear (take it seriously, you need to succeed or you won’t be able to go back…) to motivate him when he was refusing to get supports we thought he needed, and became so worried. I drove HOURS to just meet him for lunch one day, just to reassure him that however the semester turned out, it’d be ok. He had choices that he mulled over during the summer but at the last minute, he realized he wanted to return and is now determined. I think it was an experience he needed to go through, and grew from.
Thank you for the thoughtful responses. We’ll see what happens. Right now her attitude towards college is good though not for Disability services. You might be right that first she needs to have a rocky semester then hopefully she’ll learn to ask for support.