<p>Now I am finding out that my son will be eligible for a 504 plan when he gets to college. Can anyone share experiences with a 504? In particular, my son has Aspergers, and I am trying to determine if the need for extended time and quiet test taking environment is covered under a 504 or do I have to get an expensive outside evaluation? Thanks so much.</p>
<p>sounds like you have learned he will be eligible for a 504 plan, I’m wondering, has your son had a 504 previously in high school? or an IEP with specific accommodations such as the ones you mention, extended time? </p>
<p>my experience is that your college student would need to have had neuropsych testing, (within last three years) that documented a disability, and which resulted in a 504 plan with accommodations that were already needed and used in high school the college can build in similar accommodations for your child. my d’s college accepted the accommodations previously used in high school since her testing was conducted within the last three years.</p>
<p>My son has an IEP, no 504 in high school.</p>
<p>Do you know which school we’re talking about?</p>
<p>Your son will probably need updated neuropsych testing, done by a qualified professional. The professional will write a report saying what accommodations the student needs to succeed (for example a notetaker, extended time for tests, quiet room for tests, exemption for a foreign language requirement). The disability department of the college will then decide whether to grant those accommodations. The college does not have to grant the accommodations if it can argue that what would be waived is an essential part of the education at that school. For example, a school of foreign service might have a foreign language requirement that it would not have to waive for any student.</p>
<p>I think it at least partially depends on what is being requested. A quiet room to take exams in would be relatively easy to obtain while an exemption for a foreign language requirement would be a much more significant request. </p>
<p>From past posts, mdcissp is very interested in getting a single room for her S and I don’t think this would require extensive testing - a simple doctors note would likely suffice there.</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t think students should be exempt from any college requirements for graduation because of a disability. A degree from a university should mean the student has met all of the requirements. Granting extra time or a quiet room is one thing, but exempting requirements is a totally different matter.</p>
<p>Ah, but bigtrees, exempting requirements is a slippery slope. Some colleges have a swimming requirement. Would you exempt a quadriplegic from that requirement?</p>
<p>No requirements should be waived. In my opinion, the only requirements of a degree program should be those that the university feels necessary and essential to the education. Inability of completing any class means the student cannot graduate with the diploma.</p>
<p>In the fictional case you presented, the school either needs to revise the requirement so all students can meet them or deem it essential to the education of the student.</p>
<p>Harvard used to have a swimming requirement, though I see it is no longer in force. Columbia, however, still requires students who can’t swim to take a swimming class. So does MIT.</p>
<p>mdcissp,</p>
<p>I would call the colleges and see what documentation they need for a single. At some colleges, the only documentation you need is a bigger check. 
</p>
<p>But if you find you need psychoeducational testing, can you get the high school to give him achievement testing? You might be able to piece together some info with a doctor’s note, achievement testing to show impact and an IQ test. I have seen psychologists be willing to accept IQ tests (not achievement tests) that date back 6 years. </p>
<p>Also, if you’re near a university that has a school psychology grad program they might offer ‘clinic’ hours with reduced price testing.</p>
<p>mdcissp, did you receive my PM?</p>
<p>This is so college specific that you really need to talk to the college. Many require more recent testing than the HS IEP may rely upon. Others may take the IEP. DD has accommodations for testing. We did do the private testing though. But after that was done, getting the accommodation was not difficult. Get in touch with the college’s office of disability services.</p>
<p>Thank you Deja for your PM and I will respond. Others-I don’t want to spend $$$ for private testing unless it is absolutely essential. My son is very bright. An updated IQ is meaningless here. I don’t want foreign language exemption. In fact, my son wanted to take Chinese this year but I talked him out of it because it is a very hard language and no one in our family knows Chinese to help him. My son’s issues deal with the need for an extremely quiet environment because he is sound sensitive. You can only see the difference in real life. Our high school made the accomodations for sound sensitivity because it was very obvious in day to day school life. I honestly don’t know if he will need extended time in college. I am seeking info. about what accomodations are realistic on a 504 and how to go about getting a 504. We will certainly inquire at the disability offices after acceptance and compare their responses.</p>
<p>We have a younger kiddo who just got accomodations with College Board. It required expensive testing and lots of documentation. Our student has very very slow processing and some other gaps etc…This child is not even in high school. Our school required us to do this to get even extended time in the classroom for regular testing. The benefit will be at SAT time and I expect will hopefully follow our child to college (with updating)
This child already had an IEP prior to this new testing/diagnosis. It does take time so don’t delay.</p>
<p>My son had a 504 plan in middle school, as far as I could tell the accommodations were very similar to what he’d have had if they’d given him an IEP - extended time, preferential seating (front of the room), use of a keyboard. In practice they made it so annoying for him, he dropped the plan in high school. It probably cost him points in math where he is slow, and his handwriting is illegible, but the teachers manage. My understanding is that colleges don’t have to be nearly as accommodating as secondary schools.</p>
<p>I would say that you need to contact the college directly, but you don’t - your child does. Every college and university has an office of disabilities, and the relative helpfulness of these offices should be a factor in his choice of colleges.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree with NJ Mom about the student contacting disabilities. I’m generally a hands off mom and big on kids self advocating but this is such a major decision - which college will fit a student with an LD - that I think its fine and appropriate for the parent(s) to be involved.</p>
<p>My personal experience is that my D was the best one to determine whether a school was going to offer her the right accomodations…oddly, she has everything she “needs” but rarely seems to use it in college. Still, in one case she attempted to contact the disabilities office to find out if she should take the offer of the honors college, and if they had had a lot of success etc. with this, and the disability people did not respond to her email or phone call.</p>
<p>She crossed that school off of her list, although it was origally her first choice. When I asked why she didn’t just try to get in touch again, she said she wasn’t going anywhere where it was going to be a pain since she’d already dealt with that in high school. </p>
<p>At the same time, if I had a child who still had organizational issues, or who was so blinded by the bells and whistles, I’d want to get involved in the process. It’s a lot of money, and it is really the same as a parent needing to know there is a cafeteria for a first year student. It’s that “basic” really, to the kids success.</p>
<p>fwiw, I’m not much of a one to get overly involved in my kid’s lives.</p>
<p>So again - it depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>The person who wanted extra time on SATs obviously had to go through extra testing because a hallmark of the SAT is that it is a timed exam. </p>
<p>The OP wanting a quiet area for exams shouldn’t have to do expensive testing because that can be readily accomodated while keeping in place the basic rules for the exam (open/closed book, length of exam, etc). </p>
<p>As a side note - could you convince your kid to wear muff style hearing protectors during exams? Yes, he’ll look like a dork but it will do wonders to cut down on extraneous sensory noises. At my office (cubicles) we have had people that wear them to help them focus. It doesn’t look stylish but those employees appear to get a ton of work done while wearing them. In life, he won’t always have a quiet environment and if he can make his own quiet environment, he will be much more successful in life.</p>
<p>Actually, bigtrees, the professors will not allow the students to wear to headphones during tests because of cheating issues…My D would much prefer to take her tests with music on…actually both of them would, but it is not allowed.</p>
<p>In fact, the kids come into most classrooms and put thier phones backpacks, everything at the front of room before they test.</p>
<p>I’ve never seen a college classroom require backpacks be left at the front of class. I’m currently a student at University of Washington and it’s not the case there, and graduated not long ago from Montana State University and it’s not the case.</p>
<p>But a person needing a quiet environment surely could get it approved without too much trouble. The harder part is convincing the student.</p>