Reading Disability
I think with all physical disability, we have learned how to help student to be successful. In my classes i have students out of high school who can not read or understand what they just read. A physical disablity is something we can see, most of the time we can see a disorder, but the student that cannot read and trys to hide this can cause real problems for both student and Instructor. Sometime, I feel, we, instructor, see this disability as something else.
John,
Just remember that not all students who have difficulty reading experience those problems as a result of disability. For those that do, being honest about it would certainly be useful. But lack of performance/achievement does not equate with disability.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I agree with what has been stated. However, the student that tries to see if they can function without letting you know they have a disability, then appeal after the fact is a challenge.
David,
Absolutely true. The general rule of thumb is that students with disabilities have rights, but they also have responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to identify themselves as a person with a disability and request needed accommodations in a timely manner. It is not your job, as a faculty member, to be a mind-reader. GENERALLY, we do not make accommodations in retrospect -- what they see (the grade they earned) is what they get!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I experienced a student that was making poor grades and I assumed he just wasn't getting it and recommended to him to attend tutoring and do some additional reading to bring him up to speed, but come to find out during one of the exams he had specifically asked me to read out to him several of the questions which indicated to me at that point he had a reading disability. I did attempt to communicate with him about the situation, but he denied it, so I was not successful in my intervention.
Shawn,
You can only do so much. It is too bad when student's ambitions are thwarted by issues that could be addressed with some support. But part of respecting people with disabilities is giving them the dignity of choosing whether or not to identify themselves as such. It sounds as though you handled this correctly.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I also have experienced students asking to have questions read to them and during tutoring noticed that they had not even taken notes .Upon that finding out these student appeared to have a reading and writing disability.
charles,
Helping students to identify (and possibly to receive diagnosis of) a disability is probably NOT the responsibility of a teaching faculty member. There should be someone else in your institution who is charged with helping students to evaluate their learning styles and difficulties. Your job is to identify who that person/office might be, and make appropriate referrals.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I have run into the same problem with students that have reading disabilities and in some cases even the comprehension level when you read the questions to them. There have been many times that i have to explain the meaning of common words or even re-word the question so that it could be understood.
Craig,
As the instructor, you are the best person to assess whether the changes needed are jeopardizing the academic integrity of the information to be mastered. If you are comfortable that rewording a question doesn't sacrifice anything, then go for it. But remember that making accommodations for students with disabilities should never mean expecting LESS in terms of performance (only different!).
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I find this a lot in my classrooms. Students cannot read or write a sentence very well. I try to help by providing outlines to follow or fill in, simple questions that if they to go the book the answer is right there. Many of my students cannot accomplish this task on their own. So the question is....are we providing too many accommodations for students in elementary school because many students are coming to college and do not have the skills to function on their own, when given simple tasks.
