4-26-02
There seems to be so little known by staff at the D.S.S. office. I attend College at Montana State University. I have found the staff at Disabled Student services to be extremely unfriendly, rude, and hostile. Besides that, I have been descriminated against in what had started out as a misunderstanding in a test situation. As a result I was accused of cheating and sanctioned by being flunked in the course. I retook the course the following semester (Human Dev. 260 and received a B-) I have an L.D. in perceptual organizational skills which was what had caused me to space out the fact that I still had a file folder in my hands which I had taken into the room with me to test(unconsciously) the proctor never noticed until she came back into the room fifteen min. later. She than requested the folder which had contained my class notes which I had been looking over before going to take the test. I appealed the sanction and lost. I also turned in the staff director for violating my confidentiality over to Affirmative Action and the testing issue at hand. They did an investigation and I lost again! No lawyer here in Montana that I contacted would touch this so I called the State Human Rights Commission who said I had no case. Is there any justice out there that anyone knows of? Can I take this to a federal level? Please e-mail me any advise you may have. Many other students with L.D. and physical handicaps continue to be discriminated against by the D.S.S. office, University officials are aware of this but nothing is being done about it. Can anyone reccomend a College that provides good services for those of us with Learning Challenges? There’s got to be some major overhauling done here in Montana with the way the system is. I don’t understand why these people are in these jobs when they work against those instead of with those who need accomodations. Thanks for any suggestions and advise that anyone has.
Sian P.
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
Wow!! That’s gotta be tough. I read your story and Sue’s response. I can see how that is a dilemma. To me, you didn’t seem to have any intentions whatsoever of cheating; you just simply forgot that you had your file folder in your hand. I’m sure I’ve done things like that. Unfortunately, however, it’s a case of your word against theirs. You know you weren’t going to cheat, but the school can’t prove that, so they just assume you were going to cheat.
However, it sounds like the whole thing was poorly treated. I can’t picture the whole situation and I don’t know you personally; but, it doesn’t sound fair that you were flunked in your course. In determining these things, school officials need to look at a student’s past history, not be so close-minded and look at just the one instance.
What exactly did the Staff Director do to violate your confidentiality? It’s too bad that you felt discriminated by a department that is supposed to HELP students with disabilities!
I’m sorry, I do get long-winded when I rant! I hope I have made some sense and been of some sort of help.
Good luck!!
Christine
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
4-29-02
Hi Christie,
The staff director had held a private meeting with my A.B.C. councilor (Advance by Choice) and she informed me that he had basically implied that he had known me for years and that he had always had to keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t cheat. Which is an outright lie! He also implied to her that I somehow am mentally ill. She didn’t like it and suspected something was up so she contacted me and we got to know each other better. When she was comfortable enough, she told me the truth about what happened and reported this to the Dean of Students, the D.S.S.’s director’s boss, and eventually this was turned into Affirmative Action which is still on record to this day. The guy merely got just a slap on the wrist! If I had money and power, I would sue the S.O.B.! Unfortunately, my only income is S.S.I and S.S.D.I. So people like us stay powerless, polluted and poor. O.K. well maybe I’m sitting on the pity pot. Maybe nothing could actually be done to prove I didn’t cheat but the way that this person slandered me and got away with it is proposterous! Thanks you all out there for listening, reading, caring etc. Sian (otherwise known as Vibrance)
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
4-29-02
Sue,
Tell me a little more about yourself?
Who is the author of Exceeding Expectations? Do you yourself deal with L.D. or any type of limitation to speak of, or are you just an administrator in a Resource room? You may have a point about the cheating as far as my ever being able to prove anything. I long ago gave that up. However, the D.S.S. director said some things about me to my A.B.C. advisor which were treacherous lies. She suspected that something was up, so she contacted me, investigated this herself and than told me the truth about what had happened. She knew that these things being said were uncharactaristic of me, so she wrote a letter herself quoting what he had said in a letter and turned it in first to the Dean of Students and than eventually a copy of that letter went to Affirmative Action. To make a long story short this guy who had pretended to have known me for years(Not true: He had only worked with me one time eight years previously) He was never officially my case worker. He had told my A.B.C. advisor that “All these years I’ve had to keep and eye on Sian to make sure she doesn’t cheat” as though I were a habitual offender. Besides that he basically implied that I was somehow mentally ill. Nothing is documented in my file about anything having to do with any kind of mental illness.So what do you think about that? Am I still 100% in the wrong? I really don’t think so!
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
You certainly aren’t 100% in the wrong or even close. I just think that you have about a 100% chance of losing out as far as taking that case further, for the reasons I mentioned.
It’s the people like the D.S.S. director that I was talking about when I said there are a those who think people with accommodations are trying to get the “easy” way out (sure, sign us all up right now for more disabiltiies! it’s easier!) — if you won that case, he’d be even *more* sure he was right. Your better revenge is not letting him make you crazy fighting. Even better if you get to where you don’t even let it make your blood pressure go up.
I work at a community college helping students in developmental level courses (tutoring & teaching, not administration… I’m allergic to administration). A friend of mine has had some real issues trying to get his Ph.D. with accommodations because of discrimination and some pretty overt “accommodations” made against him. There’s a fine art to *not* letting the system wear you down, and learnign which battles to fight and which ones not to bother with is tough since you will never know what would have happened.
Paul Gerber wrote _Exceeding Expectations_ — it’s pricey but if you’re near a university library they should have it.
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
I don’t think I did a good job explaining - I’m not *quite* the totally arrogant a$$ that post sounds like!
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
Dear Sue -
I don’t think you sound like an a$$. “Exceeding Expectations” sounds quite interesting especially since I had to deal with my share of discrimination with accomodations as well during graduate school. I find it quite odd in this day and age that I was told how unusual it was for me to have made it “this far” having an LD” (I also have ADD as well) … what a blow that was to my psyche esp. since it’s a big ten school and ranked, by TIME Magazine, one of the best in the nation for being technologically advanced and connected. So many hurdles I had to endure unnecessarily due to closed mindedness and ignorance on the part of the DSS (Disabled Student Services) as well as other university staff members at the university. I just graduated with my Master’s Degree 2 yrs. ago so, just to let you know the time span … I think my trials and tribulations with the school systems throughout my life has been one of the major factors into why I am writing an autobiography about living with LD and ADD; I hope to be finished with my book within the next 2-3 yrs. or so. If I could help people so that the pitfalls of higher education could be avoided then I feel that i t’s worth the time and effort that I have been through.
Despite what others may say, I know, for a fact, that those of use who have LD and or ADD, are more concerned for the welfare of others … we have more compasison and more passion for life. Yes, this makes for a rougher road for us but as Georgia has said (on this site, in other messages) I wouldn’t change a thing! I am very proud of my accomplishments and all I have achieved despite all the struggles. My personality is one of my endearing qualities that makes me stand out from the crowd, in a good way. I am also very determined and persistent in achieving what I want in life.
I wish everyone good wishes for continued success in the future.
Keep up the good work,
Maria
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
5-2-02
Hi Maria and anyone else interested:
My whole experience with misunderstandings, miscommunications and other experiences has prompted me to write a book also. I want to focus on N.V.L.D. since this has dogged me throughout my whole life.(Nonverbal L.D.) This has affected me not just vocationally but socially as well. I am an extremely talented musician because, I’ve been blessed with a good ear. I play the French Horn in my local Symphony. My dilema happens when either I misread someone’s facial expressions or when they read mine. My cognitive deficit is in Non-verbal expression. This has really skued my relationships with people. This is an invisible disability which I want to educate others on so that we all can have better understanding and communication and compassion. Anyone else with this experience should Please e-mail me. Together we can make a difference!
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
Well you go girl tell it like it is. Your blunt and true. Thats agood thing but I wouldn’t want to pi— you off.
Re: Hatred and Ignorance
Sounds like you wanna rattle some cages. Good for you!! Sounds like yor school is full of small minded jerks. Start an LD students org. Call it an on campus support group. There is strength in numbers. Invite the Bozo that runs the student disabilities office and ambush her with questions. Humiliate her. Give her a taste of what you go through. One thing LD has taught me is humility. Others need that lesson.
I’m a musician and song writer. I’ve played semi-professionally for many years. I’m pretty off the hook as you can tell from my posts. I admire your spunk. Stay vigilant
I’m assuming that yOu broke the rules by having that folder in there. If you take it to the federal level, they’ll almost certainly decide that …. you broke the rules. The fact that it wasn’t noticed right away doesn’t change the first fact that…. you broke the rules. There is no rule for them that says “if you don’t get caught right away, you can’t get caught at all.” So they didn’t break the rules; you did. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t know. There is no way they can get in your head and see what your thoughts were, which is why the rules don’t talk about your thoughts — they talk about what you are allowed to have at the test.
You are right that people get discriminated against, and confidentialities are violated. One of the biggest problems is that professors and administrators believe that people are looking for a shortcut and an easy way out. There are people who suspect or believe that the proctors in tehse testing situations help out the students. Boy, if you won your case, then they’d be pretty sure of it andthey’d be looking for even more devious ways to undermine LD students. So please, for the sake of LD students everywhere, look for battles you can win.
A book I really like is _Exceeding Expectations_ - it talks about channeling energy into defying people who are sure you’re going to fail. Sounds like you came back and passed that course with flair — good job! If you can learn to channel your frustrations into determination, and move *past* the past and move ahead, you’ll find yourself succeeding even more often.
I’m sure if you talk to enogh people, you’ll find someone to agree with you. Don’t confuse that with being right.