This is a very upsetting time and I have spent much of the day and night scowering the internet looking for help. I am writing on behalf of my fiancee, who has ambitions of becoming a lawyer or orthopedic surgeon. She is bright young lady (1470 on the SAT) on a full academic ride to a prestigious, small liberal arts univesity. She was recently diagnosed with a severe visual LD 3/4 of the way through her sophomore year in college. The LD was not discovered early, as she went to a large public high school. The LD gives her difficulty, primarily in calculus and O-chem. She has now failed calc twice with the same prof who has refused to give her any accomodations. She did do fine in O-chem, as this prof was willing to work with her. Because of her late diagnosis, her grades have not been up to the high standard of maintaining a 3.5 gpa in order to keep her full scholarship. Her scholarship has been reduced so severely, that she cannot afford to stay at this school. Because of the lack of accomodation and scholarship clip, does she have any legal right to force the university to allow her to keep her scholarship, or at least put her on a specialized program where she will have a fair chance to improve her marks? Not only was her LD discovered and diagnosed so late in life, she has had mono and her fourth knee surgery in the past year, yet the school refuses to take such serious obstacles into consideration. We would appreciate any helpful advice, b/c dealing with this LD is a new thing for the both of us, as well as her family.
Thank you!
Help!! Scholarship clipped unfairly!!
Who diagnosed her LD? The college she attends? Has she met with anyone in the college’s ADA office to seek assistance? Often, it’s not enough to ask a prof for accommodations.
If the college (at an ADA or Academic Support Services level)is aware and unhelpful, you definitely need to seek legal assistance. If the school is unaware (aside from the prof), her best bet may be to work backwards in that regard.
Re: Help!! Scholarship clipped unfairly!!
You wrote that she was diagnosed with a severe visual difficulty. Also problems with calculus and chemistry.
You probably haven’t heard of something called Dyscalculia, which is the official term for ‘maths difficulties.
Where one of the major sub-types is Visual-Spatial Dyscalculia.
Where the basic problem is a difficulty with mentally visualising formulas and equations, and spatially working through them in our minds eye.
I run a Forum for Dyscalculia, which you might like to visit. Where we could help you present a case for both recognition and accommodations.
http://www.dyscalculiaforum.com/
Geoff,
Help!! Scholarship clipped unfairly!!
Is the school a state university or a private college? Either way, they have to provide accomodations for her disablity (what is the exact diagnosis?), but she has to be able to do the work once she has the accomodations. Modifications are not given at the college level. Some schools do have additional programs at a cost, and many have some form of tutorial for free for all students.
Re: Help!! Scholarship clipped unfairly!!
Hello tbottichio:
It sounds like your fiancé is attending a private school?
Did the university diagnose her with a learning disability or was it through a private psychologist?
What type of scholarship is it?
Is the scholarship for a specific major or just an undergraduate scholarship?
Did your fiancé go through the disabled student services dept or did she just ask the instructor that she wanted extra time because she is learning disabled.
If she was properly diagnosed then she should ask for an appeal with regards to the scholarship. If she properly informed the school about her disability and that she was denied reasonable accommodations then she may get a probationary status with regards to her scholarship if she waves the Americans with Disabilities Act around. But if her school did not legally know that she was disabled then they can’t be accused of discrimination.
If her undergraduate major and possible graduate major will require the heavy use of mathematics, then I would suggest that she change majors and if the school is to expensive because it is private then she should seek a public school.
Please respond back on the message board with answers so that others can learn from the situation.
See if you can locate a lawyer in your area who specializes in “disability Law”. Your fiancé should be covered under the Rehabilitation Act Section 504 and also The American Disability Act. Both of these pieces of legislation require the school to provide some accommodation for students who are identified with a disability. If the College receives any federal money they are bound by these laws to provide accommodations. I would definitely get some legal help here.