FYI - Article - Learning Disabled Advance in School
Ginette Perkins
Learning Disabled Advance in School
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Students with learning disabilities are attending college
in unprecedented numbers, a trend that both dispels the notion that they
could not advance beyond high school special education classes and calls
into question the number of children being labeled with a handicap.
``I don't think anybody expected me to go to college. They probably thought
I would be flipping burgers,'' said Jed Israel Pittleman, a New York
University junior who has attention deficit disorder.
Among the 1.6 million first-time, full-time freshmen enrolled at 3,100
institutions of higher education in the United States in 1998 - the most
recent figures available - some 154,520, or 9.4 percent, had some kind of
disability, says a new study by the American Council on Education. In 1978,
by contrast, less than 3 percent of freshmen reported having a disability.
Of those reporting a disability two years ago, 41 percent identified their
impediment as a learning disability. Ten years earlier, the blind or
partially sighted represented the largest category and the percentage of
learning disabled was just 15 percent.
Colleges are ``recognizing that these students have unrealized potential,
and many students who years ago would never have contemplated college are,''
said Beth Robinson of the College Board, which administers the SAT.
Last year, 24,016 students with all sorts of disabilities asked for special
accommodations when they took that test - such as extra time to complete
it - compared with 14,994 five years earlier.
Although it may seem counterintuitive for people with learning disabilities
such as attention deficit disorder or dyslexia to be expected - or to even
want - to attend college, experts say the growth is not surprising.
In the 1970s, Congress passed laws prohibiting discrimination against the
disabled and mandating extra educational help for those who need it.
Natalie Phelps, 20, a senior psychology major at Bates College in Lewiston,
Maine, had a stroke at age 6, but with speech therapy and books on tape, she
expects to attend graduate school.
``I'm not shy at all about saying what I need, whether it's note-takers, or
readers for exams, or untimed tests,'' she said.
Advocates for the learning disabled say such accommodations should be
accepted just like wheelchair ramps, braille and sign language translators.
But critics argue the ``learning disabled'' label may be overused and some
students could be getting unfair advantages.
``Certainly there are very severe cases within the LD category, but when we
look at the broad range, there are concerns that special ed and LD has
become a catchall for anybody who has a learning problem,'' said Thomas B.
Parrish, director of the Center for Special Education Finance at the
American Institutes for Research in Palo Alto, Calif.
In fact, in the 1990s, Boston University administrators raised questions
about the growing learning disabled population. Then, in 1997, a federal
judge ordered the school to pay six students $30,000 for treating them as
``lazy'' learners.
Advocates say the nationwide increases in the number of college students
with learning disabilities is easily explained:
-Doctors, more aware of learning disabilities, are diagnosing more children
with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and are
prescribing medications to help.
-Because of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, more parents and
students are seeking and getting accommodations including extra classes and
tutors they are legally entitled to in elementary, middle and high school.
Study author Cathy Henderson also notes that the median income of parents of
college freshmen with a learning disability is slightly higher than those
without a disability. That's significant because, among students with a
handicap, those with learning disabilities are the least likely to be
offered financial assistance as an incentive to enroll. What's more,
students with learning disabilities often take longer to graduate, which can
make a college degree more expensive.
``The ones that are successful at getting into college are from families
where the parents have resources to be advocates for their kids,'' Henderson
said, saying such children as a result got more of the special help they
were entitled to than children from poorer families.
In addition, the climate at universities has changed as many institutions,
notably community colleges, started welcoming the learning disabled by
offering special programs and services such as tutoring, she said.
The market has grown so much that Landmark College in Putney, Vt., opened in
1985 exclusively for students with learning disabilities. The student body
has grown from 77 to 340. After learning test-taking, organization and other
skills, 85 percent go on to four-year colleges, said Frank Sopper, dean of
admissions.
However, Ann Kornblet, past president of the Learning Disabilities
Association of America, cautioned that college is not for every student
since disabilities vary widely.
``There's a real concern that courses would be watered down and that's not
what students want,'' she said. ``They want access.''
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Ginette Perkins
Information & Referral Specialist
Washington Assistive Technology Alliance
1-800-214-8731 (Toll Free)
(509) 328-9350 (V, TTY)
(509) 326-2261 (Fax)
gine...@seals.org
Website: http://wata.org
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