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As to the first part, this is good advice. From what I'm reading, many colleges will waive the language requirement if it was waived in HS. State schools especially will tend to do this because of the ADA. It doesn't hurt to ask schools directly though.
As to the second part, um, what???? He is only a sophomore. He will be applying to a number of schools. He's not stupid; he's dyslexic. If he doesn't get in anywhere, he will still pursue his career goals.
It has nothing to do with stupidity. I think everyone needs a backup plan when applying to college no matter how smart and accomplished they are. I applied to two colleges and was fortunate enough to get into one. I also had a backup plan in case I didn't get into either school. When I replied you only mentioned one school so I was responding to the information provided.
As for dyslexia, my mother has it and didn't find out until she was 39 years old. I've watched the struggle she's gone through so while I don't have dyslexia, I've witnessed how hard the struggle can be.
Thank you for the nice response and suggestions. We will look into it.
We have had one particular teacher this year (English) who pretty much has no idea what dyslexia is and has no interest in learning. So she is doing all the things that the most basic accommodations would say not to, like reading aloud, spelling, and extra work to try to pound the concepts in. We have met with the assistant principal and the teacher and the counselor and the head of the English Department. As a result, she is really crossing her t's and dotting her i's, so she is complying with the letter of the law but not the spirit of it.
That's hard to hear. Some people get into teaching because they don't know what else to do, or because they want a good holiday schedule, not because of passion for the kids. Sad. Mind if I ask what district you are in?
I have a friend who is an advocate and she is excellent at what she does. PM me if interested in taking her with you to the meeting and I will connect you.
It has nothing to do with stupidity. I think everyone needs a backup plan when applying to college no matter how smart and accomplished they are. I applied to two colleges and was fortunate enough to get into one. I also had a backup plan in case I didn't get into either school. When I replied you only mentioned one school so I was responding to the information provided.
As for dyslexia, my mother has it and didn't find out until she was 39 years old. I've watched the struggle she's gone through so while I don't have dyslexia, I've witnessed how hard the struggle can be.
Ok, I appreciate the clarification and sorry if I misunderstood. Steven Spielberg was diagnosed at age 60; he said it was like having the last puzzle piece fitted in.
So far, the plan is to apply to a bunch of schools. We're focused on not just academics (there's only so much he can do awith academics), but extracurriculars, summer camps, internships, etc. How many schools do seniors these days apply to?
I understand your point, but no one in our home is trying to get out of anything because it's "hard work."
When universities such as Yale are recognizing that the foreign language requirement is unfair to students with a neurological language based disability, we have progressed to the point that it is incorrect to call these "loopholes."
It's like wearing glasses. Would you say to a person with poor vision, that they should just "try harder"?
Thank you for the link.
I was warning you that loop hole exploiters make it difficult for genuine cases so expect resistance unless it’s a clear cut case supported by doctors and witnessed by teachers. You’ll have to go through several hoops to prove your eligibility.
OP- this is meant in the kindest and most empathetic of way, from someone who does not have experience in this sort of thing:
Your child learned a language originally somehow- whose to say he/she can't do it again?
Would an online course be any more or less helpful? Like one that saturates a person in the language- maybe some auditory lessons for car rides, etc?
Like I said, I have no experience in this type of obstacle, but did face a different obstacle as a mom. It was my kid who said "no mom! I don't ever want this to be any kind of crutch. I will do everything the same way as everyone else."
OP- this is meant in the kindest and most empathetic of way, from someone who does not have experience in this sort of thing:
Your child learned a language originally somehow- whose to say he/she can't do it again?
Would an online course be any more or less helpful? Like one that saturates a person in the language- maybe some auditory lessons for car rides, etc?
Like I said, I have no experience in this type of obstacle, but did face a different obstacle as a mom. It was my kid who said "no mom! I don't ever want this to be any kind of crutch. I will do everything the same way as everyone else."
Sorry I didn't have time to respond to your comment from yesterday. As to this, I'm sure you mean to be encouraging. But here are some quick thoughts:
--people with learning disabilities are all unique in their strengths and weaknesses. Dyslexia is usually paired with other conditions. And dyslexia comes in different degrees of severity. I've read where some dyslexics are great at Latin or Mandarin Chinese. Some dyslexics fail Spanish. There is no one size fits all solution.
--The premise that "he learned one language, he can learn another" is incorrect. Although my son is verbally gifted, he still frequently mispronounces common words (I can't tell you how long it took him to learn to say "New York " and not "You Nork"). He struggles with reading but can listen to an audio book and remember and understand the content almost perfectly. Spelling is still difficult. He has in no way mastered English.
--The strides my son did make in English were due to two years of individual private tutoring in Orton-Gillingham. There is nothing like that in place for learning a foreign language at most schools.
--Accommodations are not a crutch. People with dyslexia and dysgraphia learn and process information differently. They also need to have different ways to communicate their knowledge. If public schools taught in the way these kids learned, everyone else would need accommodations.
"Research has shown, with the technology of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that those with dyslexia use a different part of their brain when reading and working with language. Dyslexic people show an abnormal pattern of brain function when reading: underactivity in some regions, overactivity in another which, according to research, accounts for the difficulty they have in extracting meaning from the printed word. The findings provide evidence that people with dyslexia are not poorly taught, lazy, or stupid, but have an inborn brain difference that has nothing to do with intelligence. If students with dyslexia do not receive the right type of intervention and/or classroom accommodations, they often struggle in school -- despite being bright, motivated, and spending hours on homework assignments."
--students with multiple learning disabilities work harder to get through every single school day than their neurotypical peers. The idea that accommodations get in the way of learning how to "work hard" is silly.
--Finally, there is this:
"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." (Albert Einstein)
Last edited by calgirlinnc; 02-14-2019 at 01:31 PM..
Sorry I didn't have time to respond to your comment from yesterday. As to this, I'm sure you mean to be encouraging. But here are some quick thoughts:
--people with learning disabilities are all unique in their strengths and weaknesses. Dyslexia is usually paired with other conditions. And dyslexia comes in different degrees of severity. I've read where some dyslexics are great at Latin or Mandarin Chinese. Some dyslexics fail Spanish. There is no one size fits all solution.
--The premise that "he learned one language, he can learn another" is incorrect. Although my son is verbally gifted, he still frequently mispronounces common words (I can't tell you how long it took him to learn to say "New York " and not "You Nork"). He struggles with reading but can listen to an audio book and remember and understand the content almost perfectly. Spelling is still difficult. He has in no way mastered English.
--The strides my son did make in English were due to two years of individual private tutoring in Orton-Gillingham. There is nothing like that in place for learning a foreign language at most schools.
--Accommodations are not a crutch. People with dyslexia and dysgraphia learn and process information differently. They also need to have different ways to communicate their knowledge. If public schools taught in the way these kids learned, everyone else would need accommodations.
"Research has shown, with the technology of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that those with dyslexia use a different part of their brain when reading and working with language. Dyslexic people show an abnormal pattern of brain function when reading: underactivity in some regions, overactivity in another which, according to research, accounts for the difficulty they have in extracting meaning from the printed word. The findings provide evidence that people with dyslexia are not poorly taught, lazy, or stupid, but have an inborn brain difference that has nothing to do with intelligence. If students with dyslexia do not receive the right type of intervention and/or classroom accommodations, they often struggle in school -- despite being bright, motivated, and spending hours on homework assignments."
--students with multiple learning disabilities work harder to get through every single school day than their neurotypical peers. The idea that accommodations get in the way of learning how to "work hard" is silly.
--Finally, there is this:
"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." (Albert Einstein)
Thanks for the awesome explanation, as well as for using my very favorite quote ever! I totally agree with you, as well as there are MANY things I'd like to change about education. I was just wondering about your son specifically. I have had to fight the school board and it is not fun, so I was hoping you'd say there may be a way around that for your son (and you).
The way I can somewhat relate is that I realized about 5 years ago that my husband has a form of dyslexia. Long story short, I listened to a series on NPR about forms of dyslexia, and this one kid described his, and I realized 'ah! that is exactly what is wrong with my hubby". He has been trying to learn Spanish for 3 years now and works on it every day. I never took a single day of Spanish, but just "figure out" his lessons before he does. I do totally get it, and hope I did not sound like I was not empathetic.
I hope that you can get this waived for him.
Side note: my cousin-in-law went to that Savannah Art school you talked about. Things did not work out for him because he is severely autistic and just could not be around that many strangers- hell, he doesn't even come to family events so I'm sure it was just excruciating for him- but he said the school itself was fantastic (through his mom- he doesn't really talk to people)
Last edited by MarshaBrady1968; 02-14-2019 at 03:33 PM..
Thanks for the awesome explanation, as well as for using my very favorite quote ever! I totally agree with you, as well as there are MANY things I'd like to change about education. I was just wondering about your son specifically. I have had to fight the school board and it is not fun, so I was hoping you'd say there may be a way around that for your son (and you).
The way I can somewhat relate is that I realized about 5 years ago that my husband has a form of dyslexia. Long story short, I listed to a series on NPR about forms of dyslexia, and this one kid described his, and I realized 'ah! that is exactly what is wrong with my hubby". He has been trying to learn Spanish for 3 years now and works on it every day. I never took a single day of Spanish, but just "figure out" his lessons before he does. I do totally get it, and hope I did not sound like I was not empathetic.
I hope that you can get this waived for him.
Side note: my cousin-in-law went to that Savannah Art school you talked about. Things did not work out for him because he is severely autistic and just could not be around that many strangers- hell, he doesn't even come to family events so I'm sure it was just excruciating for him- but he said the school itself was fantastic (through his mom- he doesn't really talk to people)
It was good for me to write all that out; I need to have my ducks in a row when I go to that meeting!
Do you recall that series on NPR? I wonder if I could find it on a podcast. That would be good for me to listen to.
I'm sure your husband is a bright and talented guy in many ways. Does he think in pictures? My son thinks in pictures.
Back to the English teacher, what really ticks me off is that if the teacher spent 15 minutes with Google, she could learn some basic information that would help her be a useful ally; for example; that reading out loud doesn't make dyslexics better readers.
ETA: thanks for the info about SCAD. It's expensive but they do offer talent based scholarships, so we'll see. Sorry about your cousin though.
It was good for me to write all that out; I need to have my ducks in a row when I go to that meeting!
Do you recall that series on NPR? I wonder if I could find it on a podcast. That would be good for me to listen to.
I'm sure your husband is a bright and talented guy in many ways. Does he think in pictures? My son thinks in pictures.
Back to the English teacher, what really ticks me off is that if the teacher spent 15 minutes with Google, she could learn some basic information that would help her be a useful ally; for example; that reading out loud doesn't make dyslexics better readers.
ETA: thanks for the info about SCAD. It's expensive but they do offer talent based scholarships, so we'll see. Sorry about your cousin though.
I do not recall the series. It was not Hidden Brain, or Think. Maybe it will come to me.
Yes, hubby is bright, and very different from me for sure. I say "go east on blah, pass this this and this then turn south on blah in about 2 miles". He would say "I need to be driving there to tell you how to get there" so I assume he must remember by things he sees- never knows the names or directions of anything.
Best of luck!!
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