Do you think it's wrong for..

[golfgal]

Not true. As long as a student has a documented disability, the college or university must give a reasonable accommodation. I'll give you an example:

I have a friend who is a straight A and B student. She suffered from Leukemia before entering college and is still dealing with the side effects of chemo and graft vs. host disease. She needs extra time to test and because of her immune system issues and numerous doctors appointments, she needs a modified attendance requirements. These were all provided for her- before she ever had an issue. She took the time ot talk to the office at school that handles accommodations and so has never had a problem.

Having a disability is one thing, having poor fine motor control is another. Trust me, it isn't that cut and dried. We have tried for YEARS to get help for DS14 but it keeps coming down to the same thing, he is a straight A student and doesn't qualify for any "special ed" or accommodations or OT/PT as a result. There will be no "documentation" to produce. Fortunately we have had good luck talking to teachers about this issue and they have, for the most part, been pretty good about overlooking the handwriting issue but not all have.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

The Bar exam (at least in my state) includes 6 hours of essay. I can assure you, the examiners will not give you credit for something they can't read. Best for the kids to learn to make the effort to be neat early, rather then to fail at something really important.

And for the record, my attorney husband has atrocious handwriting. Even confirmed bad writers can make the effort.

 

[Pigeon]

I have horrible handwriting. When I took tests, I made sure that either I wrote very carefully or I printed.

Unless a teacher is telepathic, how can they give credit for illegible answers? Sorry, but the onus is on the student to make sure their writing is legible.

 

[sbell111]

I used to be an adjunct professor at a local college. If I could not make out an answer on a test, it was wrong.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Having a disability is one thing, having poor fine motor control is another. Trust me, it isn't that cut and dried. We have tried for YEARS to get help for DS14 but it keeps coming down to the same thing, he is a straight A student and doesn't qualify for any "special ed" or accommodations or OT/PT as a result. There will be no "documentation" to produce. Fortunately we have had good luck talking to teachers about this issue and they have, for the most part, been pretty good about overlooking the handwriting issue but not all have.

Someone was asking about speech on another thread and their inability to get services and several posted they had success by getting privately evaluated and presenting that to the system.

Is there anyway you can get private documentation of the issue--that you aren't seeking treatment but that he needs extra consideration when it comes to a written assignment.

I had thought a disability was anything that impaired one's ability to do a task.