Anybody who teaches for any period of time will encounter students who have documented, undocumented, and perceived learning disabilities. This module dealt well with students who have documented learning disorders, but the other two groups can be challenging. I have often heard instructors talking about students who they feel may have a learning disorder, or who have claimed to have a disability in some way.
It is never a good idea assume a student has a disability or to try and accommodate an undocumented learning issue, especially in career tracked programs. In most cases we are not trained to correctly identify the specifics of a disability or correctly gage the level of accommodation that needs to be met. Also in some cases we may enable a student to fall back on what they have been led to believe.
One student in particular that I had a number of meetings with was told by her mother that she was dyslexic because her father had been. I offered to have her meet with our office of ability services, but the student was reluctant to because when she was in High school they were unable to document the condition. As we discussed her situation and as she progressed through school, she was a gifted student, but whenever she became frustrated, or received a lower grade than she anticipated her mother’s reaction was that she had a learning disability that we needed to accommodate. Throughout her academic career the student developed her own way of adapting, and chose not to utilize any diagnostics or supports. She was exceptional in this; many parents will push for accommodation in spite of previous experience.
As our institution has an office of ability services to determine the best accommodations for students with challenges; we have a great way of setting a baseline for individual students and helping instructors adapt for different situations. This when carried into the classroom protects both the student and the learning experience as a whole and prepares them for life long learning.
