Student wants to bring her mom to school.
I have an unusual request for accommodations on my desk. A student is requesting that she be allowed to bring her mom to school. She wants her mom to sit with her during all academic classes and wants her mom to help her to work on "appropriate material."
The student is diabetic and believes that she needs her mom to help her manage her symptoms. The student also has a learning disability and believes her mom would be the best person to assist her with note taking and understanding the material. Do you believe this is a "reasonable" accommodation? Why or Why not?
Our school trains students for careers at the post secondary level.
I'm definately looking forward to some feedback!
Elizabeth,
I have an easy answer that is harder to convey. The answer is "no!" That is NOT a reasonable (or appropriate) request for a number of reasons... some legal, some practical, some philosophical. Why don't you contact me directly (JaneJarrow@aol.com) and let me see if I can talk you through both how to respond to the request and what kind of alternatives you might provide.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Ok....lol. I really don't find this to be an adequate or conducive situation. First, this interferes with all ethical and psychological barriers. I would think that if she would have a hard managing in class with her diabetes. How will he function on her own with a career, marriage, or everyday other activities. So, my answer would be " NO". For every reason stated and then thought about.
Julius,
As noted, I agree. This is a poorly conceived plan in terms of the impact it would have both on the student's experience at the college and her development as an independently functioning adult. There has to be a better way!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I really wouldn't allow a student to bring their mom to school unless they were a certified aid for the a disability the student had.
Andrea,
Generally speaking, even if the Mom *were* a certified aid, school isn't the appropriate place for her to be supplying support to the student, except on an emergency or short notice basis. We want students to learn to manage their own disability-related needs (even if that is in the form of managing their attendant care needs by working with others), and we want students to be acknowledged as fully capable students. It is hard for students to fit in socially when their mother is always with them!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
i agree i do not think that that is a good idea to bring their mom to school with them. i think that having their mom there reguardless if their mom was trained would not be helpful to them. if they are in college they need to be able to stand on their own two feet because they cannot have their parents sitting with them when they are at their place of work.
Summer,
I am inclined to agree. I think that part of going to collee is learning to be an independent adult. That isn't going to happen with Mom sitting there, knee to knee.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I have to agree with the notion that having the mother there would not be helpful but more of a hinderence to the students learning not to mention the other students in the class room. The mother would recieve a "free" education as well by helping the student.
Also, the entire purpose of college is to preapre the students for the workplace environment and I cannot imagine an employer accomindating this person. Diabities is a terriable diasese but can be managed with proper doctor supervision.
The answer would definitely appear to be no! Allowing such a specific request that goes above and beyond an accommodation that provides equal opportunity, but appears to be intended to insure success would not seem to be appropriate.
Mary,
The key, as you note, is whether the accommodation is NEEDED for access or simply WANTED to foster success. I tend to agree with your assessment.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
The answer here is clearly a no. There are other more appropriate accomodations that can be made for her learning disorder. The diabetes is something she should be able to control herself. College is the first step into the real world and a career. She surley couldn't have mom tag along then.
Michelle,
I think you have the right answer, but not necessarily for the right reason. Whether she "should be able to control" her diabetes herself or not is irrelevant and, potentially, problematic as a justification for refusing the accommodation. The Feds don't like it when you get involved in deciding how someone should/shouldn't manage their disability. Likewise, to say "we won't let her do it now because she wouldn't be able to do it later" would not fly with them. What WOULD hold up is simply to say, "this is not an appropriate response to her disability-related need, and not an appropriate accommodation at the college level. In order to be "otherwise qualified" the student must be able to function in college with an appropriate level of independence."
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Absolutely not! Having accommodations such as a service dog that senses when the student has hyper/hypoglycemia episodes makes sence.
This student obviously had not had the cord cut; because as a college instructor I have taught both mother and child sometimes in the same class. More often than not they don't want to even sit near each other.
This is definitely not a reasonable accomodation. Would the mother be allowed to attend the workplace to assist while she's working?. I think at some point individuals need to realize that some things are just not feasible.
Michelle,
I don't disagree with your conclusion Michelle, but I might be inclined to say "no" for a slightly different reason. We generally don't look at "would it be appropriate later." We look at "is it appropriate now -- here." The answer is "no", in part, because we expect all students to demonstrate an acceptable level of independent functioning. If the student can't do that, she is not "otherwise qualified."
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I do not believe this would be a reasonable accommodation for the student. The student needs to learn to function as an adult with a disability. Its not appropriate for her mom to be with her at school just like it wouldnt be appropriate for her mom to be with her at work.
Crystal,
I agree -- it isn't appropriate. But I don't object so much to it being her mother as I do the idea that the student is incapable of even a minimal level of independent functioning.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Let's change the scenario a bit- What if a deaf student requests her mother to be the signer? Does that change the conclusions?
Robert,
That's a really good question, with an answer that I am guessing may surprise you. If the deaf student requested that her mother be allowed to come to school as her sign language interpreter, my answer would be,"thanks, but no thanks. We will provide a sign language interpreter for you." You DO need to have an interpreter there, but for lots of reasons it would be inappropriate for the mother to fill that role in classes. In conversations with advisers, or with the financial aid office or someplace else it would be different. But in class, the interpreter should be someone chosen by (and paid for by) the school.
And just so you know that nothing is ever easy (!), if you had said the student was quadriplegic and needed her mother to be with her on campus to help her in the bathroom and in the cafeteria, I would have said, "not a problem -- Mom can be here to help you with all those personal things. But when it comes to the classroom (for things like notetaking), we will provide the support you need."
Dr. Jane Jarrow
