THe student wants to bring her dog to class
She states that; because of her anxiety she needs her dog near her. It was not brought to any ones attention before she started her classes. What should we do?
Eduardo,
There are a lot of questions that need to be asked before I can give you an answer to this one. If you would like to contact me directly, at JaneJarrow@aol.com, I would be happy to give you some input.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
our school policy states "no food or drinks in the class room". 1 student insisted that he be allowed to bring food & drinks into the class room because he had a disorder and became very nervous and the food calmed his nerves. The instructor was having an issue with the student because he coinstantly chewed chips making loud noises when he (instrucytor) was trying to lecture in the class room.
Alonzo,
Students with disabilities have rights, but they also have responsibilities. Following the student code of conduct (or, in this case, courtesy) and not being disruptive to the education of others is part of those responsibilities. The powers-that-be should have hauled this kid in and let him know that being disruptive was unacceptable and if he continued he would be able to eat any time he wanted -- because he would no longer be in class!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Well put- it seems like once the word "disability" creeps into the scenario, everyone balks and tends to want to rubber-stamp whatever the request is, unless you look at the essential point being made and take the emotional factors out of it- I think in essence what we struggle with most at our campus is defining "reasonable"- is is the case with the dog.
I could make a comparable request for "accommodation" that says our chief accounting person makes me anxious and I want a bourbon on the rocks every time I have to meet with her- everyone would laugh and think that is ridiculous (except those that know her)... but once the word "disability" is introduced people have a hard time objectively determining what is 'reasonable'.
Gayle,
You are right. In these days of litigation-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, people are gun shy about questioning requests/demands put forward in the name of disability. The trick is to sort out the legitimate requests from those that come from a sense of entitlement instead of a need for access.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I work in the massage dept at my school, has anyone else out there worked with students with a physical limitations in a class that required physical skills?
As an RN I know how important documentation is. When someone has a true disability, it has been medical documented so that it can be properly diagnosed and treated. Therefore, this student should be asked to provide the appropriate medical documentation to support that eating on a specific time frame will help to relieve symptoms of anxiety.Once that this is provided then accomodations should be made for the student.
RONDA,
Not all disabilities are medical in nature, and not all medical doctors provide information about management issues in their diagnostic reports, anyway. This is a fairly rigid approach to the issue of documentation. I am generally inclined to listen to the student's report of impact more than you seem to be. That having been said, however, the student's "insisting that he needs..." is very different than the student having provided any evidence of disability. Until I know what the disability is, I wouldn't know whether this was a logical or reasonable request regardless of who it came from. I just don't think this is a call the classroom teacher should be asked to make.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Anxiety is a medical disorder, and according to the students statement this is why he needed to do what he was doing. I was assuming this was his disabilty. Millions of people suffer from anxiety issues and take medications or have other therapeutic treatments that are utilized. if this was a documented disabilty, then it would seem that he would also be able to provide what accomodations he may need for this.
RONDA,
Anxiety is considered a psychological or emotional disorder (with a physical component). It is not something that is most appropriately diagnosed by the general practitioner. While I agree that it would be wholly appropriate to ask for more documentation from an appropriate source, even when that is provided the decision as to what is necessary for ACCESS is a decision for the school to make (with input from the student and, potentially, from the treating professional). Remember, our goal in providing accommodations to students with disabilities is access, not success.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
The request is denied! The goal is to make reasonable exceptions to allow a student equal access to education. Would she be allowed to bring a gun if that made her feel better too? A line has to be drawn somewhere, and well, here it is ___________.
Jeremy,
OUCH! While I don't disagree with your conclusion -- that the request should be denied -- your analogy doesn't really fit here. You don't want to destroy a legitimate argument/exception by throwing in a red herring (the gun) that will distract.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I completely agree. People need to make decissions reguarding the diasbility, leving the emotional side out of it.
Laura,
Actually, they need to make a decision based on appropriateness of the request -- and not everything requested is appropriate or reasonable! GRIN
Dr. Jane Jarrow
What happens in the case that you have two students who need to be in the same classroom (only class, only teacher, smaller school, etc.), but have different needs and in order to accommodate one student the other student would be affected? For example, what happens if there is a student that must have his/her service dog at all times for assistance and the other student has an extreme and well documented phobia of dogs. Given all else is equal (students enrolled at the same time, are equally qualified, etc.) how do you decide which student should be in the course?
