6 ms·

I go to one of those elite universities now, and I get academic accommodations. I think some of the increase is truly from greater awareness about disabilities

I go to one of those elite universities now, and I get academic accommodations. I think some of the increase is truly from greater awareness about disabilities among teachers and parents. My mom was a teacher, and she was the one who first suspected that I had dyslexia. I repeated kindergarten, and I was privileged that my parents were able to afford external educational psychology testing. Socioeconomic status is a large part of my success. Even seemingly small things like the fact that my parents could pick me up after school so that I could go to tutoring was something that other kids didn’t have, because their parents were working or didn’t have a car.

internetter 10mo ago
Yeah I suspect that people are being over-diagnosed, but I also suspect we're catching dramatically more cases than we were previously. An overcorrection if you will.
- powerclue 10mo ago
  The "left handedness" graph change that occurred once we stopped punishing people for being left handed. Same sort of thing here. We'll stabilize once we get good at diagnosing it and stop stigmatizing it. We're in a period where the graph is changing, and that change is disruptive, but it'll level out.
- IAmBroom 10mo ago
  Suspecting is reasonable. So is suspecting it is under-diagnosed. Ranting about how all these diagnoses are fake is not. Time may revise our opinions of the current state, but with the exception of malpracticing professionals, the diagnoses are valid for given state of medical health knowledge.
  - internetter 10mo ago
    I don't believe the diagnoses are fake. I didn't rant. I said I suspect. In fact I am diagnosed myself and have benefited from the diagnosis.
- ibejoeb 10mo ago
  Sure. We're also changing rubrics and even inventing new conditions, and we don't really try to graduate them. On top of that, there are perverse incentives. Amphetamine is an amazing drug, and since some people get it, those who don't find it hard to compete. So, we have to give them a way to get it, because the side effect of not doing that is popping them with felony drug trafficking charges at the airport. I don't blame anyone for playing the game.
losvedir 10mo ago
> and I get academic accommodations What does this mean, exactly?
- jedilord 10mo ago
  [dead]
- kevstev 10mo ago
  Typically means more time to take tests than the standard allotment, but could mean other things- a digital version with a screen reader that speaks the questions to you, or something else specific to your disability.
- ok123456 10mo ago
  Typically: Take tests with no time restrictions. Retake tests. Use assistive technologies (e.g., calculators) that are usually disallowed.
Scubabear68 10mo ago
So you are a long way from Kindergarten to an elite university. I mention this because it is odd to me that you picked your 4 to 5 year old self to validate why you are getting accommodations in your teens/twenties at a self-described elite university. My own kids have some issues and varying levels of accommodations, but those have evolved and lessened over time. As you would hope they would! You seem to imply your conditions have not really improved and you need same/similar accommodations now as you did 15 years ago? Sorry, I am trying not to be offensive here but I am genuinely confused.
- yAak 10mo ago
  Dyslexia isn’t curable. It doesn’t magically go away with help, techniques, or accommodations —- it just becomes more manageable. He/she probably wouldn’t have gotten into an elite university without that help through childhood.
  - Scubabear68 10mo ago
    I am aware, my daughter has Dyslexia. But this is not a thread about elementary school accommodations, it is about university level accommodations. The question is why the author implies he needs the same or similar accommodations at 20ish that he did at 5ish. Or does he?
    - ghc 10mo ago
      > needs the same or similar accommodations You inferred or assumed that...OP didn't say it. It's common sense that accommodations would be different for children just learning to read vs. university students.
    - 1659447091 10mo ago
      The point they made about grade school, to me, points more towards early recognition now leads to more kids having a shot at top schools. Not because they have a 'disability' or a particular type of accommodation, but because it was caught early enough and worked with by people that cared, that now they have a model for learning that better suits them. It was never an issue with intelligence, only that some of us* run into walls because the standard learning lane is pretty narrow. Crashing into those walls in grade school is likely what kept many people* from going to top colleges (or any college) -- but now that it's better understood and worked with at an early age we are seeing people show up who can do the same correct work, but do it in a way that's different. * Im also dyslexic, but from the days that wasn't a thing in my mediocre public school. I was simply a slow reader that couldn't spell (or pronounce or "sound out" words) or read out loud, but somehow had high scores in other language/comprehension test.

internetter 10mo ago

Yeah I suspect that people are being over-diagnosed, but I also suspect we're catching dramatically more cases than we were previously. An overcorrection if you will.

powerclue 10mo ago
The "left handedness" graph change that occurred once we stopped punishing people for being left handed. Same sort of thing here. We'll stabilize once we get good at diagnosing it and stop stigmatizing it. We're in a period where the graph is changing, and that change is disruptive, but it'll level out.
IAmBroom 10mo ago
Suspecting is reasonable. So is suspecting it is under-diagnosed. Ranting about how all these diagnoses are fake is not. Time may revise our opinions of the current state, but with the exception of malpracticing professionals, the diagnoses are valid for given state of medical health knowledge.
- internetter 10mo ago
  I don't believe the diagnoses are fake. I didn't rant. I said I suspect. In fact I am diagnosed myself and have benefited from the diagnosis.
ibejoeb 10mo ago
Sure. We're also changing rubrics and even inventing new conditions, and we don't really try to graduate them. On top of that, there are perverse incentives. Amphetamine is an amazing drug, and since some people get it, those who don't find it hard to compete. So, we have to give them a way to get it, because the side effect of not doing that is popping them with felony drug trafficking charges at the airport. I don't blame anyone for playing the game.

losvedir 10mo ago

> and I get academic accommodations What does this mean, exactly?

jedilord 10mo ago
[dead]
kevstev 10mo ago
Typically means more time to take tests than the standard allotment, but could mean other things- a digital version with a screen reader that speaks the questions to you, or something else specific to your disability.
ok123456 10mo ago
Typically: Take tests with no time restrictions. Retake tests. Use assistive technologies (e.g., calculators) that are usually disallowed.

Scubabear68 10mo ago

So you are a long way from Kindergarten to an elite university. I mention this because it is odd to me that you picked your 4 to 5 year old self to validate why you are getting accommodations in your teens/twenties at a self-described elite university. My own kids have some issues and varying levels of accommodations, but those have evolved and lessened over time. As you would hope they would! You seem to imply your conditions have not really improved and you need same/similar accommodations now as you did 15 years ago? Sorry, I am trying not to be offensive here but I am genuinely confused.

yAak 10mo ago
Dyslexia isn’t curable. It doesn’t magically go away with help, techniques, or accommodations —- it just becomes more manageable. He/she probably wouldn’t have gotten into an elite university without that help through childhood.
- Scubabear68 10mo ago
  I am aware, my daughter has Dyslexia. But this is not a thread about elementary school accommodations, it is about university level accommodations. The question is why the author implies he needs the same or similar accommodations at 20ish that he did at 5ish. Or does he?
  - ghc 10mo ago
    > needs the same or similar accommodations You inferred or assumed that...OP didn't say it. It's common sense that accommodations would be different for children just learning to read vs. university students.
  - 1659447091 10mo ago
    The point they made about grade school, to me, points more towards early recognition now leads to more kids having a shot at top schools. Not because they have a 'disability' or a particular type of accommodation, but because it was caught early enough and worked with by people that cared, that now they have a model for learning that better suits them. It was never an issue with intelligence, only that some of us* run into walls because the standard learning lane is pretty narrow. Crashing into those walls in grade school is likely what kept many people* from going to top colleges (or any college) -- but now that it's better understood and worked with at an early age we are seeing people show up who can do the same correct work, but do it in a way that's different. * Im also dyslexic, but from the days that wasn't a thing in my mediocre public school. I was simply a slow reader that couldn't spell (or pronounce or "sound out" words) or read out loud, but somehow had high scores in other language/comprehension test.