Advancing Education with a Learning Disability?

TDCHIM · Aug 13, 2010

I've taken all of the courses in my current degree plan online through a traditional state university, and while I haven't needed much in the way of accommodations, they have been fairly willing to work with me. If you aren't investigating such schools, perhaps you should try them. I find state universities, whether you're taking classes online or in a classroom setting, are less costly and tend to be more careful about observing laws like the ADA. As for the classes themselves, I've really enjoyed them. I've developed a good rapport with several of my professors, and in the one instance in which my disability gave me issues with a class, my prof was sympathetic and tried to give me pointers on ways to modify my approach to be more successful. It worked; I ended up with an A- in that class after a rough start, along with a strong grasp of the course material.

Now, if you aren't already hooked up with them, I suggest you go talk to your state's version of the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation/Rehabilitative Services Commission. (BVR should really be paying me for acting as a spokeswoman, as I seem to suggest this every time I come on this forum!) I've had wonderful experiences with them - they help you with any assistive devices or services you may need, can help with educational costs, and will have rehab specialists evaluate your needs and design ways to help you overcome roadblocks or difficulties you encounter.

If you're running into problems with programs being unwilling to help with accommodations, the people at BVR are great to have on your side, because they can help you push for appropriate measures. They cannot legally force any school or employer to adopt the measures they suggest, but they can carefully remind schools and employers of the law and pass information on to those who do have enforcement oversight. So if you aren't already on good terms with the people at BVR, go talk to them!

If you really need to break out the big guns, try the US Dept of Education, Civil Rights Division. Here's an explanation of some of the things they do: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaints-how.html I would strongly advise using softer measures and talking to BVR before you even consider working with this crew.

Finally, as you've learned, never talk to ANYONE at work about any sort of disability. Even if the person you tell is perfectly loyal and never says a word to anyone else about the issue, you can be overheard in any number of ways. And most people are definitely not able to keep their mouths shut. I'm awfully sorry about what happened in your last job. Another plus of BVR is they help you look for employers who are willing to take on disabled employees, often for tax breaks.

Good luck with school and work! I'm glad you haven't let one bad experience totally discourage you. Feel free to PM me if you wish.

James Garrity, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2010

i'm hoping to find someone else who has walked in these shoes- i want to earn the bsn, but of course statistics is a requirement and i'm dx'd with dyscalculia, a math processing disability. for my rn i was allowed to substitute a chem course as an accomodation to the disability. the bsn programs i'm investigating don't seem to be quite as willing or interested in helping me plan for success in statistics and i'm at a loss as to how to proceed. i realize this disability is not well heard of, and maybe that is the reason the colleges aren't being very helpful, but the ada act is law and requires individual assessment and accomodations.
i've never taken class online...how does that work? how would accomodations be made for an online class? would it be better to try to take the class at a brick and mortar college nearby and seek face to face help/accomodations and then transfer credits? i'm terribly anxious about numbers and interpreting them, and i do not want to fail.
my last job i mentioned my dyscalculia to another nurse and shortly thereafter i was forced to resign. no concrete reason was given, and i am positive it was because of the dyscalculia disability. (the news made it to my supervisor who met with me and i explained i'm very careful and always double check my doseages with another nurse, but within a few weeks i was given a choice to resign or be fired). so i'm very nervous about this problem inhibiting my future.

hello,

i too have dyscalculai diagnosed it myself but still went through half a day of testing to be told somthing i already know failed first year dosage calculations,but passed it over the summer because...i had my calculator!.i am pursuing a bsn at uab in birmingham al. i crashed and burned in my chem i class and had to get special acomodations and permmision to take that course on line,somthing about being enrolled at two colleges.i am still facing a stats course and pre calc algebra

i plan to clep the pca corse going all in on a single exam, but i dont know about the stats couse yet.imlucky in that i have enough biology that i dont need to take o chem.but i cant do the stats couse in a class room either,i have been diagnosed with sever test anxiety,hence the online class method(i got a b in chem i ).now,since the advent of the palm pilot/i touch,ect and the dosage calculators built into drug guides by sky scape and epocrates,there is no reason,any nurse ,especaly with a math disorder should be asked to resign or be fired(i would look into the legality of that)these programs are fail safe,as long as you enter the right values,but to say you cant work here because you cant do math because of a disability,is in fact aganst the ada law and schools are required to make these accomodations,by law.the bottom line is,there are excelent ways to acomodate some one with a math learning disability,so they no longer have an exxcuse.

SunnyPupRN · Oct 7, 2010

james,

thanks for sharing. i feel so defeated. i did look into the legality of the forced resignation, but they can it was so traumatizing i don't think i have the mental stamina to pursue any action. do you tell the college ahead of time or wait til you get admitted and then tell them you need accomodations? what if you are taking online courses?

at this point i don't know if i should give up on nursing or what. my signif other doesn't understand - he says if i just study i'll pass. i try to explain that dyscalculia isn't about studying harder, it's about perceiving the functions and the numbers. i'm so sad that i am not providing for myself at this point in my life - the forced resignation shocked and terrified me so much that i'm scared to death of making mistakes. on every application they ask if you need accomodations for a disability, and i am certain that if i say "yes" that's a surefire way to get the app thrown in the wastebasket. on the other hand, if i say "no", i'm screwing myself! so, i am thinking higher education is my best shot.

grannyrn65 · Oct 8, 2010

i'm hoping to find someone else who has walked in these shoes- i want to earn the bsn, but of course statistics is a requirement and i'm dx'd with dyscalculia, a math processing disability. for my rn i was allowed to substitute a chem course as an accomodation to the disability. the bsn programs i'm investigating don't seem to be quite as willing or interested in helping me plan for success in statistics and i'm at a loss as to how to proceed. i realize this disability is not well heard of, and maybe that is the reason the colleges aren't being very helpful, but the ada act is law and requires individual assessment and accomodations.
i've never taken class online...how does that work? how would accomodations be made for an online class? would it be better to try to take the class at a brick and mortar college nearby and seek face to face help/accomodations and then transfer credits? i'm terribly anxious about numbers and interpreting them, and i do not want to fail.
my last job i mentioned my dyscalculia to another nurse and shortly thereafter i was forced to resign. no concrete reason was given, and i am positive it was because of the dyscalculia disability. (the news made it to my supervisor who met with me and i explained i'm very careful and always double check my doseages with another nurse, but within a few weeks i was given a choice to resign or be fired). so i'm very nervous about this problem inhibiting my future.

following a twenty-five year time span, between my first and second master's degree, i returned to graduate school. ten years prior, i suffered a serious number of injuries, including a closed head injury. before applying to programs, i underwent testing to determine what accommodations i might need. my advice is to be up front with your disability. attempting to hide it, from a potential employer or program, is grounds for dismissal from either. since statistics general is taught under the math department, i would talk to their department chairperson, explaining your problem and asking for appropriate accommodations. you will be surprised at the amount of accommodation they will be willing to give.

good luck

CuriousMe · Oct 8, 2010

i'm confused....are you looking for accomadations in a stats class, or are you looking to not take it?

i'm also dyscalculic. my understanding of the ada is that they're required to provide reasonable accommodations that don't alter the nature of the program. unfortunately, not having any statistics background in a graduate program would likely be considered "altering the nature of the program" as grad school is understandably so research heavy (if not conducting research, i can't imagine you won't be reading and interpreting tons of it). i'd imagine it would be tough to discern the validity of a study, without a statistics background.

i'm hoping to find someone else who has walked in these shoes- i want to earn the bsn, but of course statistics is a requirement and i'm dx'd with dyscalculia, a math processing disability. for my rn i was allowed to substitute a chem course as an accomodation to the disability. the bsn programs i'm investigating don't seem to be quite as willing or interested in helping me plan for success in statistics and i'm at a loss as to how to proceed. i realize this disability is not well heard of, and maybe that is the reason the colleges aren't being very helpful, but the ada act is law and requires individual assessment and accomodations.
i've never taken class online...how does that work? how would accomodations be made for an online class? would it be better to try to take the class at a brick and mortar college nearby and seek face to face help/accomodations and then transfer credits? i'm terribly anxious about numbers and interpreting them, and i do not want to fail.
my last job i mentioned my dyscalculia to another nurse and shortly thereafter i was forced to resign. no concrete reason was given, and i am positive it was because of the dyscalculia disability. (the news made it to my supervisor who met with me and i explained i'm very careful and always double check my doseages with another nurse, but within a few weeks i was given a choice to resign or be fired). so i'm very nervous about this problem inhibiting my future.

SunnyPupRN · Oct 9, 2010

Thanks for asking. I'm wanting to succeed. I want to know if it's possible to succeed in statistics with dyscalculia or is it an uphill battle getting schools to recognize the disability and figure out apprpriate accomodations for it. Heck, *I* don't even know what the accomodations might be because I have not taken math since I was 16. I'm utterly clueless and terrified.

CuriousMe · Oct 9, 2010

Thanks for asking. I'm wanting to succeed. I want to know if it's possible to succeed in statistics with dyscalculia or is it an uphill battle getting schools to recognize the disability and figure out apprpriate accomodations for it. Heck, *I* don't even know what the accomodations might be because I have not taken math since I was 16. I'm utterly clueless and terrified.

Truly, I found there to be very little math in statistics and any math that was there was done completely with a calculator (and not simple operations....a programmable calculator). I think your best bet would be to speak with the disabilities office and the math chair about what the statistics class will require and then what accommodations you might need.

SunnyPupRN · Oct 9, 2010

truly, i found there to be very little math in statistics and any math that was there was done completely with a calculator (and not simple operations....a programmable calculator). i think your best bet would be to speak with the disabilities office and the math chair about what the statistics class will require and then what accommodations you might need.

wow!! really?? more like interpreting data? thanks for the info. :up:

Two Sheds · Oct 10, 2010

I have Asperger's Syndrome (high-functioning autism) and I'm in my last year of nursing school (7 more months, yay!). I have been upfront with the admins about my condition and I have testing accommodations. So far, my instructors have all agreed that my A.S. does not appear to be getting in the way of my becoming a successful nurse. I need to work a bit more on my social skills--I can become so singularly focused on the task at hand that I sometimes forget to talk to the patients, but other than that everything is going well. I just have to "remind" myself to chat with the patients ("how are you feeling today, Mrs. Smith?" etc)

SunnyPupRN · Oct 11, 2010

I have Asperger's Syndrome (high-functioning autism) and I'm in my last year of nursing school (7 more months, yay!). I have been upfront with the admins about my condition and I have testing accommodations. So far, my instructors have all agreed that my A.S. does not appear to be getting in the way of my becoming a successful nurse. I need to work a bit more on my social skills--I can become so singularly focused on the task at hand that I sometimes forget to talk to the patients, but other than that everything is going well. I just have to "remind" myself to chat with the patients ("how are you feeling today, Mrs. Smith?" etc)

Congratulations!

My bf has AS and I notice how difficult it is for him to understand how to communicate with his staff (he is a dentist)...he gets flustered, takes expressions literally, doesn't know where he stands with people during a conversation, but I've also seen him able to gloss his frustrations over and mingle for a while. People know something isn't quite right, but they aren't sure what. At work, some people think his aloof demeanour is just him being uppity, but as you know, it's really just him trying to interpret his environment. His staff wasn't even sure if he was listening to them when they were talking, because he would sort of just walking away at the end, so they devised a signal, so that they would know he was done listening and going back to work. He;s had virtually no social life, but he got thru dental school...and it sounds like you'll make a fine nurse, too!

Hopefully I'll be a successful as both of you in continuing my education.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Nov 2, 2010

Defining characteristics of a BSN education include the abilty to assist with research and to interpret & apply research findings. So statistics is a required part of the curriculum. Moving forward into grad school, even more statistics is required - which requires a much more in-depth understanding of the mathmatics principles and how to apply them.

I take issue with the PP who said that statistics is not really math. It certainly is. You will need to understand and apply fairly complex formulae. If you are unable to understand all the underlying principles and what each formula does, you're not really learning statistics, you are only memorizing. Calculators are great, but it will require judgement to determine which formulae to use, how to set it up, and how to interpret results.

I would also strongly advise against on-line math classes for anyone with this problem because they do not provide sufficient interaction. There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with a skilled instructor who knows many different ways to communicate the same information so that everyone 'gets it'. They are more than willing to go the extra mile for any motivated and interested student.