Discrimination against learning disabilities

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Dec 14, 2011

Did you tell HR or management about your LD? Telling the educator may not have met the requirements of the ADA. Usually HR is better trained and able to properly disseminate information regarding requirements to those who need to know. If you did not let HR know and exactly what accommodations were needed you may not have a case. EEOC handles ADA issues. How did you know that the educator was asking people about you and telling them about your LD? If you were told by someone with firsthand knowledge perhaps they would be witness for your in a discrimination suit if that was the direction you wanted to go. It seems that the primary remedy for a discrimination suit is getting your job back (not financial payment aside from back/lost wages) which it seems is your goal. Did you get any written notification of performance? Were you within your probationary period? Are you in a right-to-work state?

neverbethesame · Jan 2, 2012

I would not let this go. It's sounds fishy. First find out what your rights are and tben contact the HR dept. If what you have said is correct, I think that it is worth looking into.

MarineRN1 · Jan 2, 2012

Thanks I will!

Trekfan · Jan 3, 2012

This kind of thing happens all the time I too am LD among other things and I have found that there are ways around the Ada laws and it bits and there's nothing you can do because it is almost in posable to prove .the Worse ,Worse ,Worse thing that ever happened to me was years ago I applied for a job . I got a call one Sunday night for a phone interview saying they had I was told they waned me to fly out the next day that more or less I had the job . The next morning got an email saying they had reserved me a rental car and so on . Well here's where things went to hell by this in my life I no longer drove. I had even listed that fact so I called and said I did not need the car that I did not drive and there was DEAD silence on the phone I was ok and hung up . One hour later I got a call telling me they made a mistake and could not pay to bring me out and so on !!! I did report them but the woman how was heading the bored I later found out used to work for them and still was on there bord and of corse she ruled agents me . I took me along time to put that behind me .

RN_2012, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2012

When you accepted your job did you accept it with them already knowing of your LD and need of reasonable accommodation that would allow you to perform your job without risking patient safety? Some LD's aren't conducive to every working environment. If it hasn't been one for you, why did you tell them? If you were fired strictly for your LD than I think I would hire a lawyer, but I would make sure that I knew my LD wouldn't prevent me from performing safe patient care before I attempted that.

Were you able to pass NCLEX without accommodation?

I have struggled with a learning disability my whole life, but I never felt like any one thought less of me till nursing school. I did receive accommodation while in school and I had one instructor who I had to have the dean force her to comply with my accommodation. The instructor even asked me if I knew how to read! This was just the start..... I worked as a ER tech for 4 years while in college and the manager always promised me a job when I graduated, Long story short she retired before for I could apply and the job was given to two other new grads who never worked there. I was heart broken when I went in to talk to them about it they lied to me and denied hiring the two new grads. I later found out that they didn't want a nurse with an LD working there B/C they thought it was an insurance liability! ( Funny since I had a 3.9 GPA and never made a mistake when I worked there)
After working for a year I got my dream job in the ER! I was so excited and everyone I worked with praised me on how well I was doing and how it seemed like I had far more years of experience then I really did! My educator was not the most supportive and when I pulled her aside and told her about my LD and how I learn differently ( this is part of the ADA) she started treating me much differently. I even found out that she was asking people about me behind my back telling them that i had an LD! The next day I was pulled into my NM office with the educator and they fired me! They praised me on how good of a nurse I am but they said I needed more experience! I think they fired me b/c of my LD. What do you guys think? has anyone else faced this?

MarineRN1 · Jan 10, 2012

I did pass the NCLEX with out accommodations! And my LD doesn't affect my Pt care, in fact people always says it makes me a better nurse. I feel like it's a stigma that people are not able to look past! There was no reason for them to fire me so im just so confused why they would not want me there due to my LD! But like you all have said, its hard to prove!

hlr2752 · Jan 14, 2012

Not willing to see past a stigma is correct! We as disabled persons are supposed to have all of these laws that protect us from garbage like this; however it always seems that employers or educators have some sort of fail-safe way to deal with individuals who they deem 'flawed'. From your description, I believe it can be safely inferred that you are correct in your assumption. Keep in mind, I am not trying to cause any sort of controversy or whatnot, its just that this sort of thing really gets my goat! there whole argument being that you are a great nurse but need more experience; that is just ridiculous! They could have told you that you needed more experience before you even came in for orientation, if that was indeed the case. Telling you you're a great nurse and the firing you in the same breath...........

I am currently going through this kind of scrutiny with my college. I passed my entrance exam with well above what is required, have a 3.7 GPA, and have all of my pre and co reqs done. yet, for some reason, I have to pass the TEAS AGAIN to even be considered. All of this because I need a calculator for math; something that I have always had access to through my entire educational career and that is readily available in the clinical and working environment.

The type of scrutiny and abuse that individuals with disabilities endure sometimes is ridiculous. there are no difference in this type of discrimination or any other; it hurts all the same and will always leave a bad taste in the victim's mouth, per se.

sangi018 · Nov 12, 2015

I recently failed ( got a C-) a course because I have a learning disability. I understand that it is important to have full competency to be a good nurse and I need the information to do well on NCLEX, however when I presented my case to the dean. She did not take my learning disability into consideration. I did receive accommodations however, I feel like I did not have the resources to do well on the course. I used all the resources the school had available ( counseling, tutoring etc). I am not sure where to go from here. Do I just let things go and retake the class?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 12, 2015

I recently failed ( got a C-) a course because I have a learning disability. I understand that it is important to have full competency to be a good nurse and I need the information to do well on NCLEX, however when I presented my case to the dean. She did not take my learning disability into consideration. I did receive accommodations however, I feel like I did not have the resources to do well on the course. I used all the resources the school had available ( counseling, tutoring etc). I am not sure where to go from here. Do I just let things go and retake the class?

What resources do you think you need that were not offered?

sangi018 · Nov 13, 2015

A bit more background on the situation

I am a pediatric cancer survivor and as result of my treatment I have memory deficits which change the way I process information. This semester, the school of nursing decided to take OB nursing and Pediatric nursing and block them into seven weeks. The previous semesters (including spring 2015) these courses were taught over the entire semester (14 weeks). The course consisted of two tests and a final exam.

Because of the nature of the course, I was not able to absorb all the material in time for the tests. I think I could of benefited from more time to learn the material, and more structured synopsis of the course expectations. I did have enough time to organize the information in way that I could learn it well enough to succeed. The school should have made allowances to ensure that all students had access to the course information ahead of time to accommodate different learning styles.

I feel discriminated against because when I spoke with the dean, she simply stated the rules of the university stand. I expected her to take my disability into consideration and maybe offer resources on how to succeed in the future. She thought I was asking her to change my grade, when I wanted to find out how to work around my disabilities. I had already spoken to my professors, the counselors at the school prior to meeting with the dean.

I feel like I have run out of resources and Im not sure who to talk to next

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 13, 2015

A bit more background on the situation
I am a pediatric cancer survivor and as result of my treatment I have memory deficits which change the way I process information. This semester, the school of nursing decided to take OB nursing and Pediatric nursing and block them into seven weeks. The previous semesters (including spring 2015) these courses were taught over the entire semester (14 weeks). The course consisted of two tests and a final exam.
Because of the nature of the course, I was not able to absorb all the material in time for the tests. I think I could of benefited from more time to learn the material, and more structured synopsis of the course expectations. I did have enough time to organize the information in way that I could learn it well enough to succeed. The school should have made allowances to ensure that all students had access to the course information ahead of time to accommodate different learning styles.
I feel discriminated against because when I spoke with the dean, she simply stated the rules of the university stand. I expected her to take my disability into consideration and maybe offer resources on how to succeed in the future. She thought I was asking her to change my grade, when I wanted to find out how to work around my disabilities. I had already spoken to my professors, the counselors at the school prior to meeting with the dean.
I feel like I have run out of resources and Im not sure who to talk to next

Did you self-identify as a student with a disability to the office of student disabilities at your school? If not, you are out of options. If you did what are the accommodations and modifications listed in your 504 plan? Did you self identify to your teachers? What accommodations did you ask for?

Why did you take a condensed course knowing your need for additional processing time? An accelerated course whether short semester or summer is setting yourself up for failure. If the school condensed then take one at a time and extend your time in school

It's rare for a school to offer full course content prior to the start of a semester. Especially in nursing a lot changes, so in my opinion that is a unrealistic request. Even in non-nursing collegiate classes the course content other than description was never available until the first day of class