Kim and Biology: A Case Study on Accommodations for Learning Disabilities

Background

A 19 years old student name Kim determines to get her master's in genetics counseling. She is majoring in biology and wants to be a genetics counselor in a large medical center.


Biology majors are required to complete three upper-division math courses and two statistics courses. She has a learning disability, Dyscalculia, which affects her ability to do some forms of mathematics. She documented her disability with the disability services office, and she spoke to her academic adviser regarding her concerns about completing the math and statistics courses. He advised her that these courses are critical because of the need to do and understand research and to understand information in biology courses involving math and because the Graduate Record Examinations (GREs) are required for graduate school applications in genetics counseling. These requirements and the implications of not doing well in math courses concerned her greatly, so she also spoke to the learning disabilities specialist in the disability services office.


Solution

The learning disabilities specialist closely reviewed her documentation, especially her strengths and limitations with math. After consulting with the biology department, he also advised that completing the math requirements would be critical for successful completion of the biology course sequence and for admission to graduate school. Course substitutions for the math and statistics courses did not seem helpful or appropriate in her case. The learning disabilities specialist suggested that they devise a practical plan for her to prepare to take the math and statistics courses. They then met with the math specialist in the campus learning skills center. After many meetings, they developed and followed this plan:

* Kim worked closely with her adviser and the math specialist to plan her course schedule for each semester in order to reduce her course load the semesters that she took math courses.

* Kim carefully identified math instructors whom her thought would be willing to spend more time meeting with her.

* The learning skills center recruited an advanced math tutor who worked with her in each course, went to some classes with her to better understand the instructor, and met with her at least twice per week.

* Kim's parents helped to pay the tutor.

* Each semester that she took math courses, she enrolled part-time to increase her study time for the math classes; disability services also requested that the housing office grant a policy exception that allowed her to remain in the residence hall those semesters.



Conclusion

This case study demonstrates the following:

1. Seeking or advocating for course substitutions may not always be the most appropriate or best long-term solution for students with certain academic or career goals. Case-by-case planning is important.

2. Active student participation and responsibility and disability management are key elements of a plan to meet academic and career goals.

3. It may take several student services staff and faculty and other support staff (such as tutors) for students to secure the necessary assistance.

4. Students with Dyscalculia can sometimes succeed in math-intensive fields, with adequate planning and motivation.

5. Academic requirements are valid in many cases and may not need to be modified for a particular student with a disability.

6. Short-term compromises (taking a reduced course load and hence extending the time until graduation; having to study harder for certain courses) often have beneficial long-term consequences.

7. Parents can play a key role in helping their children succeed in college studies (e.g., funding special assistance).

SOURCE: http://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/articles?207