Headlines in the news about the rising diagnosis rates of ADHD in the US after a long decline and plateau. After a sharp peak, Autism spectrum disorders seem to be slightly declining, though there's of course not enough data to tell if ADHD is the new Autism spectrum which was the new ADHD. In other words, real conditions that become instant outs for self-diagnosed fuckups, shitty parents, and the inconvenience of kids just being kids.
Or maybe they changed the formula in the vaccines again. Shit, I don't know. Something to muse on.
In any case, a couple of things have really stood out to me lately as an angry old fuck surrounded by 18 and 19 year old snowflakes and people in the 7th year of a 4 year degree plan. Today, though - today was something really neat.
This morning as I waited outside the classroom, I overheard two girls talking a few benches over. They were discussing their respective reasonable accommodations and what they "got" in order to be eligible for certain accommodations.
For those of you not familiar, universities and colleges in the US universally offer what are called reasonable accommodations for disabilities, in the same way that an employer is obliged to do for an employee. In fact, the requirements for both schools and businesses fall under the same federal law - the Americans with Disabilities Act. What exactly constitutes a reasonable accommodation is very much a case by case basis, although there are certain de facto standards in various areas. Trackballs instead of mice, ergonomic chairs, wheelchair ramps, replacement of doorknobs with handles, and similar will be familiar to most.
In an academic setting, though, these accommodation are often not necessarily physical.
One of the girls said that she was doing so much better now that "they have to give [her] free tutoring and double the [normal] time on tests and stuff". The other asked "Oh, what did you get for them to do that?"
"I had to get ADD or ADHD or one of those."
"Oh, I wish I had known that. I got PTSD so they let me use notes on tests sometimes because it causes memory problems. They wanted me to go to some counseling thing but I just told them it made my anxiety worse so I don't have to."
And they cheerily discussed how they would be "getting" things next semester, and offered tips and advice on what they would need to say to various doctors and counselors, which forms to fill, and who to file them with.
"Yeah, and if you tell them that it was undiagnosed for a long time sometimes they'll let you re-take classes and you can get a way better grade on your transcript that way. You like, still have to pay for it, but they just erase the old grade and replace it with the new one."
And if you can't pass the courses even with reasonable accommodations, you can just sue.