RE: An LD Student Who Needs a "Scribe"

[Elizabeth England-Kennedy <lizek@antioch-college.edu>]

I think it is important to remember that LD are situation- and
task-oriented disabilities. A student does not necessarily need a scribe
for all situations. FOr instance, a student may need a scribe for
test-taking or notetaking, but be able to use software to write the first
draft of a paper and a tutor for subsequent drafts (especially if an
extended deadline can be granted). This is exactly why accommodations are
individualized: each individual is unique and individual classes may have
different demands. The point of "reasonable accommodations" is to level
theplaying field, not to deprive a student of opportunities to learn or
grow or become more independent. My background is in disability and
accommodations, not in writing, so I have perhaps faced this situation
more than many of you. I had assumed from the initial posting that the
learning center was where disability accommodations were determined; this
was an error on my part. Thge campus's disability services provider is the
final arbiter of what can maximally be given (unless the student appeals
this decision, in whcih case it goes through the 504 appeals sequence of
the school). However, this does not mean that others can't offer something
else. In this case, it seems as though the student is interested in
learning how to write. Possibly (hopefully) the reassurance that
lots of other people have similar problems has encouraged the student to
try writing again; with enough assistance (and probably with other forms
of support as well, at least for a transition period) the student might
improve his or her writing enough to become somewhat more independent. The
professors should not be contacting the writing center to give
instructions, however. They should be dealing with the disability
specialist, who should work with everyone involved to help the student
become as independent as possible while still using the necessary
accommodations.

Liz EnglandKennedy
Director, Academic Support Center
Antioch College
(937) 767-7331 x6223


On Mon, 4 Oct 1999, Chris Hamel wrote:

> 
> i'm worried about the level of frustration i hear behind some of the 
> responses to this issue...  it's frustrating as someone who is a writing 
> specialist for students with ld to hear the sarcasm and hesitation that 
> greets a student's need for a scribe.  i'm not upset with any of the 
> respondees to this -- don't get me wrong, please.  i'm grateful for folks 
> like shannin who are honest about their feelings on this issue.  what 
> concerns me is that there is still _cause_ for these sorts of reactions...
> 
> some students do indeed need scribes, and will need them all their lives. 
>  somehow we all, as educators, need to come to some sort of peace with the 
> fact that a significant population of our writing students will never be 
> able to write "on their own".  this says nothing about these students' 
> abilities to function in the world, nor about their intelligences -- it is 
> all about how they learn.  i train writing tutors to work with students 
> with ld, and the one thing these tutors do not do is to make papers pretty 
> for students with ld.  if they take dictation, they do straight dictation. 
>  period.  and if the student has a severe grammar/language mechanics 
> disability, all editing work is done interactively with the student.  but 
> some students will NEVER be able to see and/or correct their own 
> grammatical problems -- orally or otherwise.  i'm working right now with 
> one student who can recite grammar rules until the cows come home, but 
> can't, despite high motivation and a lot of work, fix her own work.
> 
> i'm working hard right now to open dialogue between writing instructors and 
> writing centers and the writing tutors i have here.  there seems to be much 
> need for conversation on this issue, if the kinds of miscommunication 
> suzanne describes are still happening.
> 
> what are writing centers if not places to meet writers where they are and 
> help them become better writers?  ld writers, esl writers, visual writers, 
> auditory writers, kinesthetic writers...  i'm not saying the burden should 
> be on any writing center to be _sole provider_ of accommodations for 
> students with special needs, but i'm not at all sure it's wrong for a 
> writing center to do some of those accommodations...
> 
> paz -- chris
> 
> 
> "...Let me take you there and show you a living story..."
> 		Genesis, "A Trick of the Tail"
> 
> 
> Chris Hamel, MA
> Writing Specialist, SALT Center
> University of Arizona
> (520) 621-6641
> chamel@u.arizona.edu
>