10 - The Michigan Daily --Friday, April 2, 1999 FRIDAYFOCUS-- PA J r .. 'r , .# h -, _ .; K F - -' ~ . - (j:\ ( .i_. _ : - " After all those years, I was trying to get over all the stigma o you're an idiot'. It was really about getting rid of an imposed i ea about my intellectual abilities." -LSAl senior Leland Parsons By Asma Rafeeq 00 Daily Staff Reporter Kindergarten can be a tough place sometimes. LSA senior Leland Parsons remembers being teased by classmates and misunderstood by teachers throughout grade school. Slow at reading and writing, Parsons was placed in a remedial class, what he said other kids called the 're-re' room, short for "retard." Teachers wondered if he had mental problems and sent him to see a child psychologist. Others just assumed he came from a dysfunctional family. "No one helped me or knew how to help me," Parsons said. After being held back from the rest of his class twice, Parsons was finally diagnosed with dyslexia his junior year of high school. But by then Parsons was disenchanted with school, and after graduating high school he decided to enter the work world while many of his friends enrolled at presti- gious universities. "As soon as I was out, I thought 'forget this - it's not for me,"' Parsons said. For eight years, Parsons worked as a nursing assis- tant. But when he applied for a job as a patient's liaison at the same hospital, he was rejected because he did not have a college degree. Determined to overcome the disability that had scarred his childhood, Parsons enrolled in a community college. Two years later, at age- 29, he found himself at the University, pursuing a bache- lor's degree in general studies.: "After all those years, I was trying to get over all the stig- ma of 'you're an idiot,"' Parsons said.t "It was really about getting rid of an imposed idea about my intellectual abilities." Learning disabilities at the University About 350 students with learning disabilities are regis- tered with the University's Services for Students with Disabilities Office. But Stuart Segal, a clinical psychologist at the office, said many University students probably do not register for help from the SSD office because of stigmas that can- surround learning disorders. Still, Segal said awareness of learning disabilities is Services for Students with increasing, and with that, more Manager Deonna Haucen w and more students are taking office for leaming disorder advantage of the services avail- able to them - as evidenced by how many students are using the SSD office. In 1993, only 73 LD students were registered with the office, but since then the number has steadily increased. Most students with learning disabilities are diagnosed during grade school or high school, Segal said. But a large part of Segal's responsibilities at the SSD office involves screening students who discover they have a learning disorder during college. "As you go up the educational ladder, a new institu- tion may require skills not required at previous places," Segal said. Students with learning disabilities are not less intelli- gent than others, but they have specific academic weak- nesses, Segal said. Academic weakness can include difficulty with read- ing or writing, an inability to concentrate, a memory problem or a math disability like trouble with operations or keeping columns straight. Segal estimated that 70 to 80 percent of those with learning disorders are diagnosed with dyslexia. "Dyslexia is sort of a garbage-can diagnosis for any reading disorder," he said. Another common learning disability often classified with dyslexia is Attention Deficit Disorder, which impairs an individual's ability to focus on the task at hand. Between 2 and 20 percent of the general population have some kind of learning disorder. Estimates of people with learning disorders in the general population vary from . Finding answers In high school, Architecture and Urban Planning senior Kartik Desai gained a reputation for being spacey and absentminded. But Desai demonstrated that he was a good student, earning A's and B's and doing well on standardized tests. He found ways, he said, to make up for his inability to Students focus during class. "One thing that really t1.ilfle helped me was just honing 4sa my improvisational skills," Desai said. "Somehow you learn how to knit what you get out of class into something compre- hensive." But five years ago, when he began his first semester at the University, Desai said his improvisational skills just didn't cut it anymore. Unable to concentrate in lectures and remember what he had read a few minutes earlier, Desai began failing Dana Linnane/Daily his classes. Eventually, the Isablitles office budget University placed him on icornes students to the academic probation. :reenlng. "I couldn't make sense of it," Desai remembered. "I just thought I was dumb." But Desai's grade point average and self-respect took a U-turn when he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder later that year. It was then that the University made accommodations for his learning disorder. "Finding out there's a medical reason you're not liv- Warren Zinn/Daily LSA senior Leland Parsons relaxes In his Dexter home with his wife Lisa Paul and their 1-yearold daughter Murdel Paul- Parsons. Parsons returned to college after being diagnosed with dyslexia during his junior year of high school. D we rsc ing up to your potential really boosts your self-worth," Desai said. Student services Secondary and high school students with learning dis- orders are covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, originally passed as the Education for All Handicapped Act in 1974, Segal said. The federal law stipulates that sec- ondary schools and high schools bear all responsibility for determining which of their students have LDs and then pro- viding accommodations for those stu- dents. But the situation is a little different during college, Segal said. "At college, the responsibility shifts from the institution to the individual," Segal said. Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act requires any federal- ly funded institution to provide accom- modations to students or employees with learning disorders. But they are not required to seek out LD students them- selves. At the University, professors and graduate student instructors are required to make accommodations for students who give them a letter from the SSD office documenting their learning disorder. Segal said the No. I accommodation the University makes for students with learning disorders is extra time to take exams. "If you have trouble reading or pro- cessing information, extra time just gives you the opportunity to show what you know," he said. Desai said while most of his class- mates understand that he needs extra time to complete on exams, some are resentful. "A lot of students don't like it because they think it's just a crutch," Desai said. "What they don't understand is that I have never fin- she generally has one or two LD students in every class she teaches. She said she is willing to make whatever accommo- dations are necessary for students, provided they have a letter of documentation from the SSD office. She said she also includes a statement in her syllabus requesting LD students to notify her at the beginning of@ the semester about their learning disabilities. Parsons said he has also received special study carrels at the library as well as extra tutoring time at the English Composition Board. Even with the accommodations, he said, just dealing with misunderstand- ing classmates can be difficult. "Sometimes when we do peer review in class, someone will say to me why don't you just go to ECB?" he said. "And I think, you don't know how much time I've already spent on this, and that I've already been to the ECB." Reactions and life changes: Lookin into the future While considering career choices, Desai said he took into account his learning disability. He switched from pre-med to pre-* law before finally transferring out of the College of Literature, Science and Arts and into the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. "Architecture's more forgiving of learning disability problems," Desai said. "The bulk of it is creative studio work - solving problems, design, which I like." Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which took effect in 1992, employ- ers of more than 25 workers are obligat- ed to make reasonable accommodations for their employees with disabilities. "Any career choice should take into account individual interests and skills," said Kerin Borland, senior associate director at the Career Planning and Placement center. i. . ... .-....7. :'