My son, now a junior is HS, was diagnosed as having dysgraphia when he was 9. Since that time, this dx has actually had little impact on his school work, as he does the vast majority of his writing on the computer. He goes to an independent private school and has needed no formal accomodations. However, now that he is preparing to take the SAT’s in May of this year, i am wondering whether he would qualify for an LD desinated accomodation (either extended time, or being allowed to write the essay on a computer.) The essay section is really the only area of concern. Does anyone have experience with this? Are LD designated SAT’s flagged by the colleges? My understanding is that they are not. Anyone BTDT? Thanks for your help.
Re: accomodations for SAT
Here is the website with information about SAT accommodations. Be sure to click on all the sub-categories (such as “documentation”), as there are a lot of requirements. It would be a good idea to print everything out. http://www.collegeboard.com/ssd/student/index.html
From what I have heard, it is very difficult to get accommodations (although not impossible). You should start *now* and plan on multiple applications to SAT as they commonly reject the first few. You need to allow time for them to process your application, reject it, and then time for you to “fix” your application and re-submit it.
Goodle SAT accommodations for more information, especially from people who have actually been through the process. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a lot simpler to have the accommodation granted *before* registering for the exam.
Nancy
accomodations for SAT
I have worked at a private school for students with LD, and we had to make sure we *did* all kinds of formal documentation of accommodations to have a chance of getting SAT accommodations. It’s worth a shot, but it’s a long one.
If your son is on an IEP, and has long term documentation of needed things like extra time on exams, you have a chance of getting SAT or ACT accomodations. Since you say he goes to an independent private school and has needed no formal accomodations, it may prove to be difficult. There is paperwork you need to file with the College Board, and you may need the results of a recent evaluation. Talk to the guidance office at your son’s school to see if they can help. Your son can also pick schools to apply to that don’t require SAT scores if it proves to be difficult to get adequate accomodations. We just got a letter in the mail for my son for a school in Wisconson that gives on the option of either submitting or not submitting standard test scores (Lawrence).
As far as finding folks who have gone through the process, try posting at www.schwablearning.org/message_boards. There were several discussions on this earlier this year.