Should kids with learning disabilities be barred from college?

Answer 1

I have a learning disability and go to the 2nd best undergrad university in Canada and have yet to fail anything...which is more then many ‘normal’ people can say. People with learning disabilities aren’t stupid or ‘slow’, we just learn differently and absorb knowledge in a different ways…which in many cases leads us to have stronger skills in other areas, such as memory and problem solving. Barring people with learning disabilities from school would mean society would lose some of its brightest and most ingenious people.

Answer 2

Individuals with disabilities should not be barred from going to school at a college level, regardless of whether it is illegal or not.
The idea that one individual should not get extra help based on a disability is a touchy subject. People will say "it's not fair that they get to have help or advantages". So that means that if you have the capability to memorize every bone in the hand, then you should not be tested on the hand, but rather a part not studied in class, because not every student in the class can do what you have the capability to do.
My brother has a reading level equivalent to a early eighth grader, yet can remember every part in a small block Chevrolet motor in the order to take them off when replacing internal parts. He thinks just fine, he just does not read well.
What needs to happen before any student, disabled or not, goes to college is the teachers, parents, students, and in the case of students with disabilities a representative of the Special Ed department or IEP team, should assess whether it is in the students best interest to attend a collegge, technical school, or community college.

Answer 3

I think that would be such a shame since often the learning disabled are gifted and the brightest people, and you would be telling them they can't go to college??? My dh and mil are dyslexic but both have doctorate degrees. My mil is a retired college professor, and dh is a lawyer.

Here is an example of how a learning disability can work or how it has for my dh: He couldn't take notes in college for example because of his writing disability and dyslexia, but he has developed awesome auditory skills. He's described it basically as having a tape recorder in his head and when he would take exams he could mentally play back all the lectures he'd heard (he would go to every class) including every joke even the professors had told. He has poor visual-spatial skills when he was tested (can't complete those testing puzzles), but apparently has really developed his auditory and memory skills to compensate.

Well, now as a trial attorney he can kick butt in a trial btw, because he can memorize everything ever said in a deposition and/or trial, and is an awesome trial attorney; and has won just about every trial and/or hearing he's done as a defense attorney and/or prosecutor. He's also a great supervisor now; people he supervises tell me he's great. My theory is that he has extra empathy because of his learning disabilities! He also got voted one of the top Young Lawyers in our State this past year, one of about 50 lawyers. If he had been barred from college, that seems like it would have been a waste.

Answer 4

Learning disabilities or mentally handicapped people? I don;t think either should be barred but there is a difference in the two. Dyslexia is considered a learning disability. ADHD is considered a learning disability.

Answer 5

I don't care where you live, look around you-there are people with some sort of learning disability everywhere you look- you just can't always tell. There are all kinds of disabilities from very mild to very severe. I've had many a hyperactive professors who talked a mile a minute. Many gifted kids are mis-labled LD;
Remember Albert Einstein was thought of as "retarded" by his grade school teachers!

Answer 6

Banned? No, however, there are different types of disabilities so for some students, it may be more difficult to meet college entrance requirements.

If entrance is not initially granted to a college of choice, an individual could take some classes at the local community college to prove they have what it takes to succeed.

Answer 7

No one should be barred from anything just because of a learning disability. Everyone has the capacity to learn. The degrees of how you learn, what you learn , and the ability to retain what you learn also varies.

Answer 8

I'm almost 100% deaf. Guess that makes me one of the "Disabled." eh? I've probably forgotten more and still manage to retain more than most will ever learn. And, while I have a BA in History, an AA in Sociology, I have enough hard science credits for a doctorate.

Answer 9

Of course not! LD kids are quite capable of learning, but often they have to work harder and spend more time on academics. I teach RSP in Jr. High, and I teach students who constantly achieve high marks in general education classes, and many earn a spot on the school honor role. I am constantly talking to my kids about college and trying to plant the seed.................

Answer 10

No way. Everyone deserves the right to higher learning it just takes some people more time to stud than others