Today’s episode critiques the challenges neurodivergent students, specifically autistic gestalt language processors, face when seeking accommodations in higher education. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, a special education teacher, recounts the difficulties securing reasonable adjustments for her daughter at Western Governors University (WGU), despite ample documentation. Dr. Hoerricks highlights how standardised university systems often deny crucial accommodations like alternative testing formats or human grading, deeming them as “fundamentally altering” the exam structure. She provides a detailed sample accommodation request letter, meticulously explaining each requested support and its necessity, then analyses the low probability of such requests being fully implemented due to institutional policies, reliance on outsourced proctoring, and a general emphasis on economic efficiency over genuine equity. She concludes that many universities, not just WGU, prioritise cost-cutting and standardisation, rendering them ill-equipped to support neurodivergent learners.
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/still-not-enough-part-two-surveillance
Let me know what you think.
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