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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

help for dyslexic uni students

36 replies

SkyBluePearl · 23/01/2011 21:50

Probabaly not the place to post but thought i would as know theres a lot of traffic in this forum.

My eldest sister is doing a degree and happens to be very dyslexic. We were both assessed as dyslexic in our 30's but she has a more serious case. I'm not sure exactly what help she has received from the uni but assume it involves getting more time for essays/exams/a lap top/a scribe.

My parents informed me tonight that they have been taking the rough raw essays written by my siser and changing the sentence/paragraph structures so they make sence. They say the content is already there and they are allowed to do this. I'm not so sure to be honest but would find it hard to say something if it's not allowed - it's quite a huge step that she has gone to uni.

What is normal in terms of help for dyslexic students?

Any thoughts?

OP posts:

taintedpaint · 23/01/2011 21:53

I'm pretty sure she'd be in trouble if the uni found out about someone else doing her work for her.

The help you quoted sounds about right....but I can't see any way in which your parents can be right. Have they taken advice from the uni or just assumed they are allowed to do this?

southeastastra · 23/01/2011 21:54

sense. the help is there but she must be honest with her tutors

deardot · 23/01/2011 21:56

it depends entirely on the university but there have been cuts and there is not as much help as there used to be. It is possible to avoid taking exams altogether these days and this would be a wise move so your sister has a chance to edit her own work.

I think your parents editing her work is not the right thing to do, if she cannot edit her own work to an understandable level then academia may be an unwise move. If she wants a degree she needs to be able to realize her own mistakes and work through them so when she gets to work she can do it herself. A degree is a LOT of work and being able to work her dyslexia through the work is important.

Good Luck

troisgarcons · 23/01/2011 21:57

UNIs have SENCos who will provide 'Access Arrangements' .... and being dyslexic doesnt automatically qualify for a laptop or scribe.... 25% extra time maybe..... scribe, only if they are completely illiterate but verbally able to communicate and perhaps have a physical disability, such as muscle wasting syndrome or cerbral palsy.

beanlet · 23/01/2011 22:02

University lecturer here - it's not acceptable, and it's considered collusion, or would be at my university anyway. If found out, and if extensive enough, she could even be thrown out. So your parents are doing her a massive disservice.

In terms of assessment, she will be given extra time in exams and we will be instructed that the candidate has dyslexia so we must mark content only. Coursework is slightly different, in that the extra time is considered sufficient to fix the writing errors. We have to mark the student's work, not the parents, and stringent measures are put in place to ensure dyslexic candidates can perform to the best of their ability and are not being discriminated against.

Your parents are BU.

troisgarcons · 23/01/2011 22:04

Uni students swap essays between unis anyway - very little in the way of checking up.

Majority of work is plagarised or stolen lifted; so long as you dont directly C&P from the internet where it can be traced .....

MillyR · 23/01/2011 22:04

It depends on how drastic the changes are that your parents are making.

People who have English as a second language are advised to get their essays read through by a native English speaker before handing in, and when people have got me to read through their work I have suggested different ways to phrase things or structure a sentence.

Usually in university marking schemes, very few marks are awarded for things like spelling, grammar and punctuation. Most of the marks are meant to be for the academic content of the work.

I would not consider it to be a particularly serious issue in terms of it being the student's own work, as long as they are not altering her arguments or the overall academic content.

MillyR · 23/01/2011 22:08

All this thread is showing to me is that different universities have very different approaches. Lots of dyslexic students at my university have scribes.

The OP's sister should talk to someone at her own institution.

brambleschooks · 23/01/2011 22:09

She needs to see student support services. They will direct her to someone who will do a formal assessment to see what support she requires. This may include an hour per week specialist tutor support to help her with essay structure, etc, as well as laptop, recording devices, etc.

Please also contact the bda and dyslexia action for advice.

brambleschooks · 23/01/2011 22:11

Trois garcons, my son has a scribe and he is not completely illiterate, nor does he have a muscle wasting disease. As for verbal ability: he's a teenager...

huddspur · 23/01/2011 22:13

All university have provision for students with dyslexia, she needs to contact them. Also if the university finds out what your parents are doing she could be heavily penalised or even thrown off the course

faustina · 23/01/2011 22:21

she needs to apply for the disabled student allowance. I think it's through your county council (doing this from memory). After applying she'll go through a formal assessment which will make recommendations based on her specific needs. My DS1 received a computer, special software, extra exam time, something to record lectures, allowance for photocopying. He was offered other help too - a scribe perhaps? Can't remember, but he didn't want one. At his uni they also gave him some one to one support regularly to check he was coping withe the workload.

there's a website specifically about the disabled student allowance - I don't have a link but it should be easy to find if you google DSA.

Hope that helps!

beanlet · 23/01/2011 22:21

Actually troisgarcons, if both universities require submission to turnitin - which increasingly they do - students swapping essays beteen universities WILL be picked up for plagiarism. But thanks for giving me a really poor view of your sense of personal ethics.

ladysybil · 23/01/2011 22:29

the dyslexic students i know seem to have loads of things, including hardware and software for free to help them with their work.

Wilts · 23/01/2011 22:33

I have just finished a degree as has my friend who has dyslexia.

She had a laptop with screen reading software on it as she found info easier to process that way.
During exams, she had an hour longer and could use a laptop. Learning support was given weekly, in which she was helped with the structure of her essays etc.

She was also given an allowance to purchase core text books rather then get them from the library to enable her to read them at her own pace.

JaneS · 23/01/2011 22:34

She must speak to her tutor, that's the first thing.

They may wonder what the fuss is about and say it's fine, but if it is not fine, they will notice and she could risk failing the whole degree if they judge it to be cheating.

It's also worth bearing in mind that unless your parents are qualified recently, to a higher level than your sister in the same subject, they may well get it wrong. My parents tried to help me with my degree. They have good degrees themselves, but 20 years ago in different subjects. It was all above-board, but it actually hampered me in my degree as they'd change things for me that weren't incorrect as a result of dyslexia, but which were unfamiliar jargon.

cosysocks · 23/01/2011 22:37

As a former dyslexic student, I had a tutor that I would see before I started essay to map it out and once I had completed it. She would not need to help for spelling (had programmes to help with that) but sentence and paragraph structure. It was invaluable, try and get your sister to see what is on offer at her uni.

Original poster

SkyBluePearl · 24/01/2011 11:18

thanks girls. I'll have a good chat too my parents

OP posts:

peppapighastakenovermylife · 24/01/2011 11:22

Beanlet - our universities are at odds again! As a lecturer I would probably encourage my students to get their work read through - but send them of course to the actual dyslexia and writing tutors we have so that they can get any help to improve to whatever extent they can.

However I would not be happy if content was being changed. And there is a fine line - that is why I would send them to the specific tutors.

And anyway if they notify us of their dyslexia we are not allowed to mark down for spelling, grammar etc.

ViolaTricolor · 24/01/2011 11:27

Another lecturer here. She absolutely must consult with her institution about this, through the disability resources office (in whatever form that takes there). In my institution this would not be acceptable at all and could get her in serious trouble, but she would be able to get help with her writing and skills. That will ultimately benefit her a lot more than submitting what is, in effect, partially someone else's work. In many subjects the writing is very important and not readily separable from the content. Thankfully many universities are making much more effort than they used to to help people with dyslexia, so I would hope that she'll feel better all round if she goes about this the right way.

ViolaTricolor · 24/01/2011 11:29

x-posts with peppa . I think the differences in academics' perspectives might be partially subject related. We too are instructed not to mark down on spelling and grammar for notified dyslexics.

Olderkidsaremine · 24/01/2011 12:01

Interesting the way other Uni's give help, my son was told he could have extra time in his exams - not much use really as if he doesn't understand the question, or he can't phrase the answer correctly, he just has much longer to sit staring at it!!

He was told that he could have a dictation gadget and software on his laptop and lots of other stuff when he 'upgrades' his foundation degree to a full degree - not that much help if he can't even get to that situation!!!

This has been the extent of his help since he was about 14/15. One teacher - who knew he was dyslexic - at 6th form failed him completely on one assignment because of his spelling and punctuation, when he queried it he was told that it was 'no excuse'!

AimingForSerenity · 24/01/2011 12:09

Slightly off point here but parents are also doing her a great disservice as she needs to find her own ways of doing things. When she leaves uni and goes out into the world of work do they plan to amend her work then?

DS is now working and has commented that dyslexic friends who had developed some coping strategies found the transition much easier than those who had not.

They might be helping her now but disadvantaging her in the future.

RevoltingPeasant · 24/01/2011 13:24

Interesting, Peppa and Viola.

Another lecturer here, and I would also encourage students to read each others' work: in fact, we have that built into our courses in some cases (peer review and commentary).

So I don't think reading someone's work and commenting is unethical. Howevever, changing any content would be. Could your sister make an arrangement with another student?

And yes, get in touch with disability support: IME, lots of students don't realise what's on offer.

witchwithallthetrimmings · 24/01/2011 13:29

another lecturer here and changing content is unacceptable. Reading and commenting is okay though.

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