Is it always wrong for parents to contact university on behalf of students?

[stripycats]

Just after some advice as I am sitting on my hands and it is becoming difficult. I also don't want to go into too much detail, but if a student has a bit of an issue with the university (not related to grades/marks awarded, discipline or attendance) and struggle to get a resolution themselves, with emails not being replied to, when, if ever would you get involved. There is a financial element to this dispute, which means it does affect me directly. Would it be wrong for me to get involved?

Definitely doesn't want a scribe - just a computer for exams.

Relating back to the post above where someone has said you need to gather evidence carefully to show the extent of the problem - this belongs among that, but encourage your DC to think quite carefully about how best to phrase it. (As they see it) a scribe would be unsuitable for their circumstances, compared to a computer, because reading written work, as well as writing it, is a major challenge that does not improve with practice. Not just that this is not what they want.

I can see where this is really frustrating, and it looks as if pushing against a simple request for a computer seems to be unreasonable and a sudden change from all the student's prior educational help in school. But if other adjustments that the university is used to making, and that could be solutions in similar people's cases, are dismissed, then this might not go down too well. It may not, in fact, be easy or quick to satisfy fair exam requirements by computer for all individual cases that they will be working with, although they will be aiming for that. They will be trying to help, so don't lose sight of that.

It's not too late. Worst case scenario is she gets the diagnosis too late for this year and has to repeat her exams in autumn with the concessions in place. Universities will also sometimes accept a late diagnosis for concessions.

Yes, OP. I think eventually this will work out, once DS figures out what he needs to do.

I suggest that if he hasn’t started already, he begin now to keep a log on his phone or computer of steps taken so far and in the future. All significant communication should be confirmed by email with a copy for the log.

Because it seems he started in a reasonably timely manner, chances seem good that if necessary he will be granted a late concession. Failing that (or because they may want to see his handwritten exams), in my School his chances of a successful petition for a Resit as First Attempt in August would be very high. (Resit marks are normally capped; these are not).

If DS’ exams cannot be assessed and he’s gone to some trouble to (a) establish that this is a longstanding issue, (b) he’s been making a good faith effort to deal with it and (c) he is a good student as evidenced by his other assessments (though not strictly necessary, this is undeniably helpful), no one I know would want him to be disadvantaged. We would find a way to prevent this.

A few additional thoughts.

Does your daughter have a fine motor skills developmental issue. That would be a disability that may need a reasonable adjustment.

It may also be helpful for them to hand write (by copying out) a section of a previous assessment - and seek advice from their tutor / director of studies / module lead on whether that’s going to be ok come exam time. Ie. Get the writing under the nose of someone who’ll be marking exams.

In my university, getting it under the nose of the lecturers is unlikely to achieve anything other than a referral to disability services, who have already been approached.

What is needed is a report from a recognised professional with a clear diagnosis of what I suspect is dysgraphia and a set of recommendations. Trying to get around the system will only delay things. There are clear procedures in place to prevent abuse of the system. Unfortunately that means there tends to be very little leeway.

Yes, this.

I would ordinarily agree with this. I inly suggested approaching DoS or similar if it gets very close to the deadline and DC can show he has been stonewalled after following procedures.

A decision on allowing Resits as First Attempts will be made within the School and I think it will be helpful if they have been aware of the problem and DC’s efforts.

I agree getting a report diagnosing dysgraphia ASAP is an excellent idea

OT is definitely the right route for diagnosing dyspraxia, and educational psychologists will not do it. So it's not that surprising they have said they wouldn't. Did you follow up by seeking an OT's advice?

Anyway, our university has in theory introduced a "tell us once" policy where if Disability Services know about the difficulty, then everyone else should. But again, different universities seem to do things differently, so you'll need to find out what your child's university actually does.

And I agree, the lecturer who will be marking exams won't do more than refer to Disability Services if they see a sample of writing. "Tell us" means "tell Disability Services" not "tell one lecturer in passing".

edit because I read too fast.

I see what you mean. That wouldn't work in our place without an official diagnosis.

I agree something official will almost surely be necessary.

We would need something. Exactly what, I am not sure. Our students can be seen by Occ Health. I know we sometimes reject private diagnoses.

In my university, getting it under the nose of the lecturers is unlikely to achieve anything other than a referral to disability services, who have already been approached.
But OP said "dc was first referred to the disability service, They did online screening and it came back as probably not having a SpLD"
Has any decision-maker actually seen the handwriting and realised quite how awful it is? Are they all writing it off (sorry, pun not intended) as "has no learning difficulties, just has slightly scruffy writing. Computer says No" rather than "the handwriting is totally illegible and cannot be improved by practise".

Are things at a stage where your DD could justifiably make a complaint about the lack of response/handling of the situation? If so look into the university’s complaints procedure and encourage her to use it. They generally have a policy that states the amount of time the university has to respond so this might be a way to get things moving. The Student Union are usually adept at offering advice on framing a complaint and lining up the evidence etc.

Yes

She was assessed and no diagnosis was made as a result of that testing.

The direness or otherwise of the writing is irrelevant if she doesn't meet the criteria for accommodations. In order to get the accommodations she needs a diagnosis. The university screening presumably only screens for certain things. I'd imagine the handwriting issue would mean they screened for dyspraxia, which, according to the op, she does not have. That means she will have to get the diagnosis privately. As it stands, it sounds like not only does she not have a diagnosis, she doesn't know what the condition is.

They have replied. They have told her she hasn't provided adequate evidence.

. In order to get the accommodations she needs a diagnosis

That's not completely correct as their websites states a diagnosis may not be necessary if concessions were given at school. However, when dc raised this they came back and said SpLD had to be suspected and bad writing alone isn't enough. However, there is a suspicion of SpLD as there is no other reason why everything else dc ever tried to do they excelled at, except handwriting and despite their best efforts. I don't know how to prove a suspicion and maybe we will just have to try and get a diagnosis (of what though?) but that's a few hundred pounds being spent on something their website says may not be needed. I have since found the policy and it doesn't mention this suspicion so I'm not sure where that leaves us- though I am following the advice above.

They have replied. They have told her she hasn't provided adequate evidence.

They haven't replied since dc asked for the policy. I've found it now but last email has not been replied to - sent at the end of last week.

This.

Because of the ever-increasing workload (don't start me on how many students seem stuck in a kind of infantilisation over their accommodations ...) we academic staff are strongly advised (red: required) to give advice only on academic/learning matters.

We are asked to refer everything else to the appropriate student service. WE can help students navigate that system, but we don't make decisions on accommodations, mitigations or anything like that.

It's all in the name of fairness and transparency. Which is essential; however, in the olden days (cue music) we academics could deal with students on a much more human basis. In an effort to make everything equitable, we're not allowed to do much of this any more. Losses and gains.

Given they have told you the data from school was insufficient, and nothing showed up in their online screening, the only way to get accommodations now is to get a diagnosis. They have been through the procedures that would allow accommodations without a diagnosis and your dc was not successful.

I've already suggested to you that the most likely condition based on what you've said is dysgrahia. You need to find an OT with an interest in dysgrahia as it's not a commonly known condition.

Re them not replying to the request for the policy - complaining about that won't get you anywhere.

Really, you need to focus on what you need to do, not on what you perceive to be their unreasonable approach. I understand your frustration but your priority needs to be ensuring your dc gets the accommodations and that requires you to jump through the necessary hoops.

The university's approach doesn't appear to be unreasonable. They have regulations which need to be applied fairly & transparently to every single student. They need a specific diagnosis. Bad handwriting could be laziness; it could be a student playing the system; it could be a SpLD. Without a diagnosis they cannot know, and they can't make exceptions.

@stripycats is seeing it from the PoV of one student; university staff have thousands to consider.

OP a quick google for dysgraphia has brought up this site - https://www.dyslexiatestcentre.co.uk/our-assessments/dysgraphia/
they offer a free 15 minute consultation video which seems like it’d be a good place to start. They also say their reports can be used to exam adjustments and as evidence for DSA. Going forwards it would be good if your child could apply for DSA (if they get diagnosed) as they could get funding for a laptop and assistive tech such as notetaking software

I am a lecturer and I used to have one student with dysgraphia, it was me that suggested they had it as I noticed not only was their handwriting illegible, they also missed out words from their sentences. They also struggled to read back what they had written, say, a week later.

I would seek a private diagnosis with a specialist who knows about it; it's ridiculous that their online screening cannot possibly assess for that unless they saw their handwriting and assessed it properly.

You could, if inclined, be quite difficult about the fact that they are unaware in disability services about dysgraphia, that's poor on their behalf. It cannot be that difficult to screen for it, and the accommodation needed is so basic (a computer, like many students have) that it's not worth them quibbling about it.

You cannot just practice handwriting to solve dysgraphia any more than telling my severely dyslexic daughter to practice her spellings works. It's a learning difficulty, that's the whole point, and it won't be magically fixed by telling someone to just try a bit harder.

I would be seeking a private diagnosis as a matter of urgency and then reapproaching them with a view to firmly asking for reasonable adjustments.

There are many courses now where handwriting is never needed so you are a bit unlucky on that score, luckily computers have been invented!

It cannot be that difficult to screen for it, and the accommodation needed is so basic (a computer, like many students have) that it's not worth them quibbling about it.

For exams, the accommodations would be the same as required by some other SpLD students. Namely, a university supplied computer, a suitable room, and one, possibly more, people to invigilate.

It’s the lack of a recognised diagnosis to prove the facilities are necessary that is the issue here. Although, in this case, unless the accommodations include extra time, I can’t see what advantage feigning the disability would provide.

Has your DD ever been assessed by an occupational therapist?

My DD (diagnosed ASD/ADHD - and undiagnosed at the time EDS) got to secondary school age without ever having written more than 3 sentences at a time of illegible scrawl.

We were lucky that she got assessed by a physio and an OT who diagnosed a grip and pressure issue (likely caused by the hypermobility of the later diagnosed EDS) that meant the pressure through her finger/wrists made writing painful and exhausting - a 6 week hand training course was very useful although she finds computers easier.

Do you have any documentation from school? Can you get it?

OP
can you call admissions as a prospective new student
one who has the same issues as your DS
And ask if you would be granted the same reasonable adjustments that you had at school

their answer may help with next steps. In the meantime, find a private provider who can provide assessment and diagnosis quickly

I wouldn't contact the university directly unless it was a safeguarding issue but I absolutely would be guiding my S or D - finding out who to speak to then drafting up an email for them to agree/edit and then send themselves.