Responding to my article on accommodations for students with learning disabilities, a reader sent this comment:

I am a mother of a 12-year-old son who is dyslexic. My husband and I have decided to home-school him for the specific issues you address. We do not want any accommodations for him, rather we want him to learn so that he is able to find a career that will fit his strengths, not make him feel better about his weakness. We have never let him take a test with an accommodation and have no intention of doing so in the future. If our son cannot get into college, then he shouldn’t be there. If it takes him longer to meet the standards for a high-school diploma, then it takes longer. There are many fields where he can thrive without a college degree. We don’t think he will ever begin to overcome anything if he doesn’t have a correct assessment of his weaknesses. We have actually had to work very hard to keep the state and schools from giving him extra help, hence bringing him home. If he fails in a subject, then he hasn’t mastered it and needs to repeat it! If he can’t pass a test, he needs to learn how to pass a test. My younger sister is dyslexic as well as my father. My sister was accommodated to extensive levels and she thinks she is smart, but she has failed to accomplish much at all. My father was kicked out of school by 6th grade and then taught himself to read at 16. He has reached amazing levels — even a Ph.D. To me that was all the proof I needed for my son — he better earn it, or it won’t be his anyway!
Sincerely,
B. Lund
Orange County, CA