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Re: special help for special people



I have some sympathy for the sentiment behind these postings, but being
myself a chronic sufferer from both laziness and poor planning, it
upsets me that my handicaps are stigmatized while those of others must
be accommodated.

Look very hard at what I've said. There are no emoticons on it. I mean
every word. Attention deficit disorder didn't exist when I was a kid.
It must be a new virus. Nobody my age ever seems to have had it, and I
am informed that parents eager for their children to have every possible
advantage in school (including those that are unfair) seek disgnoses of
ADD from their physicians. Why do you suppose that more than 90% of the
Ritalin produced is consumed in North America? Is this disease a recent,
localized epidemic? According to a press release of the US Department of
Education* "ADD is characterized by inattention, impulsiveness and
hyperactivity -- often chronic and inappropriate for a child's age. More
than 1.4 million students have the neurological disability, which is
often treated with drugs like Ritalin, Cylert and Dexedrine."

This problem (and I perceive it is a problem) has now slopped over into
Canada. I have had a student (who started his education in the US) who
demanded his right to extra time on exams. I told him that if the
university policy supported it he could have his extra time, but that
he should not ask me for a letter of recommendation later on, since I
would be ethically compelled to explain the circumstances under which he
wrote his examinations. The next thing that might happen is that the
university may decide that I have no right to stigmatize the student in
that way. In that case I will either write a veiled reference or decline
to write one altogether, though I consider writing references to be an
important part of my job and one which I owe to my students. My letters
have meant a lot to my students in the past. Letters will continue to be
helpful to them only if they can be trusted.

Leigh

*http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-1995/add.html