By popular demand we now have a mentoring department. Here's how it works: send in a specific Crohn's-related problem, an answer to a problem, an offer to help out, or a piece of Crohn's-related advice.
Merrie: Hi, My name is Merrie (my cute) daughter Ashley age 12 was diagnosed with Crohn's on December 27th 1999. Ashley has been receiving special services through our towns educational system because of learning disabilities, but I wanted you to know any student with Crohn's in a public school has civil rights under section 504 of the U.S. Dept of Civil Rights Act of 1973. To learn more you can contact your Regional Civil Rights Office or visit www.ed.gov/offices on the web. I already realize how the stress of your daily school program can affect how you feel. Hope this will be of help to somebody. Feel free to email me if you would like.
Anonymous: I read what Merrie
had sent in on civil rights protection for us "Crohn-ies", and I
also wanted to add that anybody in primary school (K-12) can get an Individual
Education Program (IEP) through their Special Education department (and no,
you don't have to attend any Special Ed classes). I'm 20
years old now and, because of my middle and high school's strict attendance
policies, never would have been passed from grade to grade because of my
absences (never mind the fact that I was an Honors student with a 3.74 GPA!)
without an IEP. Also, many colleges will also accept primary school IEPs,
where (as many of you know) attendance policies are MUCH stricter. Just
another piece of advice.
MaryS: For College Students - Before you start Day 1 of your College
experience please connect with Campus Disability Services to sign up.
All it takes is an easy form signed by your doctor. Don't want to be
considered disabled? You won't. Only you, the Disability Office,
and your instructors will know, and most times your instructor will not even
be informed of what your disability is unless you tell them yourself.
Don't think you'll need it? Think again. You never know what may
come up in the course of a College year. Be prepared! My own daughter
just finished her first year of College. It started out fine and
healthy, but it got a bit rocky healthwise as the year went on. She
didn't want any part of Disability Services, but ended up extremely grateful
that I had checked into it and had signed her up against her wishes. Had
I not done so, her first year would have been a complete washout.
Disability Services is there to help you achieve your goals, not to label you.
You cannot be penalized for excessive absences - only two absences are allowed
per semester by most instructors. The instructors have the option of
dropping you from their class for absences. You are allowed to turn in
late work and take makeup exams when needed. You can sometimes request
notetakers for your classes if you know you will be out. Tutoring is
always available to all first and second year students.
The one thing my daughter liked the most about Disability Services was being
at the top of the list for selecting her classes. Freshmen are always
last in this department and get stuck with leftover classes at inconvenient
times of the day. With Disability Services, she was able to secure the
classes she needed
at a time of day that was best for her. Mornings are dreadful for her
and her CD, so she was able to get mostly afternoon classes that were better
productively for her.
I have read that there is tuition reimbursement available if you do become ill
and cannot finish a semester. I still have to check into this further as
we did not have to use this option and since my daughter was on Scholarships,
it did not apply. She chose to take incompletes instead to be finished
at a later date.
Good Luck to all of you in College! You can achieve and succeed with a
little help from Campus Disability Services.
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