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C2V
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07 Jun 2017, 3:37 am

I just got a slightly suspicious response from a community college-like place where I'll soon be doing a course. I wondered if this is normal - I certainly haven't encountered it before.
They want me to do some kind of pre-course screening thing, before I am allowed to commence. They claimed this was to make sure I was not enrolling in a course that was too difficult for me, when the admission requirements stated that there were no prerequisites for this course. This makes no sense, given that I have already successfully completed courses of the same level, and have studied at a higher level, though I chose not to finish the course.
The told me this after they found out I was claiming a concession through a disability job services office.
Now, I am there because of the autism, but the disability services is for everyone, not just people with autism or intellectual disabilities or whatever. It could be because you have a prosthetic leg or a back injury or a hearing loss - anything.
I have never encountered this kind of aptitude testing before, when I did not state that I was applying through a disability service. Every other time I have studied, I have had to fulfill whatever prerequisites everyone else had to, and prove previous studies with certificates and so on.
I have never been called in to prove I can cope when applying for a course without formal prerequisites, and when I have studied at that level before.
I suppose I'm just suspicious that they are treating me differently at admission because I'm with the disability services.
Anyone had this kind of thing happen applying to study?


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SocOfAutism
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09 Jun 2017, 12:30 pm

I have never heard of this.

Q1: What is the course?

Q2: Is the course in your native language?

Q3: What is the pre-screening material?

Q4: Did they say what would happen if you "failed"?



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11 Jun 2017, 11:45 am

Q1 - Business admin
Q2 - Yep - when I speak I speak english, and that's the course language. If language concern was the reason however, there would have been a standard language, literacy and numeracy prerequisite listed, and there was not.
Q3 - I don't exactly know, and that was another suspicious thing. They were unclear on what this screening involved. The reception woman mentioned something about "interview with the teacher" which could mean anything, and something I have never encountered in studies before. I'm afraid I didn't ask in depth questions, I was too taken off-guard as I wasn't expecting this at all. They asked me to come in later this week and I just agreed. I was in the parking lot before my brain caught up that this was pretty damn weird.
Q4 - again they weren't clear, but they did say this was to make sure I wasn't taking on a course that was too difficult for me, so I assume if I don't fill their boxes, they won't allow me to study. But as I'm a bit more prepared now, if they tell me this, I will argue that they have no basis on which to refuse me - there were no prerequisites as I said, and they have no other legitimate reason to refuse me. Surely you cannot keep someone from studying based on the teacher's subjective opinion?
I'm going in on Tuesday so I might have a better idea. I just really hope this isn't discrimination again. I have had a LOT of problems with discrimination in the past.I might have to be prepared to be a bit of an a***hole. :twisted:


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SocOfAutism
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11 Jun 2017, 12:33 pm

Hm. Well you should go with an open mind, but if I were in your shoes I would suspect this was autism related.

But a few things I was thinking:

Perhaps the instructor has an autistic family member or knows an autistic person and just wants to get an idea of "in what way" you are autistic. Such as, would it be better for you to get to class early so you could pick out optimal seating? Would it be better to give you the reading list early so you can know what to expect? Are you a person who likes talking in class or does that bother you? Sometimes instructors will ask students this outside of class to avoid embarrassing students who are quiet.

And then in general something I like to do is to make it clear that you are expecting good things from the instructor and the course. If you are suspicious of discrimination, I would try to keep that to yourself until the instructor and/or the school have tread very far over the line. That will make it clear that you did not incite anything and are being treated unfairly.

And you know, now that I think about it, something like this DID happen to me before. And I am neurotypical, keep in mind. I was in the Sociology department, but took a class in the Education department because Soc did not offer one of our requirements. It was "pedagogy". That is basically a class about acknowledging your "privilege" or saying that the people you are helping or studying wish that they were you. The professor wanted to meet me before I started the class because I wasn't in the Education department. She turned out to be a HUGE a**h*le. I got a B for the class even thought I got an A on all of my assignments and didn't miss any days. I made it clear that I didn't think that my target population (autistics) were necessarily disadvantaged because they were not in the majority (neurotypical). This is a radical viewpoint, and why I got a B.



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12 Jun 2017, 8:38 pm

Well - note to anyone who has lived in a capital city or other metropolitan area - small town community adult education have way too much time on their hands!
I attended the interview and discovered it was just a sort of "support" thing, to make sure each individual student was enrolling in the right course for their goals and educational background, providing assistance with the enrollment process, meeting the course teacher and providing an opportunity for questions. In any city system, this would have been done very impersonally, via a form. If you had a question or problem, it was likely to be a case of "it sucks to be you." You'd spend an hour on the phone and still get nothing, expected to work this out for yourself.
But because this is a rural area, and they are a small college, they actually do this in person.
I always get paranoid - it was because of me specifically, I'd been clocked as disabled and they were already sure I was ret*d and convinced I couldn't handle the course work, I was going to be discriminated against, etc. Guess that's where your mind goes if you've had to fight for everything all your life.
But the only difference autism made was the instructor said I may be entitled to a lesser course fee. I said the disability service was covering it, so unnecessary, but welcome. She even noted my "unspecified" gender and apologized for calling me "he," asking what I prefer (I always reply that as I'm legally nothing in particular, I'm fine with whatever the other person wants to call me, so if she was comfortable with "he" then so was I) which is rare for anyone, but especially rare in rural areas.
@ SocOfAutism - finesse hadn't occurred to me, so it was good advice not to barge in there and demand to know why I was being discriminated against on basis of disability, as I suspected, because it wasn't that at all. I tend to be very direct and being so in this instance could have created unnecessary discomfort. I was glad it was just an unexpectedly personal formality, I wasn't expecting things in a small town to be so different, when in the city you're always just another cog in the wheel, another number in a file, and everyone simply expects you to do everything yourself. :)


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SocOfAutism
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13 Jun 2017, 7:47 am

Oh I'm so glad it worked out this way.

You're really lucky. I grew up in a small town, where the personal touch thing was definitely there, but it did NOT go hand in hand with celebrating diversity. Part of why I don't live in that town anymore.

Enjoy the course! This should be a great experience!