Achievement testing is one of the problems for us since my son's fine motor disability and low muscle tone would cause difficulty with filling in lots of bubbles and in completing timed tests. My son asked me why people with "output disabilities" are not given the accommodations they need. I don't know the answer to that.
A first grade teacher at our public school thought my son was highly gifted and talked me into homeschooling him because she felt he would not receive an appropriate education at our school. She told me not to worry about how we would afford college without me going back to work because he could take the ACT and SAT and make high scores which would qualify him for scholarships. I don't think she realized that his disabilities might hurt his chances of making a high enough score. I will not let him take the ACT or SAT without accommodations. We might just have him study for college classes at home and take CLEP tests for college credit since those tests are done on a computer and he can take it when he doesn't have a migraine. If he does college classes this way then I don't think he will need the ACT or SAT, but I still wonder how we will be able to afford college. It would be nice if he could get scholarships.
But first I need to make sure my son learns everything he needs in order to be successful in college and it seems our state legislators are trying to make this more difficult. My son recently wrote a letter to a state senator who is trying to restrict our rights as homeschoolers. He very articulately described the reason he was homeschooling and why it is important for him to have the freedom to learn the way he learns best without government restrictions.
I think we are going to work through an online Partners in Policymaking course which was designed for people with more severe disabilities but I think will also be useful in learning to advocate more effectively for kids like my very bright and articulate son with hidden disabilities.
