Please accept my apologies for the random post title - I'm wondering if any of the parents here who's children have moved on to college have any advice for online resources and/or any suggestions/experience with how to handle note-taking etc in science lab. DS isn't currently using any accommodations - prefers not to take his laptop into lab because he's concerned about what might happen to it in the lab... and his lab profs require students to record observations by hand in specific lab notebooks... disabilities office didn't offer any specific suggestions or advice for lab accommodations... and on top of handwriting, just lab work itself is proving a bit challenging to fit into time assigned for lab due to fine motor challenges when mixing solutions and working with equipment et (ds can do everything, just moves in slow motion with anything fine motor).

Anyone else here dealt with this yet?

polarbear

If the laptop would help, how about a rugged laptop? Wouldn't have to be very fancy for taking notes but a rugged one would eliminate the worries. Could add on some speech-to-text. I don't know if the notes have to be turned in at the end of class, but if not maybe a voice recorder and then transcribe later. If it's allowed, partner up with someone that is good at writing and the fine motor, but maybe needs help in other areas.

He might also consider acquiring an inexpensive tablet for lab work. There are more options for spill/impact-resistant covers for tablets.

A quick google turned up quite a few resources on electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) being used by such institutions as the US National Institute of Standards and Measures, with many of the features and considerations touched on in this Nature article:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05895-3

Apparent sponsor page, but does include reviews of some of the most common academic ELNs:
https://splice-bio.com/the-7-best-electronic-lab-notebooks-eln-for-your-research/

Free open source ELN:
https://www.elabftw.net/

Another ELN with a free version:
https://scinote.net/

Researchers in some of the articles I skimmed through also reported using OneNote, Evernote, and other general note-taking tools. I'd consider going back to disability services and discussing the use of recognized ELNs (either free, or possibly through subscriptions that the institution would then have to foot), or standard note-taking apps. Use of ELNs should be something the institution might consider as an accommodation, as the field as a whole appears to have been talking about shifting in that direction for several years.

In terms of completing the lab work per se during the lab period, is extended time an option, perhaps by continuing to work during another scheduled lab period? Mainly, he needs bench space and supervised lab time. It doesn't necessarily even need to be lab time in another section of the same class (though that would be ideal), as any lab supervisor in the department should be able to handle intro-level lab courses. There may even be another section shortly after his.