I was just looking at the University of Pennsylvania law school website, and I was looking up their disability services program.

You will never believe their documentation guideline forms for psychiatric disabilities. They are totally bigoted.

This is pasted directely from their website.

To establish that an individual meets the requirements under the law, documentation must indicate that a specific disability exists and that the functional limitations caused by the disorder significantly limit one or more major life activities. A diagnosis of a disorder in and of itself does not automatically qualify an individual for accommodations.

They have to determined elegibility of a medical condition and to establish that an individual meets the requirements under the law ??!! I think having a letter from an M.D. is enough.

A diagnosis of a disorder in and of itself does not automatically qualify an individual for accommodations??!! That is pure bigotry right there!!

When I looked at their documentation guideline forms for learning and physical disabilities, there was nothing like that in there. You can even go and check it out. Just go to the University of Pennsylvania law school website.

This is one of the schools I'm interested in applying to, and look how they treat students with psychiatric disabilities. They act like it's a non-exist illness. That is a strict Rehabilation Act and ADA violation. It's enough to make my blood boil.

This post has been edited by scrobin: Oct 26 2009, 06:47 PM

To be honest this doesn't seem like discrimination to me. They aren't saying it's non-existent - all they're saying is that you have to show the illness causes limitations. Would you want it the other way - that a mental illness is assumed to create limitations?

Besides, just from the word "documentation", what makes you think a letter from an MD isn't enough? That's documentation....

In your other post you said schools should follow the law but here you seem to be criticizing Penn for following the law?

This post has been edited by americandownunder: Oct 26 2009, 07:47 PM

You have to read in between the lines. Higher education institutions a lot of times ignore disability rights laws regarding students with psychiatric disabilities. They may say they will provide accomindations to students with psychiatric disabilities, to cover their *****. However, when you get in the school they don't provide it. There have been articles written about this.

Ok but that's different from criticising the policy. If the policy is fine but it's ignored in practice that's a separate issue.

Do you know that Penn ignores or doesn't fairly apply their policy?

You have to screen the school very carefully. I'm just saying it looks like from that statement, that they probably are not.

Scrobin, Perhaps you could call their disability services and talk to someone. Ask specifically if your letter will serve as documentation and exactly what type of accomodations you can expect.
Iowa

Mate, you need to be careful - writing that Penn (or anyone else) is bigoted when you have no evidence, and when their written policy is actually legally correct - is libel on your part.

I'm not saying there isn't discrimination out there, I'm just saying you need to be cautious about making assumptions and writing about those assumptions as if they are fact.

scrobin,
If you file with the ADA officer on campus with proper documentation of the disability you have, the ADA will contact the provider (MD, pdoc) for further info. If you qualify for ADA services, you will be granted accomodations (extra time for papers, tests, etc.). Under the ADA, the instructors will not be told what you have or why you have the accomodations. They have to abide by the ADA laws. This overrides any comment/rule of the school/college in regards to disabilities. That means the "regulation" for Penn that you read and posted is overridden by the Americans with Disabilities Act to prevent discrimination.
Sheepwoman