My goodness!
Some of you are certainly quick to judge. You obviously have no understanding of the reasons for special provisions, and why it is required.
Since alot of you are actually 'wondering' why I should be getting special provisions, I'll give you this:
From the OT Report
"Michael presents major problems with handwriting legibility, which is caused by mechanical difficulty (hand-eye co-ordination), and I have problems with hand-writing speed and legibility particulary in long duration tasks.
The findings of the report was that my performance in handwriting tasks 'may not reflect his competence or knowledge.'
My handwriting speend was in the 1st perchentile in neat and slow (this was below and average, and was placed into the 'servere' category.
The suggestion is that I be given the typing ability, as overall it does not give me the pain, and eliminates the motor components to allow me to focus on the language component.
What I was permitted was resting time, up to 5 minutes for every half hour, which is no reading, no writing, just resting.
The problem I face now is that I have been using a laptop for schoolwork, to make sure I am able to do my best, because the information I recieved was that it was likely they would. Having now to revert back, could very well disadvantage me in HSC.
There are only I think 5 or 6 people applying for special provisions in our grade. Two are for learning disabilities and processing information, one for a guy who has diabetes and one other guy for the same reasons I am. That's 5% of my year. My school has an excellent reputation for HSC results, and I assure you there are no 'retards' where I go to school. What an outrageous claim! You hardly know me.
Alot of you have thrown ideas in, so I'm sorry Im not quoting you by name, but I'm sure you will get my gist.
* It seems crazy only to allow a certain amount of people should get SP. Each year is different, and it would be an ludicrious if the BOS put a cap on the amount of provisions, as people who geuninly need it may fit over that special number
* It is true that Occupational Therapists are paid for a report. Just like a doctor, they require accreditations and their report is viewed as independent.
* In some cases someone with SP can type more than others can write, however when these people write, they write ALOT LESS than they could because of their motor problems.
* I am not having a 'fken cry' about it, and thank you for the suggestion of 'man up', but the idea of getting me tested was suggested by one of my teachers who knows me well, because she believed my handwriting was really restricting me, because of the speed and legibility
* Special Provisions aren't cheating the system at all, nor is it a scam. Is a handi-cap in sport cheating? Its making the system fair for those who are disadvantaged. Why do we have life skills for those in School Certificate?
* As GoldenDawn said, alot of you dont understand, and that's fine. Just dont make a judgement on the very little information you have.
* My school is not a school of cheats, and again it comes back to understanding!
Let's cool this down.
If your here to bag out Special Provisions, make a new thread. Dont abuse the purpose behind this one
Michael