I do not think that there's any accomodations for LD students to take the ASVAB.  The military is pretty much cut and dry.  I was once in the Army Reserves and I know for a fact there's no accomodations for LD privates during training.  Everyone is expected to be able to perform at all times.  Our motto was "Suck it up and drive on".  Another thing, the recruiters are not always truthful.  They tell these kids what they want to hear to get them to enlist.  Once the individual is off to training, you have no more contact with your recruiter and besides, there's nothing the recruiter can do for you once you are in.  I suggest that before a teacher/transition specialist (myself included) assist a student towards the military, everyone needs to do their homework.  Again, do not rely on the recruiters to tell you the truth.


T'challa Y. Douglas, MA, GCDF 
Transition Specialist
Darlington County Adult Education
100 Magnolia Street
Darlington, SC 29532
843-398-2598 (phone)
843-395-8944 (fax)
tchallad at darlington.k12.sc.us

>>> "Gassman, Jean" <jgassman at iel.spokane.edu> 11/13/07 7:05 PM >>>

Thank you for the answers to some of my questions..
 

________________________________

From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Kaare, Donita
Sent: Tue 11/13/2007 2:05 PM
To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 1562] Re: Transition- military



We have had long discussions with army personnel over accommodations on
the ASVAB.  To the best of my knowledge and our previous experience.
There are no accommodations granted for the ASVAB test.


Donita Kaare
Learning Skills Center Director
Olney Central College


-----Original Message-----
From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Arlyn
Roffman
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:50 AM
To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 1531] Transition- military

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt asked:
Arlyn, how would you help a student who wants to enter the military to
transition?  Are there specific requirements that LD students need to
consider (other than passing the physical)?  Does the military even
accept
LD students?  Are there accommodations in the military?



Hi Katherine-
I don't have a definitive answer about LD in the military, but not long
ago
I was at a meeting in Washington and there was a representative there
from
Hanscom Air Force Base in MA. Since it was  a meeting about transition
and
LD, I'm guessing her position is to provide some sort of support once
they're in.

I just did some Googling and came up with the fact that one does not
have to
have a high school diploma to enlist, but a GED is necessary if there's
no
diploma. Also, there's a test, called the ASVAB, one has to take. It's a
multiple choice test with 200 questions.One has three hours to complete
ten
short tests.

The ASVAB tests cover General Science, Arithmetic Reasoning, Word
Knowledge,
Paragraph Comprehension, Numerical Operations, Coding Speed, Auto and
Shop
Information, Mathematics Knowledge, Mechanical Comprehension and
Electronics
Information.No one passes or fails the ASVAB. However, to be considered
for
enlistment in the Army, one has to score at least a 31. Scores are
provided
on a report called the ASVAB Student Results Sheet, with additional
information to help understand what they mean.

Seems to me, with your student you would set a goal  to narrow down
which
branch of the services is of interest, then contact a rep to ask
questions
about accommodations on the test AND in training for those who DO get
in.
There are sample questions on the web, so you could have the student try
those and see whether it seems too daunting or actually approachable. If
the
latter is the case, you could help the student prepare for the test.

Beyond that, I think it would make a lot of sense to set another goal of
interviewing a carefully chosen enlistee (perhaps one with an LD) about
the
realities of life in the services, help your student identify which
pieces
might be particularly challenging, and - back to my basic bottom-line
transition goals again - help him/her learn how to self-disclose and
self-advocate for any needed accommodations.

The structure of the services might be very helpful for some with LD.
I'd be
interested in hearing from others on the list who have more experience
with
students who've gone this route (or who've tried and failed).
Arlyn


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