Jane Jarrow

Nick, I'm with you -- to a point! The issue, as I understand it, is that a pharmacy technician must be able to read standard print, poor handwriting, computer screens, and much more. That doesn't mean that BLIND PEOPLE cannot be pharmacy techs. It means that people who cannot read in those ways (who have that functional limitation) cannot be successful as pharmacy techs. Blind people have that functional limitation. Some individuals who are dyslexic have that same functional limitation and may be similarly prohibited from being successful in the field. As an extension of that thinking, then, the blind… >>>

I think you need to be careful here, TC. Your response reads as though you are suggesting that the student with ADD just "needs a little discipline" and wouldn't be having this problem if they had a little more willpower. It simply is not that easy. ADD isn't something that is a result of laziness or poor parenting. Students may learn coping strategies that help to overcome the problem, but to suggest that medication is simply an excuse not to buckle down and work a little harder (which is almost what it sounds like) is certainly not the case. There… >>>

Nick, Interestingly, I am working with a group of faculty from schools across the country on the issue of technical standards, and someone from a School of Pharmacy raised those same concerns about blindness within the last week. He went further, to explain that it isn't only difficulties with reading standard text, but that so often a pharmacist has to decipher hand-written prescriptions (which cannot be made accessible through technology. I have to agree. Someone who is blind would not be a good candidate for a pharmacy program -- but students with other disabilities might be able to manage very… >>>

Charles, You are absolutely right. I would not want anyone to think that, because a student is disabled, you must ignore the obvious and not question how he/she intends to use the information. But in the end, it is up to the student to decide whether to continue in the pursuit, or whether to alter directions. In the past, it was not unusual for students with disabilities to be "counseled out" of a given field by someone who said, "I don't think you'll ever get hired as a ____. You need to find a different major." That is patronizing at… >>>