Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
What is an Accommodation?
An accommodation is a modification or support that gives a student with a
disability an equal opportunity to participate and benefit from school. Think of
accommodations as adjustments to how things are normally done.
Using an effective accommodation will help you succeed in areas in which you
have had difficulty in the past. In other words, using effective accommodations
will increase your chances for success.
Think of any accommodations you used in the past? Write them down:
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What are Categories of Accommodations
Accommodations are in several different categories. Below are brief
descriptions and examples of the most common categories of accommodations that
permit a student with a disability to participate in the educational process.
- Academic Accommodations.
Accommodations may include alternative
testing, recorded, brailled, or electronic texts and instructional
materials, use of adapted equipment such as amplification devices, tape
recorders, or adapted computers, sign language interpreters, notetakers or
scribes. Course requirement modifications also qualify as academic
accommodations.
- Changes to a classroom environment or task.
Examples include providing a quiet room for test taking and other test
taking accommodations (i.e. providing extended time, giving the exam in
alternative formats, permitting the use of a dictionary or spell checker,
and repeating instructions), and providing written materials in alternative
formats such as large print, Braille, computer disk, or audio tape.
- Removal of architectural barriers.
Examples include adapting a dorm room to meet the needs of a student who
uses a wheel chair and installing better lighting in classrooms to assist
students with low vision.
- Modifications to policies, practices or procedures.
Examples include providing course substitutions or waivers and extending
timelines for completing assignments.
- Provision of auxiliary aids and services.
Examples include providing sign language
interpreters, note takers or
scribes, tape recorders, and readers.
- Other adaptations or modifications that are necessary for students to
enjoy the benefits and privileges of the schools’ program, services, and
or activities.
Schools must provide these types of accommodations free to qualified
students with disabilities.
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Why are Accommodations Provided?
Laws require schools to provide aids, services and other accommodations to
qualified students with disabilities, who need an accommodation to participate
in school. This page will explain information about various accommodations
and help you find out if you may qualify for an accommodation. A short guide to explain accommodations and to help you determine if you need
one.
What Accommodations Won’t be Provided?
- Personal devices such as wheelchairs, hearing aids or glasses, and
personal services such as assistance with eating, toileting or dressing will
not be provided.
- Accommodations that lower or change classroom standards or program
standards too much will not be provided. For example, although instructors
may allow alternative assignments or tests, these alternatives will not be
easier or harder than the ones they are replacing.
- Accommodations that are too expensive or require too much manpower.
- Accommodations that would change the essence of a program will not be
provided. For example, a person taking a class in small engine repair who
has limited use of his hands could not ask to take a written test instead of
actually repairing an engine. The essence of the course is to actually
repair the engine not to talk or write about it.
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Do I Need an Accommodation?
Ask yourself these questions*:
- Do I have a physical, mental or emotional disability that affects my
ability to study, learn, process information, access classrooms or resources
or otherwise limits or interferes with my abilities to be a successful
student?
- Do I have problems studying, learning, processing information,
concentrating or getting things done, even though I have never been
diagnosed with a disability?
- Did I need or receive accommodations in high school or on a job?
- Did I have an IEP or Individual Education Plan in high school?
- Did I have a 504 Plan in high school?
*If you answered yes to one or more of the four questions, you may need an
accommodation. You should contact your school’s Disability Support Services
office and ask for information about accommodations. Staff at the Disability
Support Services office may help you determine whether you are eligible.
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What Should I Do?
-
Provide documentation of your disability to the college in order to
receive an accommodation.
-
Don't wait to request an accommodations until you are doing poorly. This
is a mistake that many students make and it is costly.
-
Register and get approval for an appropriate services or accommodations
as soon as you can to help improve your chances for success.
This web page was derived from a document which was
supported by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs, (Cooperative Agreement No. H324M980109). http://das.kucrl.org/iam.html
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