Talking to Educators

Step one: Register with your school.

Many people with disabilities require accommodations to attend school. Their is nothing to be ashamed of it asking for help. Advocating for your needs and a right to education is nothing to feel poorly about. It is best to inform your school of diagnosed disabilities when you feel comfortable so they can assist you in anyway possible. Some schools have offices of accessibility which is a great place to start

Step two: Decide what accommodations you will need.

This step will be different for everyone. What I recommend is jotting down a list of what struggles you face during the school day. Then, figure out what the school can do to ease them. Next, review these with your healthcare provider and see if they agree with your list or have any suggestions. Finally, ask yourself, is this something the school can feasibly do?

Step three: Documentation

I was diagnosed as a college student so I will be speaking in this step from my personal experience. This experience will vary by school and grade. I arrived at my Office of Accessibility (OAS) with a letter from my healthcare provider with my diagnosis and symptoms. It would also have been helpful if the doctor would have written down what accommodations they believed I needed. I sat down with a member of OAS and we discussed what accommodations they could provide me with to be successful. A year later, they needed a form the school created to be filled out by the healthcare professionals office to update information. Their may be multiple forms to fill out depending on your accommodations. Things such as ESA's may require even more specific paperwork. It is best to contact the school to determine what paperwork is needed before you sit down to have a meeting. Examples of documents my school has are:

Documentation of Disability Form - Academic Accommodations 2018 0809
Documentation of Disability Form - Housing Accommodations 2018 0720
Documentation of Disability Form - Support Animals 2018 0720
Documentation of Disability Form - Temporary Injuries 2019 1111
Referral List

They also suggest that if you had any documentation/ plans from highschool that they be sent over as well if that is something you feel comfortable with.

Step four: Having the conversation.

Every school has a different way of informing pertinent faculty of your needs. Most times the specific disability does not have to include the disability, only the pertinent accommodation. Personally, my school has an online system where I select which professor gets notified of which accommodation as i have multiple. I often do choose to talk to professors in person as well to confirm they received the information and to talk about how we will work the accommodation into the class. This though is not required of me and it is just something I prefer to do after class to ensure we are all on the same page. An example of an accommodation letter sent to educators from my school is down below:

"Office of AccessAbility Services 

LETTER OF ACCOMMODATIONS

Student Name: Johnny Appleseed

Student ID: 10000000

Semester: Spring 2021

The above-listed student has registered with the Office of AccessAbility Services (OAS) under a qualifying documented disability in accordance with the guidelines put forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008 and Amendments and has been granted academic accommodations. Students receiving accommodations have provided AccessAbility Services with documentation of their disability which legally entitles them to the listed accommodations, unless the approved accommodations would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the course. Should you and your department have concern that the approved accommodations would fundamentally alter the essential nature of the course, please contact Bob Smith, Director of AccessAbility Services at (000)123-4567 or bobsmith@college.edu. Academic accommodations are not retroactive but are valid from the date of your receipt of this letter until the end of the current academic semester.

Information about this student’s specific disability and/or accommodations is confidential. This letter has been provided to you at the request of this student and may not be shared with other collage faculty, staff, or individuals outside of college in any manner without the student’s permission. All correspondence from AccessAbility Services regarding a student’s disability should be kept in secure files with limited access. In an effort to limit the use of paper, AccessAbility Services will provide accommodation letters electronically and no longer require signed accommodation letter receipts.

To equalize this student’s opportunity for academic success, the following accommodation(s) must be provided in this class:

·  Testing Accommodations/Extended testing time on timed quizzes/exams (Time and a half)

Extended time is calculated based upon how long the rest of the class has access to the quiz/exam. For example, if the rest of the class has access to the exam for 50 minutes, and the OAS-registered student has been approved for the accommodation of 1.5x extended time, the OAS-registered student should be legally granted 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete the exam.

Semester: Spring 2021

·  Classroom Accommodations/Student may have occasional disability related absences beyond professor’s classroom policy without penalty

The nature of the student’s disability may necessitate missing class on occasion due to disability-related difficulties. This student has been advised to meet with you to discuss the parameters of this accommodation, or to contact the OAS for assistance facilitating this conversation. Students are responsible for contacting the faculty member as soon as possible when a disability-related absence will occur/has occurred and, as necessary, informing the faculty member as to when they will return to class. The student is responsible for all coursework covered in a missed class.

Semester: Spring 2021

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above stated accommodations, please contact the OAS."

Other information such as notification of service dogs is not required as they are medical equipment but some prefer their educators to be notified in advance. An example of this is as follows: 

"Subject: Faculty Notification Service Dog

Dear Professor,

I hope you are well. I am emailing to inform you that student Johnny Appleseed (COPIED ON EMAIL) requires the use of a Service Dog who will be accompanying the student to class during the Spring 2021 semester.  

Students utilizing Service Dogs are not required legally to inform folks that they will be utilizing them, much like a mobility aid. However, this student has elected to provide notice to their professors.

Please note: Service dogs are considered medical equipment when they are working. They need to pay attention to their handler (the student) and be able to perform the tasks they have been trained to. If you should notice any persons interfering with the students Service Animal (distracting/attempting to pet) please intervene if comfortable or report it to the OAS directly so that we may assist the student in receiving equal access to their classes.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this notification.

Best,

Bob Smith"

The most important thing to remember is that the school wants to see you succeed. Advocating for your needs is very important.