Creating an inclusive and supportive environment is essential for all students, particularly those who require accommodations through Disability Services. Here are comprehensive steps and strategies to ensure these accommodations are effectively implemented:

Understand challenges and solutionsÌý

Engage with the student to understand their learning challenges and what strategies have been effective for them in the past. Examples of how a student’s disability can affect them in the classroom include:

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  • Medication side effects: Drowsiness, fatigue, dry mouth, thirst, blurred vision, hand tremors, slowed response timeÌýand difficulty initiating interpersonal contact.
  • Environmental stimuli: Difficulty screening out sounds, sightsÌýor odors that interfere with focusing on tasksÌýand limited ability to tolerate noise and crowded areas.
  • Sustaining concentration: Restlessness, shortened attention span, distractionÌýand difficulty understanding or remembering verbal directions.
  • Maintaining stamina: Difficulty sustaining enough energy to spend a whole day on campus, combating drowsiness due to medications.
  • Handling time pressures and multiple tasks: Difficulty managing assignments, prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines, with an inability to participate in multi-task work.

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  • Interacting with others: Difficulty getting along, fitting in, contributing to group workÌýand reading social cues.
  • Fear of authority figures: Difficulty approaching professors or TAs.
  • Responding to negative feedback: Difficulty understanding and correctly interpreting criticism or poor grades, potentially personalizing or becoming defensive due to low self-esteem.
  • Responding to change: Difficulty coping with unexpected changes in coursework, such as changes in assignments, due datesÌýor instructors.
  • Severe test anxiety: The individual is rendered emotionally and physically unable to take an exam.

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Private discussions

Always discuss a student's accommodations and how they will be implemented in a private setting. Note that a student may elect not to utilize all their accommodations.

Consult with Disability Services

If you believe that an accommodation might interfere with the intended learning objectives or requirements of your course, consult with Disability Services for additional guidance and potential alternatives.

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Confidentiality

Maintain strict confidentiality regarding students' accommodation needs, as mandated by federal laws such as FERPA, the Americans with Disabilities ActÌýand Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Communicate with teaching assistants

Ensure that your teaching assistants are informed about the necessary accommodations for students in class, recitationsÌýor lab sessions.