Postsecondary Disability Support Services (DSS) Facts
The following is must-know information high school Transition Coordinators, and/or for any transitioning high school students debating the idea of going to college after having been in special education classes during their K-12 career.
DSS units are ADA compliance/non-discrimination offices–not “special education” programs.
It is always the responsibility of the student to identify him/herself as having a disability and to request accommodations from DSS.
How should students self-identify at college/university as having a disability under the ADA/504?
- With current documentation diagnosing the disability, request a meeting with a disabilities specialist.
- DSS determines if the student qualifies for accommodations.
- If student qualifies, a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) is issued for each registered course.
Criteria that may lead to DSS denying an accommodation include:
- factors that impose undue hardship on program resources
- fundamental alterations of academic programs
- the type of program operation
The ADA and Section 504 only ensure access; success in college is up to the student.
Students requesting accommodations for college classes should be able to clearly:
- State the name of their disability/disabilities. (You would not believe the number of students I meet who have no idea what their disability is!)
- Explain how their disability impacts their education/life activities. For example, “My learning disability causes me to have processing delays so I cannot always keep up when teachers talk fast, or have an accent, or don’t have an outline for me to following during class.”
- Express what accommodations have benefitted them in the classroom in the past (extra time on tests, etc). Students should be requesting accommodations from DSS offices and be able to back it. Here are two examples, “In high school, I had extra time for my tests and this helped me to get better grades,” or “I don’t take good notes, so it would help me to have an outline and to record lectures so I can fill in anything I missed after class and also use the recordings to study.”
According to the law, post-secondary institutions can require documentation be no more than three years old. If the test scores in the student’s IEP are older than 3 years, the IEP will not meet the criteria for receiving services. Any student thinking about attending college should be retested using the WISC or WAIT standardized tests, in their junior or senior year. In fact, most colleges do not want the IEP per se, but rather the psycho-educational evaluation(s) contained within.
In determining academic accommodations & adjustments at the college level DSS focus on:
- What is the functional limitation of the disability?
- What are the course requirements and expectations?
- How has this student functioned in past educational or work environments, i.e. their own strategies and use of assistive technologies?
Graduating Senior? Resources Galore
Help Your Young Adult Learn about Accessing Accommodations after High School
A Guide to Assessing College Readiness For Parents of College-Bound Children with Learning Disabilities or AD/HD
Chapter 21: Assistive Technology and Individuals with Dyslexia
Although this “transition training” is geared towards deaf/HoH students, the information on transitioning for 14-21 year olds is excellent:
iTransition is a free, online transition curriculum to help students who are deaf or hard of hearing prepare for life after high school. There are four separate trainings with activities to help students learn about themselves, their career goals, and the skills they need to be successful in the future.
Transitioning from High School to College: A Spotlight on Section 504
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/modules/transitioning-from-high-school-to-college-a-spotlight-on-section-504/
Advising High School Students with Disabilities on Postsecondary Options
http://www.heath.gwu.edu/assets/33/toolkit.pdf
Help your Young Adult Learn about Accessing Accommodations after High School
http://www.pacer.org/parent/php/php-c165.pdf
Transition Timeline: Your “To Do” List
http://www.vacollegequest.org/charting/transitiontimeline.shtml
SA Handbook for College Students with Disabilities
Self-Advocacy (SA) skills are key to success in college and life. Through SA skill development, students learn life-long strategies to help them take charge of their lives and maximize their strengths.
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/sa/
The Self-Advocacy of Disability Accommodation
http://www.ub-disability.buffalo.edu/self.php
Self-Determination for Postsecondary Students
http://ncset.org/topics/sdpse/default.asp?topic=7
New Jersey Higher Education Disability Support Services Directory
http://adaptivetech.tcnj.edu/documents/2010_2011CollegeDirectory.pdf