Meeting Student Needs With Disabilities Support Services

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One of the many things colleges glance over these days would be Disabilities Support Services. Generally this happens more in small private colleges where the majority of the student body have either no disabilities or very minimal ones. Students with disabilities don’t get the attention they need at certain colleges because of possible budget deficiencies or maybe out of ignorance. Even on campuses with disabilities services the professors themselves will not want to directly be involved in the student’s learning process. True the professors did not sign on to babysit but its not babysitting when it’s your job to help those students who need it. Everyone learns at a different pace and its important that the professor themselves have patience enough for some students who may need the extra help.

There are quite the range of disabilities in humanity. Some require that they be able to substitute certain classes because they may have some kind of computing disorder, some require extra time on tests due to test anxiety, and others may need to bring in some sort of service animal. There are a ton of disabilities out here and no one professor can compensate for all of them at the same time. Its important for the student to inform the professor if they need any extra help but this also puts stress on professors when they have to deal with 100 plus students and the one is needing extra time. Support services could help with that via private tutor or very knowledgeable students with patience.

Some colleges may offer support for students with disabilities but may not cover all of them as previously stated. About two thirds of college students don’t receive the accommodations they need simply because the colleges don’t know or understand the disability the student has.

Documentation is also necessary because you can’t just take someone’s word for it. Many colleges lack testing facilities for students who may not even know that they have a disability in the first place and so they seek help on the outside. It would also be beneficial if other departments were to better communicate with the disabilities department. Students have found it hard for the departments to come to a conclusion on certain things.

While certain steps have been taken for many individuals the systems in place at some schools often still neglect certain disability students. Colleges need to be more aware and think of a proper accommodation plan for those who need certain services. These services also need people who are willing to help those who need it instead of those who may not have the heart or patience. These should be relatively simple steps to take especially with technology advancing to aid those who need it.

Sources: https://ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/02/students-disabilities-frustrated-ignorance-and-lack-services