Implementing Accommodations �for Students with Disabilities
Presentation Overview
Overview of the Disabled Students’ Program
Karen Nielson, Director
Martha Velasquez, Associate Director
Laronda Chambers, Business Manager
Units:
Disability Specialists; Carolyn Swalina, Lead Specialist
Captioning and Interpreting
Notetaking
Alternative Media
Proctoring
Technology
DSP TRIO
Other UCB Disability offices:
Disability Compliance: Ella Callow, ADA Compliance Officer
Disability Management: Mary Kelly, Disability Employee Consultation
Disability Law and defining disability
Major life activities
Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, and working. Major life activities may also include school related tasks such as learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, and communicating. Major life activities also include the operation of “major bodily functions,” including, but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
Disability Categories
Disability categories include but are not limited to:
• Medical Conditions: asthma, diabetes, fibromyalgia, HIVAIDS, cancer, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, lupus, heart disease, Charon’s Disease, sickle cell anemia, epilepsy
• Psychological Conditions: anxiety disorder, depression, mania, manic-depression, schizophrenia, recovery from alcoholism and substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Learning Disabilities: an inability to receive, process, store, or respond to information, or to speak, listen, think, read, write, spell, or compute
• Neurological Impairment: for example, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, brain injury, brain tumor, carpal tunnel syndrome, cerebral palsy, Asperger’s Syndrome
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Visually Impaired, Legally Blind, and Blind
• Mobility Impairment: e.g., arthritis, polio, spinal cord injuries, scoliosis, and other conditions that cause mobility difficulties or result in the use of a cane or wheelchair
• Temporary Disabilities: i.e., a treatable impairment of mental or physical faculties that may impede the affected person from functioning normally while he or she is under treatment
Notes:
Students with disabilities are not obligated to register with campus offices of disability services.
Some disabilities are noticeable through casual observation and immediately recognizable, for example, by the use of a cane, a wheelchair, or crutches. Most DSP students have what are known as non-visible disabilities, which are usually not apparent. These may include learning disabilities, emotional or psychological conditions, or nonobvious medical conditions. Some students may present with multiple disabilities.
Course Accommodationss
UC Berkeley must reasonably modify any policy, practice or procedure when necessary to enable people with disabilities to fully participate. A reasonable accommodation may be anything that makes it possible for this person with this disability to fully participate in this program. These accommodations are determined and approved by DSP disability specialists in consultation with the student and in the context of a review of the student’s history and documentation as required by law and UC policy.
Examples of reasonable accommodations:
*An accommodation can be anything that allows for equal access to a course, including modification of course policies.
Allowing extra time or a distraction reduced environment for exams
Modifying policies regarding progress to degree
Allowing a reduced course load and extended time within which to complete degree requirements
Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments (CART)
Scribes or lab assistants for exams or in class work
Note-takers
Practicum accommodations
Class materials in alternative formats (e.g. texts in Braille, on audiotape, or as digital files)
Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices
Accessible online content
Use of laptop in the classroom
Where is the limit on accommodations or changes in policy?
Students with disabilities need to meet the same objectives and standards of other students in your course.
If a requested accommodation alters an objective or standard of your course, then it may not be a reasonable accommodation.
For example:
If a student with a vision impairment is taking a language course that requires manually producing the written language with its characters, a request to use a word processor and type the words would most likely not be a reasonable accommodation.
If a student in a PE course missed enough foundational skills classes and there is no way to make up for the missed skill practice, additional absences may not be reasonable.
If you are concerned that an accommodation request is not reasonable in your course, please contact the DSP specialist who sent the accommodation letter right away. Please do NOT discuss your concerns with the student.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much has DSP grown and why have we noticed unusual growth in the last few years?
Why do we receive late letters of accommodations and what can we do?
Why does DSP only share accommodations and not disability diagnoses?
What do I do if I need to verify disability related requests? Can I request medical documentation from a DSP registered student?
Are students required to speak with faculty to initiate accommodations?
What if a student says that they have a disability, but I have not received a letter of accommodation from DSP?
Are there other ways that students may receive accommodations?
Letters of Accommodation (LOA)
How are they produced and what do they mean?
What do I do if I believe a specific accommodation request is not reasonable for my class?
Why do letters of accommodation get modified?
For example, what if a student with chronic illness does not have an accommodation for assignment extensions, but she is unexpectedly hospitalized during the semester?
Disabled Student’s Program: �Our interactive process for determining accommodations
1) Admission to UC Berkeley
2) Student completes an online application for DSP Services:
3) Student must provide current documentation of a disability from qualified professionals (includes medical documentation and reports, psycho-educational evaluations, and other information)
4) Student meets with disability specialist (staff with specific qualifications and master’s degrees) for intake and student shares information in an interview with the specialist regarding academic challenges and the barriers student experiences in the academic environment and other disability related concerns. Student and specialist discuss possible accommodations that will allow the student to have full access to the educational environment and mitigate the impacts of their disability. This is called the interactive process.
4) Specialist reviews all information and determines eligibility and accommodations.
5) Student requests letters of accommodation to be sent to faculty. Faculty receive an email with an online link to accommodations letters.
7) Student and specialist have ongoing conversation and adjust accommodations as needed for specific classes or settings. This is called the interactive process.
8) Specialist is available to discuss any faculty questions or concerns regarding accommodations.
9)Student communicates with faculty regarding absences, extensions, and any unforeseen circumstances that arise.
Implementing Specific Accommodations
Disability Related Absence
What is it?
What if it is not in the LOA?
What is it not?
*As much as possible, shift thinking from a set number
of absences to focus on the objectives of the course
and whether the student is meeting them or can meet
them.
Deadline Extensions
How much time is reasonable?
Why are deadline extensions allowed as an
accommodation?
Slower processing speeds=longer productions times
(learning disabilities); unpredictability of some medical
conditions; Physical disabilities and the use of technology
Does it apply to assignments given at the beginning of the semester?
It might, must consider all information on a case by case basis
Can I request medical documentation?
Please do not request medical documentation from DSP students as it may contain private information about their disability diagnosis. DSP can request and review documentation and verify medical information for you as needed.
Rescheduling Exams
Can I administer an alternate exam? It is permissible to administer an alternate exam so long as format, difficulty and length is the same as the original exam.
The bottom line: Always consider accommodations requests for students with disabilities on a case by case basis. Bring any concerns to DSP not to the student.
Reasonable Accommodations: �Student Rights and Responsibilities
Responsibilities:
Meets the eligibility requirements for a program service or activity with or without
reasonable modifications
Bear the primary responsibility for identifying their disabilities to the DSP and for requesting
the necessary adjustments to the learning environment
Request accommodations in a timely manner
Ongoing communication with DSP and faculty regarding accommodations
Rights:
Confidentiality: Avoid inadvertent disclosure of DSP status to other student; student has
right to request accommodations without disclosing diagnosis to faculty.
Right to reasonable accommodations and adjustments, environmental modifications and
changes in policy in all university environments
Timely response to accommodation requests, including early provision of printed materials as
needed for conversion to alternative formats.
Reasonable Accommodations: �Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
Responsibilities: Ensure that the accommodations
determined and approved by the office of disability
services are provided to the student in a timely and
responsive manner. Faculty are ultimately responsible for
exam accommodations.
Speak to DSP about any concerns with accommodations,
not with the student
Rights: Expect accurate and timely information from
DSP. Expect ongoing communication with DSP
regarding accommodations and student needs.
Questions?