A short guide to explain accommodations and to help you determine if you need one

Laws require schools to provide aids, services and other accommodations to qualified students with disabilities, who need an accommodation to participate in school. This brochure will explain information about various accommodations and help you find out if you may qualify for an accommodation.

An accommodation is a modification or support that gives a student with a disability an equal opportunity to participate and benefit from school.Think of accommodations as adjustments to how things are normally done.

Using an effective accommodation will help you succeed in areas in which you have had difficulty in the past. In other words, using effective accommodations will increase your chances for success.

Think of any accommodations you used in the past? Write them down:

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Examples include providing a quiet room for test taking and other test taking accommodations (i.e. providing extended time, giving the exam in alternative formats, permitting the use of a dictionary or spell checker, and repeating instructions), and providing written materials in alternative formats such as large print, Braille, computer disk, or audio tape.

Examples include adapting a dorm room to meet the needs of a student who uses a wheel chair and installing better lighting in classrooms to assist students with low vision.

Examples include providing course substitutions or waivers and extending timelines for completing assignments.

Examples include providing sign language interpreters, note takers or scribes, tape recorders, and readers.

What Accommodations Won’t be Provided?

. Personal devices such as wheelchairs, hearing aids or glasses, and personal services such as assistance with eating, toileting or dressing will not be provided.

. Accommodations that lower or change classroom standards or program standards too much will not be provided. For example, although instructors may allow alternative assignments or tests, these alternatives will not be easier or harder than the ones they are replacing.

. Accommodations that are too expensive or require too much manpower.

Do I Need an Accommodation?

Ask yourself these questions*:

1) Do I have a physical, mental or emotional disability that affects my ability to study, learn, process information, access classrooms or resources or otherwise limits or interferes with my abilities to be a successful student?

2) Do I have problems studying, learning, processing information, concentrating or getting things done, even though I have never been diagnosed with a disability?

3) Did I need or receive accommodations in high school or on a job?

4) Did I have an IEP or Individual Education Plan in high school?

5) Did I have a 504 Paln in high school?

What Do I Do?

1) provide documentation of your disability to the college in order to receive an accommodation.

2) Don't wait to request an accommodations until you are doing poorly. This is a mistake that many students make and it is costly.

3)Register and get approval for an appropriate accommodation as soon as you can to help improve your chances for success.

Developed by:

Sean Lancaster

University of Kansas

Center for Research on Learning

Division of Adult Studies

(785) 864-4780