Office of Disability Services works to support, foster awareness on students with disabilities
The number of students who are permanently registered with the University's Office of Disability Services has increased by 80 percent between 2011 and 2015, a growth that mirrors a national trend, according to Associate Director of the Office of Disability Services Elizabeth Erickson.Particularly, in the 2013-14 academic year, the ODS registered and accommodated the largest number of students with sensory, mobility and diagnosed psychological disabilities, she added.Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Michele Minter noted when she first arrived at the University in 2011 that most of the accommodations provided by the ODS tended to be focused on students with learning disabilities.“Since then, we have seen an increase in the number of students requesting accommodations related to psychological disabilities, and we are very glad that those students are finding their way to the office so that they can be accommodated,” she said.Subsequently, Minter explained that the primary challenges of the ODS since its establishment in the fall of 2006 have come with the expansion and the transforming nature of accommodation requests.Providing Academic and Recreational SupportMinter noted that when requesting an accommodation, students go through an “interactive process” in which they submit documentation related to their disability and then work with staff and outside clinicians to review and determine appropriate options.Sofia Gallo ’17, who is visually impaired, said that the office asks students what accommodations they have had in the past.