What All Faculty Need to Know about Disability Support

Spotlight: What All Faculty Need to Know about Disability Support
CITAL Monthly Faculty Workshop
By Jen Gregory, Director of Instruction Design and Zebadiah Hall, Disability Support Coordinator

NOTE: Each month one CITAL blog will summarize the CITAL Faculty Workshop of that month.

If you missed our September workshop, What All Faculty Need to Know about Disability Support, we focused on helping faculty interpret what certain accommodations mean for your teaching and how to design your instruction to incorporate those changes.

In addition, federal statues of the law Disability Support Services were discussed, and we especially addressed recent changes in these statutes.*

One important change is that, beginning this year, a student’s diagnosis will no longer appear on the accommodations letter. This is to protect all parties involved with accommodating students. A student diagnosis should not be shared unless their situation is life threatening. Instead, you should focus on what the accommodations are and how to apply them, and less on trying to understand the diagnosis. The University is at risk if you focus on diagnosis and not accommodations.

The Disability Support Services team works diligently to assess each student and construct thorough accommodations in order to best help the student. If you have questions about a specific accommodation or how to apply it, please feel free to contact the Disability Support Services office for assistance.

Another change is that food allergies are now classified under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students with food allergies may now receive accommodations. Food allergy accommodations will be of greatest concern to the Dining Services and Residential Life staff. However, If the food allergy is life threatening, then classroom accommodations might be made in order to protect the student.

During the presentation we gave several demonstrations to show faculty how their teaching style might be difficult for students with certain disabilities. We also modelled various techniques to show faculty how to assist students with physical disabilities, anxiety, or difficulty participating in class conversations.

If you would like more information about these techniques or help applying your student’s specific accommodations, please email us at: Disability Support Services or Jen.Gregory@valpo.edu.

*The statues are as follows: The Americans with Disability Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, The Fair Housing Act (FHA), local and state Anti-Discrimination Laws and Ordinances, and, for law students, the American Bar Association (ABA).