Disabilities and Accommodations 101: a Guide for Faculty and Staff Playlist

Included in this playlist are:

• Understanding Disabilities
• Role Play Activities
• RBHS Office of Disability Services
• Understanding Accommodations
• Resources and Support

Why do Faculty need this information?

 Federal legislation mandates that the University provide reasonable accommodations that afford equal opportunity for all students. Achieving reasonable accommodations for disabled students involves shared responsibility among the students, faculty, and staff. These pages are designed to serve (1) as an introductory overview of disabilities that affect learning in a college or university setting and (2) as a quick reference for the various adjustments that can be made to accommodate disabled students. Generally speaking, each disabled student will have a different level of functioning, even within the same disability category. Compensation skills will also vary from one student to another and in the same student across time. Consequently, while the information presented in this website can be used as a general guide, specific knowledge of a student’s needs should come to you via a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) prepared by the Office of Disability Services (ODS) office and discussed with you by the student.

Note: The following links go outside this site.

• 6 Training modules for faculty
• Ways that faculty can support disabled students
• Tips for working with blind or visually disabled students
• Tips for working with students with mobility disabilities
• Tips for working with Deaf/deaf and hard of hearing students
• Tips for working with students with learning disabilities
• Tips for working with students with speech impairments
• Tips for working with students with mental health conditions
• Other disabilities
• Recommendations for all courses
• Accessibility Checklist

Syllabus Statement

The following statement should be included in all syllabi:

Rutgers University welcomes disabled students into all of the University’s educational programs. In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, a disabled student must complete the ODS registration form and contact the RBHS Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 973-972-5396 or Cindy Poore-Pariseau, Ph.D or Jenna Rose to make an appointment for an intake interview. Disabled students will also be asked to provide documentation of their disability. If the documentation supports the request for reasonable accommodations and the accommodations are approved, the ODS will provide the student with a Letter of Accommodations (LOA). This Letter will be used to notify appropriate school personnel about the accommodations students are qualified to receive. To begin this process, students should complete the Registration form on the ODS web site at: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registration-form.

My 5-Month Interlude as a Disabled Professor – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Two herniated discs and spinal stenosis suddenly reshaped my world. Debilitating pain and the inability to walk for several months were my new normal. Fortunately, surgery and assiduous physical therapy restored me. But my five-mouth travail provided a glimpse of an unnerving alternative reality for me as a classroom teacher. It caused me to see with new eyes how even seemingly insignificant things can create major obstacles for disabled faculty members and students as they go about trying to teach and learn on a college campus.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/My-5-Month-Interlude-as-a/246670/#.XSz2DjgFtIo.email