Documentation

When a student wants specialized, disability-related support, documentation of the disability(s) must be provided.

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual. Major life activities refers to normal functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

The needed documentation is most often an evaluation:

• by an impartial and fitting professional
• which states the diagnosis of the disability
• and describes the current impact of the disability as it relates to the accommodations to be requested.

Such documentation will be first used to verify a student's eligibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If the student is found to be eligible for services, the same documentation will be used to state the reasonable accommodations. The age of documentation should be current, preferably within the last three years (dependent upon the disabling condition, the current status of the student and the student's specific request for accommodation).

Requesting services

The documentation provided must be followed up with a student initiated request for services and accommodations. Services and accommodations are not put in place based upon the documentation alone. CSI is responsible for determining eligibility and reasonable accommodations in accordance with the law. Student Disability Services works with student, faculty and resources to discover and provide reasonable accommodations.

When eligibility is verified and the student has made a formal request for services, an intake interview is scheduled with the Coordinator to

• Assess student's individual needs
• Determine appropriate accommodations
• Complete the necessary paperwork for student's SDS file

All accommodations are designed with access as the goal. At the same time, reasonable accommodations are always in context with the goals and essential standards of the program, course, etc to which the student is requesting access.

Services

Services for students with disabilities are individualized to the needs of each eligible student. Students who wish to provide the needed documentation and make a formal request for services are encouraged to contact the Coordinator well in advance. The earlier the collaboration begins the better.