|
You Know You Are Ready for College When
You:
|
You chose (or are choosing)
a college because it has a program that interests you. You probably
have considered its location, cost, financial aid and other factors.
You also need to know about how the college supports students with disabilities.
Now is the best time to learn.
Colleges must be sure that their courses, facilities, and events are
accessible to all individuals without regard to disability. To fail
in this would be unlawful. People using wheelchairs must have a way
of getting to their classes, cafeteria or sporting events. Likewise,
signs must be useable for people who are blind, lectures must be understandable
for people who are deaf, and books must be accessible for people who
cannot read because of a learning disability. How a college goes about
meeting this non-discrimination requirement varies from college to college.
We recommend that you research how your future college provides disability
support services before you start classes. Here are a few strategies
to help you. (In case you already know about college Disability Services,
look over the subheadings for new ideas or simply click this link to
jump to summary for Checkpoint 7 then go
on to Checkpoint 6.)
List the Support Services that You Think You Will Need
First, start with yourself. Think about your disability and how it
affects your learning. Then, think about the support that you receive
now and what you think you will need in college. Knowing that there
will not be special education teachers in college, make a list of the
types of learning supports you think you will need in college. Be aware
that you will be working with these ideas later in Checkpoints 4
and 3. The college will work with you and the documentation you
provide (see Checkpoint 2) to understand the relationship between
your disability and learning supports.
Here
is a worksheet to help you....
Research Supports by Using the College Web site
It is common for college Disability Service offices post some information
about their support services on their Web site. Use this information
to get an idea of the supports that may be available to you. (Remember
that it is your documentation that will ultimately determine the services
you will actually receive.) Are your college's Disability Services a
good match for your needs?
How do they go about providing supports that
are especially important to you? If you rely on resources available
in the community, is the college located in a community with similar
resources? At this stage in your research, you should have some questions.
Write them down. Think about what you wrote, then write down even more
specific questions.
More on how to do this...
Contact Your College's Disability Services Office
Your research has probably resulted in some questions. A good way to
get answers is to get on the phone to your college's Disability Services
Coordinator and ask. This call neither commits you to disclosing your
disability nor guarantees disability support services. If you plan to
disclose your disability, you will have a formal intake appointment
later. For now, a phone call should be enough to get some of your basic
questions answered.
More
on how to contact DS...
Talk with College Students Who are Receiving Support
Another way to find out what you can expect by way of support is to speak
with someone at the college who is already receiving disability support
services. This might be someone you already know, someone that the Disability
Services Coordinator can refer you to, or an Internet mentorship program.
It may seem a little scary contacting someone you do not already know.
More on finding out how to get started with the Internet mentorship program
called DO-IT Pals...
Summary
- List the learning supports that you use now, think about how they
relate to your disability and write what you think you will need in
college.
- Investigate the support services advertised by your college and
write down questions you have.
- Contact Disability Services to get answers to your questions. Be
sure to ask how early you should make an appointment if you were to
attend their college.
- Speak with or email college students about their experience with
disability supports in college.
- Discuss what you are learning with a parent, teacher or counselor.
|
