Reasonable Accommodations For College

In my last blog post I talked about how an IEP team can create a successful assistive technology (AT) implementation plan! In this blog post I am going be talking about how a student in college who has a disability can go about getting AT implemented into his or her classroom in college!

The purpose of this blog post is to let teachers and educators know the protocol for implementing AT into a college classroom!

What Makes AT Reasonable For College Students?:

1)   What Does The Law Say?:

1)"Under Section 504 and the ADA, colleges must provide- at no cost to the student- reasonable accommodations to make their programs accessible to students with disabilities" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).

2) "The term reasonable in the phrase "reasonable accommodation" is not defined in the law and is still being debated in the courts. It is generally understood to mean that providing the accommodation will not cause "undue burden" to the institution" (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.). 

2) What Do The Colleges Say?:

All accommodations must be directly linked to tasks that are required in college coursework.

Some Reasonable AT Accommodations For College Students:

1) "Use of a portable note taker (e.g., Neo) Smart pen to record lectures and sync to notes" (). For students who cannot take notes.

2) C-print captioning device for students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

3)Text-to-speech, audio books or video magnifiers for students who struggle with reading.

4) Word processing application for essay exams, use of spell-check feature, use of calculator or text-to speech software for students who struggle with test taking.

                 (Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G.).

The Neo.

As a student in college with a disability, it was very eye opening for me to see the process I would have to go through to be able to use assistive technology in my classes. It is also important for professors to be aware that as long as the AT in question is needed to help the student complete a task required by the class (ex: reading, writing, listening, taking tests, ext), than the AT is considered a reasonable accommodation and they should not give their student a hard time about using it!!!!

Dell, A.G., Newton, D.A., & Petroff, J.G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Boston. PEARSON.