Disability-Related

Academic Adjustment - 1. Academic requirements. AA recipient to which this subpart applies shall make such modifications to his/her academic requirements that are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or do not have the effect of discriminating on the basis of handicap, against a qualified handicap applicant or student. Academic requirements that the recipient can demonstrate are essential to the program of instruction being pursued by such student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section. Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted for the completion of degree requirements, substitution of specific courses required for the completion of degree requirements, and adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted.

2. Other rules. A recipient to which this subpart applies may not impose handicapped students’ other rules, such as the prohibition of tape recorders in classrooms or of dog guides in campus buildings, that have the effect of limiting the participation of handicapped students in the recipient’s education program or activity.

3. Course examinations. In its course examinations or other procedures for evaluating students’ academic achievement in its program, a recipient to which this subpart applies shall provide such methods for evaluating the achievement of students who have a handicap that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills as will best ensure that the results of the evaluation represents the student’s achievement in the course, rather than reflecting the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

4. Auxiliary aids: A. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no handicapped student is denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under the education program or activity operated by the recipient because of the absence of education auxiliary aids for student with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills. B. Auxiliary aids may include taped texts, interpreters or other effective methods of making orally delivered materials available to students with hearing impairments, readers in libraries for students with visual impairments, classroom equipment adapted for use by students with manual impairments, and other similar services and actions. Recipients need not provide attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature. (Taken directly from Subpart E Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act).

Accessibility - Approachable, functional, and useable by persons with disabilities, independently, safely, and with dignity (Goldman, 1991).

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) - According to Hallowell and Ratey (1994), ADD is a neurological syndrome that is usually genetically transmitted, and is characterized by distractibility, impulsivity, and restlessness. In ADD theses characteristics are present from childhood on, and because these characteristics occur with much greater intensity (than a person who does not have ADD), it interferes with everyday functioning.

Hearing Impairment - The causes and degrees of hearing loss vary across the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, as do methods of communication and attitudes toward deafness. In general, there are three types of hearing loss: 1. Conductive loss affects the sound-conducting paths of the outer and middle ear. The degree of hearing loss can be decreased through the use of a hearing aid or by surgery; 2. Sensorineural loss affects the inner ear and the auditory nerve and can range from mild to profound; and, 3. Mixed loss results from both a conductive and sensorineural loss (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995).

Learning disabilities - Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors, social perception, and social interaction may exist with learning disabilities but do not by themselves constitute a learning disability. Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with other handicapping conditions (for example, sensory impairment, mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance) or with extrinsic influences (such as cultural differences, insufficient or inappropriate instruction), they are not the result of those conditions or influences (National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), 1994).

The University of New Orleans Office of Disability Services has established guidelines for the documentation of learning disabilities based on the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD, 1994) definition of learning disabilities and the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) guidelines for documentation of specific learning disabilities in adults.

Mobility Impairments - These range in severity from limitations on stamina to paralysis. Some mobility impairments are caused by conditions present at birth while others are the result of physical injury. Injuries cause different types of mobility impairments, depending on what area of the spine is affected. Quadriplegia, paralysis of the extremities and trunk, is caused by a neck injury. Students with quadriplegia have limited or no use of their arms and hands and often use electric wheelchairs. Paraplegia, a paralysis of lower extremities and the lower trunk, is caused by injuries to the mid-back. Students often use a manual wheelchair and have full movement of arms and hands (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995).

Otherwise Qualified - With respect to postsecondary and vocational education services, a handicapped person who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admissions or participation in the recipient’s education program or activity (Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act).

Person with a disability - Any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) has a record of such impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. (Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act - PL 93-112).

Psychiatric Disabilities - Students with psychiatric disabilities may experience significant emotional difficulty that generally has required treatment in a hospital setting. With appropriate treatment, often combining medications, psychotherapy, and support, the majority of psychiatric disorders are cured or controlled (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995). Some examples include depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.

Reasonable Accommodation - Those modifications and aids with which an otherwise qualified person with a disability could do a particular job, e.g., making existing facilities accessible, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment, acquisition/modification of equipment or devices, adjustment or modification of examinations, training materials or policies, provision of a reader or interpreter. Those accommodations which would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of the employer are excluded (Goldman, 1991).

Systemic Disabilities - Conditions affecting one or more of the body’s systems. These include the respiratory, immunological, neurological, and circulatory systems (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995).

Traumatic Brain Injury - Though not always visible and seemingly minor, brain injury is complex. It can cause physical, cognitive, social, and vocational changes that affect an individual for a short period of time or permanently. Depending on the extent and location of the injury, symptoms caused by a brain injury vary widely. Some common results are seizures, loss of balance or coordination, difficulty with speech, limited concentration, memory loss, and loss of organizational and reasoning skills (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995).
Undue Hardship - An action requiring significant difficulty or expense (Goldman, 1991).

Vision Impairments - There are three degrees of vision loss: 1. visual acuity of 20/200 - the legally blind person can see at 20 feet what the average sighted person can see at 200; 2. low vision - limited or diminished vision that cannot be corrected with standard lenses; and, 3. partial sighted - the field of vision is impaired because of illness, a degenerative syndrome, or trauma (Disability Services, U of Minnesota, 1995).

Signing Interpreter—the student will be accompanied by an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and may need to work with the instructor in choosing and ideal location for the interpreter.

Computer Assisted Note Taking—a trained stenographer who will record the class lecture will accompany the student. This information will be relayed with a few second delay to the student via a laptop computer. (Also referred to as real-time captioning.)

FM System—the student will need to use an assistive listening device that requires the faculty member to wear a small transmitter and lapel microphone. The student will wear a small receiver and ear bud or telecoil that enables only the student to hear the instructor’s amplified voice with minimal background noise.

Note Taker—the student may need access to course lecture notes and/or visually presented materials, such as overheads and information written on the chalkboard or white board, either from the instructor or a volunteer classmate. Carbon-less note taking paper can be provided to the volunteer or copies can be made at ODS. The student may provide the faculty member with an announcement card to be made to the class to solicit a volunteer note taker.

Recorded Lecture—the student may bring recorder to class and have class lecture recorded.

Selective Seating—the student may need to sit in front of the class or in another location suited to adapting to his/her disability related needs.

Adaptive Furniture--the student may need the use of adjustable height tables, chairs and/or lab stools to provide an accessible workspace.

Testing Accommodations

Adaptive Technology—the student may need the use of a word processor, other computer-based software, or other equipment (Closed Circuit Television) for in class papers and for test taking.

Distraction-Reduced Environment—the student may need to take tests in a quiet, uninterrupted, and uncluttered environment.

Enlarged Test—the student may need to have tests enlarged by means of computer (usually 24 font will suffice) or copy machine.

Extended Time—the student may need time-and-a half, double, or triple time for completing tests.

Black Ink on White Paper—the student will need tests and all other class related materials printed clearly in black ink on white paper only.

Oral Proctor—the student may need someone to rephrase questions, without alluding to the answers.

Reader—the student may need someone to read the test to him or her.

Scribe—the student may need someone to record answers for him or her.

Taped Test—the student may need the test recorded on tape so that he or she can either read along with the tape or have access to the print material in this format.

Brailled Test—the student may need the test converted into Braille. If the instructor can provide the test on disk (in advance of the test), ODS can produce a Braille copy for the student.

Computer Based Testing—the student may need to use the computer and voice output for testing purposes. If the instructor can provide the test on disk (in advance of the test), ODS can format the test to be read by the computer to the student.

Consideration for Misspellings—the student should not be penalized for misspellings and/or should be allowed to use a Franklin Spell Checker or similar device.