Altered States

Disabilities are not a hindrance at colleges, that is if the student speaks up.

By Renee Sklarew

Illustration by Ashleigh Carter

The U.S. Department of Education reported in 2006, 11 percent of all U.S. college students had a disability. Students’ conditions vary from physical disabilities, like low vision, to learning challenges, like attention deficit disorder. Some conditions are hidden, such as manic depression, but all fall under the umbrella of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since the ADA passed in 1990, students with documented special needs may request individualized accommodations that will help them in the classroom and on campus. Northern Virginia’s colleges and universities are responding to this need with a range of services.

Fairfax resident Christopher is enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). In high school, he had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for dyslexia—a learning disability that affected language processing and reading—but says he didn’t want to continue receiving accommodations for it in college.

“I didn’t want to play the disability card. I didn’t want people to see me as weak for asking for extra time,” Christopher says.

After struggling through his first semester without speaking up about his disability, Christopher realized he would benefit from accommodations—prepared notes and extra time for tests—so, he provided documentation to NOVA’s counselor for disability services. Now, Christopher encourages other students to speak up. “You have to be your own advocate. I usually sit down with a teacher to explain. If I fail to do that, I am the one that suffers,” Christopher says.

George Mason University (GMU) and NOVA have departments assigned to help students with special needs obtain services, including sign language interpretation, transcription, note-taking and quiet environments for testing. They also refer students to counselors, tutors and writing labs, and help them find adaptive equipment such as textbooks on tape.

Linn Jorgenson, the director of George Mason’s Office of Disability Services, reports that requests for accommodations continue to grow. “We’ve had a steady increase, including students with autism and Aspergers. These students bring with them a new level of support that we have to embrace. Our new programs are so individualized,” she says.

Jorgenson recommends students investigate their options as soon as they have been accepted. Although students are not required to disclose disabilities when applying, people who do not disclose them to their professors often find it difficult to be successful.

Kerin Hilker is the director of Pathway to Baccalaureate at NOVA—a program that supports students who are at high risk of dropping out before completing their degree. Students with special needs fall into this category. Hilker says, “Colleges like NOVA need to be receptive to meeting the needs of students with disabilities, because we encounter so many more of them than four-year colleges.”

One worrisome trend Hilker sees is testing students too early, causing the transition-to-college process to begin too late. “Families should get the adult test after the student turns 16 to determine whether the student is eligible for accommodations,” recommends Hilker. “Savvy families conduct re-testing while they’re juniors or sophomores.”

In college, requests for accommodations must be initiated by the student who is then considered an adult. “We suggest college students involve their parents in the process, even though the parents’ role is different,” Jorgenson says. “Here, students need to speak on their own behalf.”

- About one in five (19%) of U.S. residents reported some level of disability.
- Of these 54.4 million Americans, 1.5% earn doctoral degrees, roughly equal to the combined total populations of California and Florida.
Source: 2009 U.S. Census Bureau report
www.aapd.com/site/c.pvI1IkNWJqE/b.5406299/k.FBCC/Spotlight

Pupil Disability
- 2 out of every 100 students has ADD or ADHD.
- 62% of students with disabilitY enroll in college vs. 72% of students without disability
- 16% of students with disabilities earn a bachelor’s degree.
Source: U.S. Undergraduates–U.S. Department of Education

Among the 11% of students with disabilities:
25% have orthopedic conditions.
22% have mental illness or depression.
17% have health impairments like hearing loss or mobility challenges.
source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2000); 1999–2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Table: ‘Percentage of Undergraduates Who Reported a Disability or Difficulty and Among Those Who Did the Percentage Distribution’

National Center for Education Statistics in 1999:
88% need extra time for tests.
77% use tutors.
69% have scribes or note-takers.
55% use textbooks on tape.
Source: National Center for Educational Statistics (1999), An institutional perspective on students with disabilities in postsecondary education, Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Education

(July 2011)