FRANCES JAMNIK
reporter
Accessibility Resources offices on each campus help students when they experience an accident like breaking an arm, but they also help with learning disabilities such as ADHD, dyslexia and more.
South SAR coordinator Yolanda Thomas said providing students guidance and accommodations can make a big difference in their grades and confidence.
Determining what accommodations a student may need comes down to coordina- tors such as Thomas meeting with them and discussing what helps them and what doesn’t.
Each student is different and is affected by their disabilities differently, Thomas said.
Meeting students allows her to discuss the way their disability impacts them and helps determine their accommodations.
“The most common accommodations would be extra time for testing, which is pretty common so they would get time and a half,” Thomas said.
When a student comes in, they discuss their diagnosis, which must be given by a medical practitioner. Thomas said if the student had a plan during high school, they would discuss how it helped to give Thomas an idea of whether to continue the plan into college.
Accommodations such as extra time during testing allow students to read through long questions so they have a better chance to succeed on a descriptive test or exam. Thomas said students with dyslexia see sentences flip or letters move around.
The SAR offices located on each campus need specific documents from students showing proof of a learning disability. Pamela Oliver, who works in the SE SAR office, said these are needed to determine eligibility and the sort of help or accommodations to be as- signed to the student.
“Our coordinator goes over the documentation and determines if the disability warrants our assistance,” she said.
Other services provided include interpreters for deaf students, extended time for assignments, more private testing areas, text- to-speech software and notetaking vendors, she said.
“We help students with ADD, ADHD, autism, PTSD, etcetera,” she said. “All remains confidential and is not shown on the student’s record.”
NW coordinator Paula Manning said campus offices make services known to high school students through the College Access program.
Manning said the law requires that coordinators and counselors in offices go through an interactive process with each student to de- termine what accommodations are best suited for them.
However, for students to receive help and accommodations, they need to apply and put in the right documentation.
“In college, it is the student’s responsibility to self-identify themselves to SAR student with a disability,” Manning said.
