How Can I Get Students to Talk to Me
(at the right time!)
About Their Accommodation Needs?

Many faculty are more than willing to discuss accommodation and to provide appropriate accommodation, but they don’t find out until too late that accommodation is needed because the students don’t come forward.  It has been asked if the support service provider couldn’t provide a list of students with disabilities at the beginning of each new term so that the instructor could approach the student if the student didn’t make contact.

While willingness to take the initiative in such matters is appreciated, it is neither legal for the service provider to offer such a list nor is it in the best interest of the student.  Legally, students have a right NOT to be identified as disabled, if they so choose.  They will not receive accommodations unless they identify themselves, but that too, is their choice.

While faculty are concerned with maximizing the learning experience in class for students, the service provider must also be concerned with helping students develop independence and self-advocacy that will help them outside the classroom while in college and beyond.

For all these reasons, it is appropriate for the students to take the responsibility of identifying themselves and their need for accommodation to you, rather than vice versa.  There is, however, something that you can do to help students in this process.  It is very difficult to have to identify yourself time after time, as being “different” – and more so for the learning disabled student whose disability is invisible and whom you could not identify otherwise.  Students will feel more comfortable about identifying themselves in this manner if they are approaching someone whom they believe to be receptive to the discussion.  You might try including a sentence like the one below in every course syllabus you put together.

Syllabus statement:

 “If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment to talk with me.  My office location and office hours are: . . . “

By putting this statement on your syllabus you have identified yourself as someone who understands that accommodations may be appropriate and, perhaps, has a little knowledge about the accommodation process.  You did not say “I’ll give you anything you want” – you merely said “Let’s talk about it!”  Such an invitation can go a long way toward encouraging learning disabled students to approach the instructor early – which is what you want and they need!