For Faculty

Please teach in a lecture capture ready room, to ensure the student has the benefit of viewing the lecures after class.  The student will complete the Student Multi Media Lecture Capture Agreement for each class/instructor per semester.  The faculty/instructor will complete the Faculty Multi Media Lecture Capture Agreement within 5 business days of receipt of the student's current semester Course Accessibility Letter (CAL) 

When accessible chair is listed as accommodations, we will ensure an accessible chair is placed in your classroom. If another chair is needed, or the first one didn’t get delivered, contact us right away.

To help the student hear the lecture, an ALD may be used. The student will give you a small transmitter and microphone for your use during lecture. Just turn on the transmitter, clip it on or put it in your pocket, and pin the mic to your shirt. Turn it off when you have private conversations that aren’t meant for the class, or when you visit the restroom. Return it to the student at the end of class.

All videos shown in your class must have captions turned on. Best practice is to use only closed captioned videos in your course.  If you are unsure how to turn on captions or subtitles, aren’t sure if your media is captioned, or have questions, please contact us right away.  Please note that automatic captions by YouTube are not at all adequate, and should not be used.  

Please provide copies of PowerPoint slides, lab slides, class notes and other course materials to the student. The preferred method is via email. Providing them in advance of the class is strongly preferred.

Due to the student’s condition, when there’s an exacerbation of the student’s symptoms, the student may miss assignment deadlines. 

Please assist if necessary to ensure the student has a seat at the front of the classroom. 

Provide the student with all handouts in digital format. Read more about best practices for handouts. 

For some students, taking handwritten notes in class presents some barriers. When this is the case, often note-taking is provided as an accommodation. The professor should collaborate with the student to facilitate access to quality notes. Here’s more information about notetakers.

Please provide handouts to the student in at least the font indicated on the Course Accessibility Letter If no font size is provided, please check with the student. Read more about best practices for handouts.

As a result of the student’s condition, the student may be late to some classes during the semester. The student has been informed to be in communication with professors about being late, and that it is still the student’s responsibility to keep up in class. Professors have discretion over their tardy policy. 

Due to a condition, the student may need medication, food, and/or drink in class. The student has been advised that drinks need a lid, and that food should be quiet to eat, and not fragrant, to minimize disruption to the other students.

The student may need to occasionally leave the classroom for a brief period in order to attend to personal medical needs, or simply to alternate sitting and standing, or to move around a bit. The student has been asked to speak with you to determine how this may impact the student’s daily participation in your course and how such a situation might be addressed should the student need to leave the class on the day of a quiz, exam, or other required in-class activity. It is recommended that a plan/agreement be in place prior to the need to leave the classroom conflicting with course activity.

The purpose of this accommodation is to provide communication access. The interpreter will silently mouth what you and the other students say (and will add facial expression and gestures to clarify meaning), and may voice for the student. Please provide the interpreter with any handouts given to all other students in the class. The student or interpreter may request a specific placement in the class for optimal viewing and participation. Please speak with the student directly, just as with any other student. More information about working with interpreters can be found here.

Sometimes students need assistance in labs to either physically manipulate objects or to verbally describe them. The SAS will hire lab assistants to work with the students. If there are any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the SAS.

This student has environmental allergies. 

The purpose of this accommodation is to give students the opportunity to review course material in full when typing or effective pen and paper note taking is not sufficient. The student may present a number of different devices (digital voice recorder, Smart Pen, computer technology) for recording. 

When course discussion is such that confidentiality is required of all students, faculty are encouraged to discuss the matter with SAS to identify acceptable alternatives.

Please consider either calling on this student less frequently, and/or to give some notice (such as “first I want to hear from ‘student 1’ and then ‘student 2′ will be next,” which would give ‘student 2’ a moment to collect his/her thoughts.

This student may benefit from sitting in the front or back of the class, near a door, or near a window. Upon request, please work with the student to secure optimum seating for the course.

The purpose of this accommodation is to provide communication access. The interpreter will sign what you and the other students say, and may voice what the student signs. Please provide the interpreter with any handouts given to all other students in the class. The student or interpreter may request a specific placement in the class for optimal viewing and participation. Please speak with the student directly, just as with any other student. 

The purpose of this accommodation is to provide communication access. The transcriber will type or re-voice into a steno mask what you and the other students say, and may voice what the student signs. Please provide the transcriber with any handouts given to all other students in the class. The student or transcriber may request a specific placement in the class for optimal viewing and participation. Please speak with the student directly, just as with any other student. 

Having the syllabus and any handouts in advance will help remove a barrier for the student, and will enable better participation in class.

The purpose of this accommodation is to give students a more efficient and independent option for taking notes than is possible with pen and paper. It is not a reasonable accommodation for the student to use the laptop for Internet searches, social networking sites, or other uses not directly applicable to the course.

Please provide a verbal description of items that are projected, drawn or otherwise shared with the class.

For some disabled students, the traditional method of testing presents a barrier.  Students with this accommodation must test in an environment that is as free from visual and auditory distractions as possible.  Testing Services has ample reduced-distraction space for testing. There are situations where the student needs to test in the academic department (such as sign language tests or oral exams).  If testing in the academic department, please note that at minimum the student needs to test with no one else in the room, other than a proctor or professor; with a door that can be closed; with a sign on the door indicating testing is progress, and with the absence of any loud equipment, such as a printer. It is a good idea to let the student check out the room in advance of the first test, so that any problems can be identified before test time. The SAS staff are available to consult on this as well.

The purpose of this accommodation is to provide test questions in the student’s native language so that the test is measuring the student’s mastery of the material, not their comprehension of written English. 

 Understood.org 

We’re building a community where all people who learn and think differently can feel supported. Our free resources give people the tools they need to thrive — while helping them understand they’re not alone.

Classroom Accommodations for ADHD

Classroom Accommodations for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)

Classroom Accommodations for Dyscalculia

Classroom Accommodations for Dysgraphia

Classroom Accommodations for Dyslexia

Classroom Accommodations for Executive Functioning Issues

Classroom Accommodations for Sensory Processing Issues

Classroom Accommodations for Slow Processing Speed

Classroom Accommodations for Visual Processing Issues

There are many effective teaching methods for those with different learning challenges. Below are a few simple strategies that have been shown to be effective when teaching students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism.

1. Break down learning tasks into small steps. Introduce each learning task one step at a time, only proceeding once each step or concept is mastered. This is a progressive way of learning and teaching that will not overwhelm the student.

2. Modify the teaching approach. Adjust the method of teaching to make the information more memorable. Lengthy verbal directions and abstract lectures are usually ineffective when it comes to an audience retaining information, instead try presenting information in a "hands-on" or demonstrative way. By reenacting an abstract idea or planning a small activity that students can participate in or observe, it is more likely that the necessary and important information is retained.

3. Use visual aids such as charts and/or graphs. This is useful as it both provides an example for the work expected as well as the behaviors that are expected.

4. Provide direct and/or immediate feedback. This enables the student to make a connection between their behavior and the teacher's response, as well as adjust their work with an understanding of WHY it should be fixed. A delay in providing feedback makes it difficult to form connections between cause and effect, because of this the learning point may be missed.

Adcet.edu.au-  “The Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education under the Higher Education Disability Support Program and is hosted by the University of Tasmania. ADCET’s mission is to contribute to the improvement of the educational experiences and to the successful outcomes for students with disability in post-secondary education.”

NIMH.NIH.gov-  “The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders. NIMH is one of the 27 Institutes and Centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest biomedical research agency in the world.”

NACDD.org-  “The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) is the national membership association for the 56 State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD or DD Councils) across the United States and its territories. The DD Councils receive federal funding to support policy change and programs that promote self-determination, integration, and inclusion for all people in the United States with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”