Medical disability friendly colleges

Parents Forum
1

I have two children with genetically-based medical disabilities who require at times physical or global accommodations (e.g, changes to dorm assignments, access to missed classes, extensions. ) Recently I was disheartened to read an article about a student with this kind of illness at Harvard. Apparently, Harvard has done very little to accommodate her, and she is thinking of leaving. http://thetab.com/us/harvard/2016/02/01/living-cystic-fibrosis-harvard-2094

Therefore I thought it would be useful to hear of other people’s experiences with these kinds of disabilities, I’d love to learn the on-the group situation from those who are already attending colleges or their parents. And please do name names as I would like to know which colleges excel in this domain, and which do not.

The kind of accommodations I imagine would be useful are: lecture capture or some other form of skype viewing, note taking services, assignment/test extensions for prolonged illness, preferential registration, preferential dorm rooms (ones with AC, ones without fumes, singles), and reduced course load without financial aid consequences. A plus would be things like advocacy clubs for people with disabilities to congregate and support each other.

Please note in this thread I am particularly interested in medical (or physical) longterm disabilities. There are other threads regarding ADHD/Learning disabilities/mental health issues.

Also – keep in mind what is listed on websites doesn’t give the whole story. I am interested in what is successfully implemented – not what is claimed on websites. See Harvard article above to get a sense of how the reality can be discrepant from the claims.

Thanks!

2

Although this is not completely on point, my friend’s daughter broke her leg right before she began at Hampshire College. They changed her to a single room on the first floor and arranged for her to have access to books in class so she didn’t have to carry them to the lecture halls. My friend felt that the school was very accommodating in an emergency situation, so if it’s the type of school that’s on your children’s radar, it might not hurt to contact them and see what can be worked out.

I don’t know if there’s a disability awareness club, but it seems like the type of school where that sort of thing should exist.

I wish that I could have sent my D there.

3

What bout a college like Mitchell or Curry?

4

In our experience, Harvard offered extraordinary support and understanding, as well as accommodations, for a student with multiple chronic conditions- and yes, financial aid extended for any extra time spent on campus as a result of reduced course load. Health services runs a support group.

It is important to know how to work the system, however, and freshman year can be bumpy for that reason. Once in a house, the deans are very helpful. And once in a department, things go easier too, especially in a smaller department.

I once read the AEO (the disabilities office) termed “guard dog of the curriculum.” Meaning, their job is more to filter requests so as to preserve academic standards and prevent undue financial or administrative burdens for the university (all of which are in the language of the law as reasons they do not have to accommodate). It can be helpful to take medical leave if things are really bad, but there are also other staff who will make things work along with MD’s and other medical professionals.

Feel free to PM me.

My feeling was and is that we should not make choices on this basis. Every school needs to accommodate our kids, and if they are not doing a good job, they will learn they have to! It is tiring and stressful to do advocacy especially if there is a delay in help for our kids, but in theory anyway, our kids should be able to make choices just like everyone else, based on size, location, academics, and “vibe.”

5

I can’t help with your question directly but IMO it would be worth having your child get in contact with the Office of Disability Services before visiting a college to be sure his/her needs can be met by the school. And then when you visit colleges, you should make an appointment with the Office of Disability services to discuss in person the particular accommodations your children need, what documentation they need to give these accommodations etc. It adds a step (or two) to the already difficult college search process, but will probably be worth it in the long run.

6

Happy1 – thanks for the advice, but to be honest that is not the kind of visit my children would want to have prior to acceptance, for various reasons. Post-acceptance I am certain we will do some of that direct interviewing. Also my experience with doing this many times from the other side (working at Universities) is that without a doctor’s letter in hand, not much can be promised. Furthermore what is promised sometimes is not what happens.

7

Most people I know wait to contact or visit the Office for Disabilities until after acceptance, when requests and documentation have to be submitted. (It helps to write your own letters and lists of accommodations for the MD to sign!)

I would try to give your kids a “normal” visiting experience. Conversations with the Disabilities Office at the preliminary stage aren’t all that helpful. I mean, they are required to provide certain accommodations.

It is good to know that in the US (the student in the article is Canadian), the standard for accommodation is lower at the college level than the high school level. The reason for this is that technically, high school is compulsory (and public usually). The standard for college is that accommodations cannot substantially change the academic program, and cannot cause undue financial or administrative burden for the school. Case law is establishing precedents slowly for this murky wording.

Sometimes the problem is that schools have a fairly labyrinthine system for administering accommodations. It is a mistake to think that the Office for Disabilities is going to be the main office to rely on : ) Deans, professors and health services are often key.

8

It sounds like you already do this…but please make sure your student is a good self advocate. Also, he or she needs to be willing to access help from the disabilities office…and get assistance that is in his plan. Unlike HS, he won’t have a case manager or parent whose responsibility it is to intervene on his behalf (although as a parent, please have him sign releases so you CAN speak to people if needed).

9

A kid from our area who had been in a severe accident (partially paralyzed, in a wheelchair) is getting good support at USC.

10

I may not be a parent, but this thread sparked my interest. If I may offer a student’s prospective…I’m in high school with a documented physical disability currently planning on taking DE classes at the local community college.

Colleges, in my experience, are WAY more accommodating than high school. For example, I had a meeting with a disability advocate and she is even helping me in “training” for these services. It’s honestly so wonderful.

If your student wants note taking help, there is always a student who can take notes for them. Furthermore, you can also request hard copies of professor notes and PowerPoints. There is even an “Note taking pen” which has a voice recorder and when you press on your notes, it recalls that part of the lecture! And, of course, extended time as well as small room testing if you prefer.

Anyway, my point being is that colleges are so much better than high schools with accommodations. They have so many more choices for accessibility, so no need to worry about that.

One thing to note though, is that it honestly depends on the child if the school is a better fit. For example, (as noted above) advocating. If your student is not out of the “shy zone” yet and not comfortable about talking about their disability (I used to be this way), you may want to consider a smaller school. It always helps having a tight community to lean on, and honestly it would probably feel more “trustworthy” if they are still trying to develop their advocacy.

The biggest difference my advisor told me was that you HAVE to advocate for yourself. Because colleges have different rules regarding disclosure of disabilities, the students have to tell the professors themselves. This means, that unlike in high school, where all of the teachers know everything they need to know, in college the professors will not be aware of ANYTHING unless you tell them.

Lastly, I would look up rankings for the best colleges for students with disabilities. This is a real eye opener.

I hope your son/daughter has a good time in college! :smiley:

P.S. Don’t base one person’s experience on how good the program is. Please be very open minded about that.

11

Wellesley is a mixed bag. My daughter had an emergency hospitalization, then had to have surgery. Her professors and health services were very encouraging and supportive, even allowing her to take her exams and finish papers at home over the break. One of her friends has juvenile RA, and some of her profs weren’t so accommodating when she needed more time to complete her work (stress can cause a flare.) It seems to me that it’s up to the individual professors there, and I imagine this is the case at other schools, too.

12

Massmom- did the friend work with the Dean first before approaching individual professors? I have a friend who found Wellesley extremely accommodating… but starting with professors vs. an administrator is usually a haphazard way to approach a chronic condition. It’s not like getting mono sophomore year where a kid might be fine in the classes with a final exam but needs an incomplete for a research paper- a chronic condition ought to get flagged at the top before the semester even begins. If a student is healthy for the entire semester- great. If not, there is already a documented request for accommodations.

13

A friend’s daughter has generally had a good experience getting accommodations at Franklin and Marshall College in PA. She was able to have first floor single room if she wanted one. She was able to take short term medical leave, even for a few days, if she was having a flare up of symptoms, which would knock her flat at times. She also was able to get accommodations with scheduling testing and finals, attending class, etc. She ended up needing to take several longer term medical leave periods (needed to take off a full year for issues and surgery, and had to withdraw for medical reasons mid semester another time). Her professors were generally very flexible in allowing make up of missed work, some was handled on line, sometimes she arranged to make up work on breaks. Occasionally she would get some resistance from a professor, largely because she does not appear to be disabled at first glance, but the Dean who was her point of contact was willing and able to intercede on her behalf, if she was having difficulties working out issues.

I am not sure of the financial piece, I think her parents purchased tuition insurance at some point. She has been able to attend full time at F and M, outside of her medical leave periods, so I don’t know how they would handle a part time situition. They are a 100% meets need institution, so perhaps more flexible financially than some colleges.

14

Colleges must follow the law, ADA. It is easier if your child received special services in HS and has documented medical evaluations on file. Once admitted, it is vital that your child meet with the Dean or Director who coordinates ADA compliance and discuss what accommodations may be needed or anticipated. Each school may have their own rules as far as type of documentation necessary and time period when evaluation was last done to file the paperwork necessary to receive services. I would suggest contacting the schools as early as possible after admission in case you need to have new evaluations completed. This all falls within HIPPA guidelines as well.

15

But realistically, schools do vary in how helpful they are. And picking a campus that is accessible can be helpful. Too spread out, too hilly, or bad weather can make it harder for students with some physical disabilities.

16

As an example…when we visited Pepperdine, I remember thinking how difficult the campus would be for someone who had a physical walking disability. It’s on a huge hill…lots of steps, lots of uphill and downhill walking.

The college can make accommodations, but they can’t change the trrrain of the campus.

Also, yes…the schools MUST adhere to ADA guidelines. But it’s not like HS where there is a case manager, and an IEP that is shared with all teachers…with learning goals and objectives, and accommodations to attain those.

The accommodations are done with the disabilities office…but really, the student needs to be a good self advocate as well.

Some schools are designed to deal,with students with various disabilities. That’s why I mentioned Mitchell and Curry.

17

My friend’s daughter went to Brandeis and they were very good about accommodations for housing. Daughter complained that some professors weren’t helpful. I didn’t think the things the professors required were difficult (sitting in a certain row if using a laptop, for example) but she did. I know other kids who have had issues with dining plans (they have to pay for a plan even if they don’t eat most of the food because of medical reasons) The schools always claim they can accommodate dietary needs, but often the students don’t like the options.

I actually think bigger schools might be able to accommodate more of the things you’ve listed like video access to lectures, more sections of the same course to allow a make up lecture on the same day, more types of housing. Sometimes smaller schools just don’t have the resources.

18

A friend has been very happy with the way Grinnell has dealt with her kid’s needs (physical disability) and their disabilities office. This goes for dorm accommodations as well as classroom ones. Also it’s not a huge campus and it’s flat.

19

I’m sure what the gamut of disabilities the OP is referencing, but son 3 found no problem with getting notes, copies of powerpoints, tutors for the 100 and 200 level classes (which he didn’t need but were offered) and separate accommodations for testing. He does not have any physical disabilities as the student referenced in the Harvard piece. I’m not so sure he could have successfully gotten “extensions” or what the expectation would be for “missed classes.” My advice is if the disability is severe it would be best to find the college or university that is willing to work with the student and NOT wait until there is an acceptance in hand to start trying to figure out how to make it work. But I’m an outlier in that thinking I suspect. Or perhaps find a uni that has alot of on-line classes. My son’s roommate had a mental and physical setback last year and took one semester on-line in the college town in his off campus housing while he recovered from an illness that made it difficult for him to get to and from classes and sit through classes.

20

The smaller size and relatively flat campus was a factor in my friends’ decision to send their D to Franklin and Marshall. It was a good choice for many reasons so, including being about 1 hour away from her parents’ home. They were able to bring her home for medical appointments or recuperation days when needed. Her mom would also go up periodically to help with laundry, or help clean her room, which she could not always take care of herself due to her physical limitations.