The purpose of disability services is to aid students to be successful in their academic studies and reach their academic goals, according to Tony Bryan, counselor for Disability Services.
“Disability Services aims to help any student that has a disability that affects them in the academic setting,” Bryan said. “The three main disabilities are physical, mental and learning.”
Students with physical, learning or psychological disabilities can get referred or seek out the help of Disability Services, Bryan said. First time students need to get proper medical documentation to be assisted.
Once verified, Disability Services will provide various accommodations to the student.
While accommodations vary depending on the need and the disability, the most common disability is learning disabilities. Learning disabilities include dyslexia or dysgraphia, according to Bryan. Students with learning disabilities can be accommodated with extra time on test and a distraction-reduced space.
“Disability services accommodates students in a way that they can be successful in school, Bryan said. “It doesn’t guarantee that they are going to be successful, but if they put in the time and the work the accommodations are suppose to help them overcome the challenges of the disability.”
Other accommodations include accessible furniture, alternative media, assistive technology, disability management, note-taking assistance and sign language interpreting.
Bryan encourages students who know they need help to seek out disability services. “It is a confidential service. The paperwork they send us is kept locked and will eventually be destroyed. None of the personal information is available to anyone,” he said.
While some students argue that the accommodations give some of the students an unfair advantage, Bryan said, he doesn’t quite see it like that.
“I would say that when you see the types of challenges that certain disabilities necessitate or create you see that these accommodations are appropriate and fair.”
To contact Disability Services call 512-5113 or go to Building 10 Room 421. For more information, go to www.sinclair.edu/support/disability.