DSPS Intake Meeting: What to Expect

Students who apply for Disability Services may be unsure of what to expect when they meet with a Disability Counselor.  Here are a few things to know before you attend your meeting:

• Your meeting with Disability Services is your chance to share your experience with your disability. While we will have read your application and reviewed any documentation you have provided, this is your opportunity to share the impact your disability has had on your educational experiences.
  
  
• We will typically start by asking you a few questions to get to know you better before asking you to share specifics about your disability.
  
  
• You will have a chance to share how your disability impacts all aspects of your academics and what barriers you may face in class, during exams and quizzes, and how it may affect the out-of-classroom activities required of your program.
  
  
• During the Intake/Eligibility Meeting, you may be asked what you think would be most helpful to address the barriers that you have described. It is okay to say you are not sure. You and the counselor will brainstorm what might be helpful and what resources may be available to you on campus.
  
  
• If you have received accommodations in the past (at another college or in high school), share what has or has not worked.
  
  
• The outcome of the meeting and interactive process is to determine your eligibility for disability services and to develop an accommodation plan. This includes obtaining your signature on forms to acknowledge that you understand and agree to the college’s policies and procedures.
  
  
• In preparation for your intake meeting, please note the following.  There is a significant difference between the laws that govern the K-12 system and those that govern the postsecondary setting. Therefore, there may be some differences in the accommodations that you received in high school and the ones you are approved for in college. This is because the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) covers students with disabilities in postsecondary settings and focuses on student access. Students with disabilities are provided with accommodations that remove barriers in the academic setting to help ensure that they can participate equally. However, the goals and standards that students with disabilities are required to meet must remain the same as the goals and standards that students without disabilities are required to meet. The bottom line is the K-12 legal standard is success and the legal standard for college is access and equal opportunity to participate. This legal standard is applied in the process of considering and approving accommodations.
  
  
• Some accommodation requests may require an additional meeting with a Learning Disability Specialist.
  
  
• Finally, your intake meeting does not have to be your only meeting with Disability Services. We encourage you to meet with a disability counselor as often as needed to discuss new challenges that you are facing as a student and/or to address barriers that you are experiencing. You are required to meet with Disability Services annually at the minimum to review your academic progress.