Disabilities Support Services

INFO SESSIONPRESENTED BY: BRITTNEY LAWSON, DISABILITIES COUNSELOR

DSS Office Information• Location

Starnes Student Center, S-113

• Phone (423) 697-4452

• Email dss@chattanoogastate.edu

• Website https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/student-support/services/disability-support/

Staff Information•Dr. Kathy Lutes Ebel: Assistant Vice President, Counseling & Educational Support: Director of DSS: Ext. 3105

kathy.ebel@chattanoogastate.edu

•Wanda Gocher-Johnson: Disabilities Counselor: Ext. 2436wanda.gocher@chattanoogastate.edu

•Brittney Lawson: Disabilities Counselor: Ext: 4454brittney.lawson@chattanoogastate.edu

•Ronda Monroe: DSS Secretary: Ext. 4452ronda.monroe@chattanoogastate.edu

DSS Mission•To facilitate access to the full range of college programs, classes, and services for current and prospective students with disabilities.

•Enhance understanding and support within the campus community

Disabilities Statement“Students who have educational, psychological, and/or physical disabilities may be eligible for 

accommodations that provide equal access to educational programs and activities at Chattanooga 

State.  These students should notify the instructor immediately, and ideally should contact 

Disabilities Support Services (S-113, phone 697-4452) within the first two weeks of the semester in 

order to discuss individual needs.  The student must provide documentation of the disability so that 

reasonable accommodations can be requested in a timely manner.  All students are expected to 

fulfill essential course requirements in order to receive a passing grade in a class, with or without 

reasonable accommodations.”

Data•Approximately 11% of students reported having a disability

•Chattanooga State:o Approximately 300+ students currently enrolledo Veterans: ≤ 20

•It’s important to remember not everyone chooses to report their status

Source: nces.ed.gov

Registration Process•Student must self-identify/self-disclose

•Student receives appropriate information regarding acceptable documentation

•Student is assigned a counselor and given an appointment time

•Student completes an Intake Form with general information about themselves

and their disability

Registration Process, cont.•Counselor and student converse about services, modifications, and accommodations they have

received in the past, how their disability affects their daily life (limitations), strategies they have

developed or special equipment they have used, and any information they can give to help us

better understand their disability.

•Student and counselor determine together what accommodations are appropriate/effective per

course, and develop accommodation request form to send/give to instructors

•Student must provide documentation

Documentation Guidelines•Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, amended 2009

•Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

•Generally Speaking…• A qualified professional must conduct the evaluation• Documentation must be current• Documentation must be comprehensive• Services are determined on an individual basis

•Each type of disability has certain specific criteria that must appear in the documentation

*Handout: Disability Documentation Guidelines

ADA Compliance THE LAW Source: ADA.gov

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination and ensures equal

opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services,

public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation. It also mandates the

establishment of TDD/telephone relay services. The current text of the ADA includes changes

made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-325), which became effective on January 1,

2009. The ADA was originally enacted in public law format and later rearranged and published in

the United States Code.

Varied Disabilities•ADD/ADHD

•Deaf/Hard of Hearing

•Learning Disabilities

•Cognitive Disabilities

•Chronic Health Impairments

•Mobility

•Psychological/ Psychiatric Disabilities

•Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injury

•Visual Impairment or Blindness

•Autism Spectrum Disorder

•Veteran’s Affairs office (on campus) works together with DSS

•All Veterans are on one counselors case load

Veterans

Types of Accommodations•Note: No one accommodation is right for every student.

•There is no perfect combination that works for each and every student.

•Each student is unique and is given the right accommodations to match their learning needs.

•Accommodations must match the disability

•Least intrusive

Accommodations, cont.•Adaptive equipment

•Extended time (time-and-a-half, double time)

•Reduced distraction environment

•Reader/Scribe

•Oral & Sign Language Interpreters

•Digital voice recorders

•Note-takers

•Enlarged print material

•Book’s on CD or e-book

•Kurzweil software

•Voice Recognition Software (i.e., Dragon)

•Screen reader software (i.e., Jaws)

•Closed Captioning

•Texts in Braille, audio, and large print formats

…and others.

Student’s Role•Must identify/register themselves with DSS office

•Provide appropriate documentation

•Revisit assigned counselor each semester to adjust & implement accommodations

•Be a self-advocate

Instructor’s Role•Ensure disabilities statement is on syllabus

•Keep Accommodation Requests for their own files

•Ask questions and provide feedback if necessary

•Deliver tests to appropriate office if student is testing in DSS office or Testing Center

•Adjust timers for online courses to reflect extra time or extensions

•Recruit student note-takers in course/section

DSS Role•Advocate to the instructor what accommodations are requested

(Accommodation Request Form)

•Modify accommodation plans as needed

•Advocate for students with disabilities and teach self-advocacy skills

DSS Do’s•Determine eligibility

•Provide services to qualified students with disabilities who need reasonable modifications in order to gain equal access to the college’s programs and activities

•Assist the faculty in their responsibility to accommodate eligible students with disabilities in their classes

•Serve as readers, scribes, interpreters, and proctors for extended time and reduced distraction environment testing

•Tape-record assessments

DSS Do’s, cont.•Instruct use of assistive technology

•Covert hard copy texts to other formats

•Serve as liaisons between faculty and students

•Teach workshops on study skills, time management, organization, test-taking, and note-taking

•Recruit students to serve as note-takers for students with disabilities

•Collaborate with VR, VA, Deaf Services and other agencies to coordinate services

DSS Don’ts•We do not lower the standards, waiver or reduce any essential requirements of the course. We will not jeopardize the integrity of the course

•We do not have special classes for students with disabilities

•Provide personal assistants, aids, tutors, or financial assistance

•Issue handicapped parking decals(Security Office)

•Process Physician’s Certification of Permanent and Total Disability for students seeing fee waiver(Admissions & Records)

Questions?