In the pursuit of a college education, many students rely on the Office of Disability Services to provide equal access opportunities to all students.
Stacey Guidry, director of Disability Services, consults students who visit her office on their individualized needs. “They bring in their documentation based upon their diagnosis,” she said. “We will then talk to them about their appropriate accommodation.”
Federal and state laws differ in college than elementary and secondary schools. In order to make accommodations, elementary and secondary schools must be notified of children with disabilities and impairments. In college, privacy laws prevent administrators from asking for this information.
Nicholls faculty is prohibited from asking a student about his or her situation, and students seem to be unaware of resources and services or afraid to come forward. Informing all students of the available resources and services is the only way the Office of Disability Services can convince students who have special needs to come forward.
Guidry said accommodations are not specific to every student with the same disability. “One person diagnosed with ADD doesn’t necessarily get the same accommodation as another person with ADD,” she said. “Accommodations are individualized.”
At the Office of Disability Services, computer-assisted technology for reading and writing, training on study techniques and time management and a distraction-free study area are among the resources provided. Moving a class to a wheelchair-accessible classroom is also advocated through the department.
Students who have difficulty writing lecture notes use a student volunteer note-writing service. The volunteer is allowed early class registration for the next semester for his work.
Students with and without disabilities are further connected to each other through the organization Beta Sigma Iota. According to the Disability Services pamphlet, the student group acts as the social, leadership, intellectual and advocacy arm of the department.
Sarah LeBert, creative writing junior and secretary and treasurer of Beta Sigma Iota, works in the Office of Disability Services daily, providing support for her fellow students. “I am a student. You are a student. I am here to help anyway I can,” she said. “We are the voice for students with disabilities.”
To recognize Disability Awareness Month in October, the Office of Disability Services and Beta Sigma Iota plan Disability Awareness Week at Nicholls. On Oct. 6 and 7, students can participate in forums, watch videos on disability awareness and visit booths from various community agencies in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union.
Also during Disability Awareness Week, University staff and students can participate in Empathy Day, experiencing a day in the life of someone with an impairment or disability. They go to class in a wheelchair, wear earplugs or blindfolds, have arms put in a sling or read a class assignment where words are mangled. “We want students to understand what it is like to have a disability,” LeBert said.
Guidry is available to speak to students and answer any of their academic or daily challenges, whether or not the department can help. “Some students come to college and say that it isn’t for them. However, if students find the support they need, they can be successful,” she said. “There is no reason to be intimidated to ask for help.”
Guidry is also encouraged by the faculty response to help special needs students achieve success at Nicholls. “I can’t say enough about the faculty. They have been so supportive,” she said. “I’ve had parents tell me if your child has a disability, this is the school to attend.”
For more information on the Office of Disability Services or to join Beta Sigma Iota, visit 100-A Peltier Hall, call 448-4430 or visit www.nicholls.edu/disability.
