Services for Disabled College Students

However Accessible, Students Must Develop Problem-Solving Skills

Sep 27, 2009

In this interview, Kathy McGillivray, Director of Disability Services at Bethel University, puts the concept of accessibility in context for disabled college students.

When Kathy McGillivray was a student, few colleges had offices dedicated to serving students with disabilities. Since passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, however, expectations for what accommodations disabled students can expect have changed dramatically.

McGillivray, who is blind, earned a B.S. in Pastoral Studies from North Central University (Minneapolis) and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.)

For the past 10 years, McGillivray has been Director of Disability Services at Bethel University in St. Paul in which capacity she helps students with physical, sensory, and learning disabilities develop strategies to adjust to college life.

In this interview, conducted by telephone from her home in Minneapolis on September 22, 2009, McGillivray says her role, executed without assistants, is often caught between accommodating students while trying to instill self-reliance.

K.M. My role is to ensure that we are in compliance with the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, that students are receiving reasonable accommodations, and that Bethel is a community that is welcoming to students with disabilities.

Reasonable Accommodations on Campus

K.M It can be many things, such as giving a Learning Disabled (LD) student extra time to complete tests, providing a private room for one with Attention Deficit Disorder, or showing blind or LD students where they can get textbooks on tape or CD.

It would not be reasonable, for example, to insist a school to hire a guide for a blind student with limited mobility, or for an LD student with weak expository skills to request all tests be multiple choice. Also, it’s not the school’s responsibility to provide extensive training on adaptive aids.

Expectations High for Disabled College Students

K.M. There are also a lot more resources, types of accommodations, and enlightened attitudes about disability that has raised expectations for disabled students, who are entering careers they never have before. At the same time, I worry that our culture of accommodation exerts far less pressure on students to develop problem-solving skills. Universities accommodate because they don’t want to get sued, but too often, I meet students who clearly lack skills, particularly with technology, that they should have acquired in high school.

What is the most important thing disabled students can do to succeed in college?

K.M. Be prepared. Consider each task associated with daily living and learning and ask, “How am I going to do it?” If you’re ADD and your parents have always woken you up or reminded you of obligations, you’ll need a new system. If you’re in a wheelchair and the laundry room is down a flight of stairs, you’ll have to seek out a solution.

K.M. I often recommend books, including Learning Outside the Lines, written to ADD students. I also point students to websites of organizations such as the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), which offer disability specific resources.

McGillivray says disabled students who succeed in college understand that, while schools must be accessible, students must be creative and flexible to work within the scope of reasonable accommodations, even if they are not what they expected.

The copyright of the article Services for Disabled College Students in Special Needs Education is owned by Andrew Leibs. Permission to republish Services for Disabled College Students in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.