Additional Information
Thank you for reading the ODS Faculty & Staff Guidelines. Below are some additional tips and resources to help better support students with disabilities.
Please contact ODS with any questions or comments. We are always happy to hear from you!
Office of Disability Services
St. Joseph Academic & Health Resource Center
Building #13, Room 107
Office: 504-520-7607
Fax: 504-520-7917
Email: disabilityservices@xula.edu
General Awareness
- Be careful not to make assumptions about an individual based on their disability.
- Life experiences, combined with the nature and duration of a disability, strongly influence the educational adaptations developed by people with disabilities.
- People with disabilities are impacted in a variety of different ways. Two people with the same disability may require very different accommodations.
- A person with a disability may appreciate assistance. However, be sure to ask first.
- Individuals with non-visible disabilities have needs that are just as real as those of persons with visible disabilities.
- Expect students with a disability to meet the same standards of performance as all other students. They are here because of their abilities, not their disabilities.
- All information about a person's disability is confidential. If having a discussion with a student about their needs, move to a private area.
- Additional information is available in the Disability Services training module.
Communication
- Use "person first" language. (e.g., person who uses a wheelchair, student who is blind).
- Speak directly to an individual with a disability and not to an interpreter or an attendant.
- Individuals who are blind are not generally hard of hearing. Don't raise your voice when speaking.
- When speaking with persons who have speech impairments, do not finish their sentences to save time and do not pretend to have understood what they're saying if you haven't. It is fine to ask someone to repeat themselves.
- When speaking for any extended period of time with a person who uses a wheelchair, sit down (do not bend or squat) so that you are at the same level.
Resources