[nabs-l] Accommedations Letter to Professors

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi all,

The tradition of submitting disability accommodation request letters
to professors, as far as I know, is one that mainly applies to people
who have hidden disabilities (i.e. learning disabilities, testing
anxiety etc.) where some proof from an authority is needed to confirm
that the disability is real. In the case of blindness, when you walk
into class with a white cane or guide dog there should be no question
as to the legitimacy of your disability and need for reasonable
accommodations.

I went to a school with a large and relatively custodial DSS office,
and even there  I was never once asked to submit an accommodation
letter to my professors. The DSS insisted on emailing my professors to
get the booklist, but even then they didn't use my name, so all the
negotiations went on between the professor and myself and the
professor took my word for it that I was blind and couldn't read a
print test. Generally the only accommodation I requested directly from
the professor was to be allowed to take the test on my laptop or
Braille Note and send it by email to the professor. I worked with the
DSS to obtain my textbooks, so the professor didn't have to be
involved in that process other than providing the textbook titles.

If you need a specific accommodation and your professor is stubborn
about your needing to provide a letter, then I'd say write it yourself
and get it signed by DSS if that's absolutely required. But I don't
see any need to give them a letter as a matter of course. If you need
info about textbooks in advance, just email the profs yourself and say
that you are blind and need some information about what textbooks will
be used for the course. Then on the first day of class introduce
yourself and explain what, if any, accommodations you need to request
for testing and  such. It's as simple as that and often the DSS will
make things seem a lot more complicated or rigid than they actually
are. As for following rules, while at times rules are unavoidable, in
this case you always have a choice as to whether or not you want to
follow the DSS procedures or go your own way. There are plenty of ways
to obtain course materials without the DSS and sometimes it can be a
trade-off between freedom and convenience. You should never feel
obligated to obey the advice of your DSS adviser about anything
relating to your college career if you don't want to for any reason.
You are the student, and the ultimate expert about what kinds of
accommodations you do and don't need to be a successful student.

Arielle

On 4/18/09, William ODonnell <william.odonnell1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> In regard to writing individual letters to professors, in the past, I wrote
> each professor a standard email introducing me and me also copied the DS
> office on that email.  This kept lines of communication open so
> misunderstandings were kept to a minimum.  Keep coppies of all emails so
> they can be used as evidence in proving discrimination issues at your
> college.
>
>
>
>
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