Parent, Guardian, and Families Information
Going to college can be a significant transition for both student and family—an exciting time but one that can also raise concerns for all involved. Students with disabilities, along with their families, need to understand what it means for a student with a disability to transition to a college or university, and what steps they need to take in order to receive support from our office.
Helping My Adult Student Succeed
Students who are eligible for accommodations must self-identify with our office and provide documentation of disability. A college student is an adult in the eyes of the law; thus they are solely responsible for initiating the accommodation process. For parents and guardians, it may be difficult to accept this new role, especially if you are concerned that your student might not initiate or follow through with the process. But with your support, this change creates an opportunity for students to advocate for themselves. Learning self-advocacy can then lead to a successful transition into adulthood as students learn to absorb these new responsibilities.
After college, your student will have to articulate the nature of their disability and assert the right to accommodations in the workplace. For legal, practical and developmental reasons, now is the time for your student to accept this responsibility and begin practicing self-advocacy.
Students may hesitate to contact our office for a variety of reasons. Some may want to leave behind any disability-related stigma they feel or have concerns about being labeled. Ultimately, your student must decide whether to seek accommodations, but you can encourage them to adopt a positive attitude toward their diagnosis and affirm their independence by reminding them that you trust their decision-making abilities.
Parents, Guardians & Families at Intake Meetings
At the college level, the interactive intake meeting is designed as a 1-1 meeting with the student and the staff member only in order to empower the student, allow for self-advocacy and autonomy, and reduce disability stigma. Authentic conversations are cultivated in the 1-1 setting. Students are experts on themselves and need to be trusted to pave their own path, including providing insight into their own experiences and explaining what they want/need.
If you would like to help your student prepare for an intake meeting, great ways to do so include making sure they understand their disability diagnosis, helping them to identify and write down questions ahead of time, or helping them to jot down topics they want to discuss.
At the start of the Intake meeting, students may alert the staff member if they wish for a family member to briefly attend the end of the meeting for a summary. Follow-up meetings are also designed to be on a one-to-one basis.