Office of Disabilities Services (pictured above) provides students with various disabilities accommodations with their testing. Some students raised issues of communication and proper support from staff at the office. These difficulties have discouraged some from seeking assistance. (Catherine White/Editor-in-chief)
The Office of Disability Services has been open to criticism since 2012 when a self-study report by former college president Christopher Dahl indicated there were concerns from students and faculty on the lack of support from the office to students. Various students who use the office have expressed concern with its value.
Assistant Dean for Disability Services Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, who declined to comment for this article, said that she believed the ODS was “adequately meeting the needs of students with disabilities with the resources it currently has,” according to an article published by The Lamron in 2017, “Faculty Question Availability of Disability Services,”
One student—who requested that The Lamron withhold their name—experienced consistent difficulties in receiving the proper assistance they needed.
“In the formal sense of communication, I have never had an issue contacting disability services,” the student said. “The main issue lies in addressing my needs to the disabilities office and then having them be responsive to those needs.”
Sometimes, the student’s difficulties with navigating the ODS created even more problems.
“I feel that taking a test is stressful enough, and the added stress of the handling taking that test with the disabilities office just creates another obstacle to overcome,” the student said. “More often than not, the disabilities services are adding stress as opposed to helping with things. I also find that the environment of the disabilities office is not welcoming. I never walk in there at ease.”
According to the ODS, their goal is to “maximize student success, self-advocacy, and independence in an accessible academic environment.”
Professor of education and coordinator of the Learning Independence, Vocational and Education Skills program Leigh O’ Brien believes that the office could rework aspects of its goals.
“While this statement appears to comply with the letter of the law, and is, of course, important to have in place, it represents a very narrow understanding of disability,” O’Brien said. “I believe the ODS should take a much broader view of how to support our students. In fact, the need to prove that one is ‘disabled’ is inherently problematic, especially when being labeled is a prerequisite to receiving needed services.”
“More often than not, the disabilities services are adding stress as opposed to helping with things. I also find that the environment of the disabilities office is not welcoming. I never walk in there at ease.”
Business administration major senior Kitrick McCoy organized a student ambassadorship during the 2017-2018 academic year that focused on how the college addresses disability services.
“Those students who have disabilities here on campus are inherently intelligent, considering that they were able to get into the college,” McCoy said. “Therefore, those students do not to be remediated. The traditional disabilities services model is such that it identifies a weakness, and we need to find a solution—it is very medicalized.”
“[To receive accommodations through the ODS, documentation is required that must] establish the presence of substantially limiting condition and describing its current impact on your academic access.” This information is necessary to identify possible accommodations, according to the ODS.
“We must look at it as a strength-based talent approach that says, ‘you have these strengths and these talents, how can we support them?’” McCoy said. “I rebrand the word disabled in my model to twice exceptional; a term that was created in the 1990s to redefine individuals who have disabilities as having a disability, plus having a gifted intelligence, together.”
“Those students who have disabilities here on campus are inherently intelligent, considering that they were able to get into the college. Therefore, those students do not to be remediated. The traditional disabilities services model is such that it identifies a weakness, and we need to find a solution—it is very medicalized.”
Specific disabilities mentioned on the ODS website are acquired brain injury, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, deaf/hard of hearing, learning disabilities, chronic health conditions, concussions, mobility impairments, neurological disorders, psychological conditions, temporary impairments and visual disorders.
Other students, like business administration major senior Isabelle Orlando, believed that there are better college disability services out there.
“I transferred here and at my previous institution there was a program for students benefitting from disabilities services and they were so helpful communicating with my professors my needs,” Orlando said. “Here, you are completely liable as the student, and it makes it more difficult to get things done.”
ODS coordinates reasonable accommodations that may include advisement, note taking, sign language or oral interpreting, alternative testing—extended time, distraction reduced environment—relocation of class to an accessible location or other accommodations deemed appropriate.
“There is room for improvement and growth here in the Office of Disability Services, as in any sort of business and organization,” McCoy said. “I think that working to incorporate some of the new innovative findings that I have worked to produce would really improve student retention, outcome, success and satisfaction here at Geneseo.”