Responsibility

University Responsibility

The Office of Student Disability Services is charged with the responsibility of determining eligibility for services. Our staff works with faculty and students to find the right accommodations for you. Let us know if your accommodations are not adequate. We will work with you and your instructors to provide reasonable accommodations.

Your professors are likely to be most immediately aware of your needs for attending and meeting the requirements of their class. They want you to be successful in your college experience, so let them know if you experience difficulties. This is true whether you are temporarily disabled or have documented physical, learning or psychological disabilities.

We will work with you and your professor to make accommodations that are as simple, effective and reasonable as possible, Guidelines for exam accommodations have been given to all faculty members. The Test Assistance Form provided by this office is to be used when an accommodation is needed for an exam.

Student Responsibility

As a student with a disability, you are responsible for:

• Identifying yourself as a person having a disability
• Registering with the SDS office
• Submitting documentation supporting the existence of your disability and the ways in which the disability limits your participation in courses, programs, services, activities or facilities
• Obtaining the SDS manual and following SDS procedures to receive your accommodations in a timely fashion.

Documentation of a Disability

Documentation for a disability must be current, complete, and provided by a qualified professional.  All documentation must be on letterhead, typed, dated, and signed by the qualified professional.  Documentation varies depending on the specific disability and each student’s documentation is individually reviewed.

Minimally, the documentation must establish the current functional limitations resulting from the disability.  The documentation must provide enough information about the history, scope, and depth of the disability for the University to determine the presence of a disabling condition which significantly impairs a major life function and imposes limitation on some activity associated with the academic process. A school plan such as an Individualized Educational Plan or a 504 Plan is insufficient documentation in and of itself to determine eligibility. These school plans may be included as a part of a more comprehensive evaluative report and are often helpful in describing students’ strengths as well as possible deficits. A formal diagnosis is expected.

All documentation is reviewed by the professional staff of SDS. In some cases, students are requested to provide more documentation than originally submitted.

Documentation Specifically for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Learning Disabilities (LD).

Please refer to the following website:

http://www.sds.usf.edu