College Disability Services brochure.txt

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University of Louisville Autism Center at Kosair Charities 

1405 E. Burnett Avenue 

Louisville, KY 40217 

 

Office:502-852-4631 Toll free:800-334-8635 ext. 502-852-4631 

Website: www.louisville.edu/education/kyautismtraining 

College and Autism 

Steps to Success 

 

Advocate 

Before applying to college, students need to become 
familiar with services that have worked well for them in 
high school in order to discuss the need to have similar 
accommodations in college classes. It is important for a 
student to be able to clearly communicate in their 
interview and/or on their application with the disability 
resource center the connection between a specific 
barrier and how a requested accommodation would 
provide access. 

 

Apply to College 

Students with disabilities can receive accommodations 
on the ACT and SAT college board tests. The ACT and 
SAT both have documentation requirements to obtain 
accommodations. Contact each organization to learn 
about their specific requirements. Also, some colleges 
may require a placement test. Contact the college 
disability resource center to inquire about accommoda-
tions on entrance tests and also pre-college counseling 
services. 

 

Contact the college disability resource center 

Students need to be familiar with the documentation 
requirements of the college disability resource center 
and set up an appointment to review their documenta-
tion and arrange accommodations before the semester 
begins. Also, student�s need to know how often they 
need to meet with the disability office to arrange 
accommodations. 

 

Stay Informed 

If the college disability resource center has a newsletter, 
listserv email, Facebook, Twitter, Google + or any other 
social media accounts 
students should subscribe 
to sign up to receive 
messages from the center 
to stay informed about 
campus activities, oppor-
tunities and changes. 

 

Relax 

Remember to enjoy this 
exciting time in a student�s life and the opportunity it 
brings to enhance knowledge and personal growth! 

Kentucky Autism Training Center 

Accommodations 

 

What types of accommodations do colleges provide for 
students with disabilities? 

 

College accommodations are tailored to individual 
student needs based on their disability and many other 
factors including requests made by the student. Accom-
modations are used to provide equal access to education 
for students with disabilities. Some examples of types of 
services offered by colleges to assist students with 
disabilities may be: 

 

. 
Distraction-Free Test Environ-
ment 
. 
Extended Test Time 
. 
Note Takers 
. 
Audio Textbooks 
. 
Audio Recorded Lectures 
. 
Sign Language Interpreters 
. 
Academic Tutoring 
. 
Academic Advising 


 

These are examples of typical 
academic services provided by college disability resource 
centers. However, these are not the only services disabil-
ity resource centers offer and they may not be offered by 
all colleges in Kentucky. Student�s need to work with 
their college disability resource center to identify services 
their school offers in which they are also eligible. In 
addition, accommodations are also offered in campus 
housing and parking. 

 

Accessing Disability Services 
at Kentucky�s Public 
Postsecondary Institutions 

This information was adapted from materials developed by the following 
sources: Education.gov, the Kentucky Department of Education, Asso-
ciation on Higher Education and Disability, CollegeBoard.org (SAT), 
American College Testing (ACT) and an assessment of all disability 
resource centers at 4 year public postsecondary institutions in Kentucky 
and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). 


Each year many students 
with autism and Aspergers 
decide to continue their edu-
cation beyond high school 
and attend two and four year 
colleges or vocational 
schools. Although getting 
into college may seem a daunting experience, staying 
in college can also become a challenge. Accessing 
accommodations in college can help students with 
disabilities defeat these challenges and succeed as 
college students. 

Legal Rights 

 

Although you may be familiar with student rights 
under the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act (IDEA) 
and Section 504 of the 1973 
Rehabilitation Act from working 
to receive education services 
while in high school. Student 
rights to a free appropriate edu-
cation under IDEA end with 
high school graduation and 
IDEA laws do not apply to stu-
dents with disabilities attending 
postsecondary institutions. 

Students at postsecondary institutions are covered 
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and 
Section 504 (Subpart E). The purpose of ADA and 
Section 504 (Subpart E) laws are to ensure that stu-
dents with disabilities are not discriminated against or 
denied access to any program or activity at a public 
institution. 

College students are entitled to reasonable accommo-
dations at postsecondary institutions; however, they 
must identify themselves as having a disability. In 
addition, students must submit the college with 
documentation of their disability in order to receive 
accommodations. 


Identify. Document. Access. 

Disability Resource Centers 

 

The role of the college disability resource center 
is to administer and oversee student disability 
services on campus. Students will be asked to 
submit documentation to the disability resource 
center and a meeting will be arranged to discuss 
eligibility and accommodations the center can 
provide. 

 

What to expect? 

 

A student may be asked to provide written 
verification of their 
disability from a medi-
cal practitioner (Doctor, 
Psychologist, etc). The 
written documentation 
must be current and the 
school may even require 
it to be written on offi-
cial letterhead showing the license number of the 
medical practitioner. Also, some colleges may 
require certain tests to be taken to document a 
specific type of disability. Every college has 
their own set of standards and some may require 
more or less information than another. It is im-
portant for prospective college students to 
contact the disability resource center of the 
college(s) they are applying to and ask for their 
specific documentation requirements. 

 

What is documentation? 

 

Documentation provides the college with a 
written and verified description of a student�s 
disability. Every college has a different set of 
standards and requirements for documentation. It 
is important for a student to familiarize them-
selves with these requirements. Documentation 
provides the college with a range of information 
about a student�s disability. In general, it de-
scribes the nature of the disability, date of the 
first diagnoses, relevant tests and results, sever-
ity of the disability, current method of treatment, 
recommendations that may help the student in 
the classroom and any other information that the 
college may possibly need to document the 
student�s disability. 

 

High School 

College 

 

 

Identify 

School district 
identifies a stu-
dent with a dis-
ability who is 
eligible for 
services 

Student has to 
self �identify 
their disability 
and need for 
services 

 

 

 

 

Document 

School district 
develops a legal 
document called 
the Individual-
ized Education 
Program (IEP) 
that schools must 
follow 

Student provides 
college disability 
office documen-
tation of their 
disability to 
request services 

 

 

 

 

Access 

Student needs are 
identified by the 
school district in 
the IEP and 
school provides 
services 

Student must 
self-advocate 
and work with 
the college 
disability office 
to identify 
appropriate 
services 



Comparison of High School and College 
Disability Services 

 

Can a students high school Individualized Education 
Program (IEP) be used in college? 

 

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 Plans or 
Transition Plans do not provide the appropriate information 
colleges need to determine and 
document a disability. Therefore 
these forms are not accepted as 
disability documentation; however� 
they may be useful for providing a 
history of accommodations that were 
effective in the past to help a student 
work with the disability resource 
center in planning their accommoda-
tions in college.