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| Get together with the Coordinator
of Student Support Services to talk about your documentation and fill
out the Notice of Disability form or letter. You should fill out a
request each semester asking that it be sent to the professors of
any classes in which you think you might need accommodations. Then,
if your form indicates that you qualify for accommodations, here's
how to arrange for those you decide to request: |
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After your instructors
have received the Notice of Disability, discuss your need
for extra time on exams and any other information that you
think will be helpful to them. Then you will need to remind
each professor at least a week before an exam (two weeks if
it is a final exam) about the accommodation and find out how
he/she would like to handle it.
For Example--
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Some professors
like you to come in early for a "head-start" on the exam. |
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Others like
you to hand in the exam with everyone else, return to
their office with them, and then resume taking the
exam somewhere in the vicinity. |
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Some would prefer
that you come to the Student Development Center to have
the exam administered. (Be sure to arrange this with Student
Support Services at least a week in advance so that we're
sure to have a room for you!) You need to find out if
your instructor will drop the exam off at our office or
if he/she would like you to bring it in a sealed envelope
to our office at the time of the exam. |
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have dysgraphia or visual/motor problems, this accommodation
can be very helpful. Even if it is mentioned on the Notice of
Disability form that has been sent to your professors, a week
before the exam (two weeks in the case of finals) remind your
professors about this accommodation. |
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The professor may prefer that you take the
exam near his/her classroom. The Student Development Center
has three Macintosh laptops that may be used for this
purpose. Pick up a computer from us before the exam (be
sure to reserve it a week ahead of time!) We will give
you a blank disk either to turn into the professor or
to print from in his/her department. |
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If the professor
would prefer it, you may arrange to take the exam in the
Student Development Center. In that case, find out if
he/she will drop the exam off at our office or would like
you to bring it in a sealed envelope to our office at
the time of the exam. (Be sure to arrange this with us
at least a week in advance so that we're sure to have
a room for you!) |
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| Even if this
accommodation is mentioned on the Notice of Disability form
that you have given your professor, about a week before the
exam (two weeks in the case of finals), remind your professor
about this accommodation. |
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The professor
may prefer that you take the exam near his/her classroom,
which is fine. |
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Or your instructor
may prefer that you take the exam in the Student Development
Center. In that case, find out if he/she will drop the
exam off at our office or would like you to bring it in
a sealed envelope to our office at the time of the exam.
(Be sure to arrange this with us at least a week in advance
so that we're sure to have a room for you!) |
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| Students who either have
trouble taking notes in class or aren't able to pay constant
attention to the lecture while taking notes may request this
service. If a notetaker is listed as an accommodation on your
Notice of Disability form, here is the way to go about getting
one: |
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Fill out the "Request
for Accommodations" form and turn it in at the Student
Development Center. The office will E-mail your entire
class (including you) and ask for a notetaker (without
mentioning who needs the notetaker), explaining the expectations
and the rate of pay. We will screen those who respond
or ask for advice in choosing the most appropriate person. |
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Some students like to choose their own notetaker,
and that is fine: just send that person to the Student
Development Center to fill out the appropriate paperwork.
Many juniors and seniors use this method because they
know a lot of the people in their classes and know who
will be reliable. |
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| Notetakers usually come to our
office after class, make a copy of their notes, and leave them in
a little plastic basket with your first name on it near the front
of the office. (Graduate students may want to arrange for a different
pick-up point.) You can come by later and pick them up. You need to
work out with your notetaker how often you want the notes -- after
every class? Once a week? Only before exams? -- and make sure you're
both clear on that. |
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| Another category of accommodation
you may request involves a notetaker who also meets with you about
once a week to talk through the notes and concepts covered in your
textbooks or class. This is your chance to do a "perception check"
-- to make sure you've really understood the concepts presented in
books and lectures. Since most LD students tend to be good interactive
learners, this is the chance to solidify their knowledge by having
the opportunity to talk it through one-on-one with someone else who's
studying the same material. Students with hearing or visual difficulties
can also benefit from this additional exposure to class material with
the chance to clarify information. You can obtain a notetaker/tutor
as described above in the section about notetakers. The notetaker/tutor
is paid a flat rate of $42 for the term. They are paid an additional
hourly rate for the discussion sessions. Be sure let the office know
that this person is doing double-duty so we can give him/her the correct
time cards. |
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| If help understanding
the subject matter is your main need, you may want to request
a tutor. Here's how: |
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The first place
to look for a tutor is through SAAB-- the Student Academic
Affairs Board tutoring program which obtains lists of
tutors from each academic department. The SAAB office
is in Tempelton near the Information Desk. Outside the
SAAB office door is a bulletin board on which the departmental
tutors are listed with their phone numbers and e-mail
addresses. This is the first place to check for tutors,
since they are ready and waiting to tutor any students
who request it. They are allowed up to two hours of tutoring
per student per week, but if tutoring you takes them above
their limit, the Student Development Center will pay for
the extra time. |
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If there is no
SAAB tutor listed for a particular department or if they
are all booked up with other students, you may ask your
professor to suggest another student tutor, and the Student
Development Center will employ the suggested student if
the SAAB office cannot. |
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You may also ask
staff in the Student Development Center for assistance
in finding a tutor. We can check the class list for former
tutors or advertise in an effort to track someone down.
Students at Lewis & Clark tend to be generous about tutoring
and there is a tradition here of helpfulness --don't feel
embarrassed about asking for a tutor. |
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| If you have problems with
proofreading your own work, you may want to request the services
of a trained tutor who can be instructed to help you "clean
up" the paper. The proofreader will go through your paper with
you, explaining where and why changes are needed. |
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The Writing Center
develops a list of its student consultants each semester
who are willing to work with students with disabilities
during off-hours to check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation
errors. (Ideally, you have already worked in the Writing
Center with a consultant on organization and content!)
The Writing Center keeps a list of these students
with their phone numbers; you can pick up the list at
either the Writing Center or the Student Development Center. |
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A few days in
advance, when you know that you will have a paper in its
next-to-last draft, you may call and arrange a meeting
time with these students that fits into both of your schedules. |
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These students
are paid for their time by the Student Development Center,
and you can send them to the office to fill out the appropriate
paperwork. |
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| If time management is
a problem for you, there are a variety of ways to seek help
in organizing yourself at Lewis & Clark: |
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The Counseling
Center can help you set up plans for yourself; you can
make an appointment by calling x7160 (the office is on
the ground floor of Templeton under the Trail Room; its
entrance is next to the Health Center). Be sure to tell
whomever you work with that you have a learning difference. |
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Another way to
improve your organization is to set up a weekly appointment
with the Coordinator of Student Support Services for a
half-hour "check-in" time. Sometimes it helps to review
plans regularly with someone else and to problem-solve
with that person if things start slipping. |
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The Writing Center
(x7505) is another good source of organizing help, especially
with papers. You can even go to the Writing Center as
soon as you receive a paper assignment and lay out your
plan of attack on a calendar with one of the consultants
there, so you've got a timetable to follow in finishing
the paper. You can check in with the consultant on a regular
basis and get feedback on your research and writing as
you go along. You need to make appointments in advance
in the Writing Center (on the main floor of the Library),
and it's also a good idea to let the consultant there
know that you have a learning difference. Begin your work
there with the Director of the Writing Center, (there
are peer consultants too), because she is trained and
experienced in working with students with learning differences.
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| If your Notice of Disability
recommends taped texts, it's definitely worth your while to
try them out. |
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Submit your list
of classes (with course numbers and names of professors)
with your name, box #, phone #, and e-mail address to
the Operations Assistant in the Student Development Center
on the request form. Within a day or two she can let you
know which books are already available on tape from Recordings
for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB & D), and she'll order
them for you. For the texts that aren't available from
RFB & D, we ask that you make a prioritized list of the
books you feel are most important for you to have on tape
and when you need them. We will arrange to have student
readers on campus put these on tape. Because of the time
factor involved, we need to know which books to put on
tape first so that you have the ones you need the most
when you need them. If you have trouble with the
RFB & D tape recorders or tapes, come and ask us for help.
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| There is a program on
the Macintoshes in Throckmorton that will read text aloud to
you. There are a couple of ways in which it can be useful: |
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Writing:
You can write a paper and then put it into Ultimate Reader,
and it will read it back to you, highlighting words
or lines as it goes. You may be able to catch grammatical
errors or awkward sentences as you listen. |
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Reading:
You can scan handouts or reserved materials onto a disk
in the library (ask workers there to help with that if
you run into problems) and then take the disk to Throckmorton
to be read to you. You have over 20 voices to choose from
and you can adjust the speed of the reading too. In addition,
you can move selected text out into another file as your
"notes" to study later. |
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NOTE:
There should be headphones in the Throckmorton lab and
instruction cards for using Ultimate Reader in the file
drawers there; if not, let the Student Support Services
Staff know. |
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| The Circulation Desk in
the library maintains a confidential list of students with disabilities
who are allowed to pick up a key to Room 343, which is located
on the third floor. This room contain adaptive computer equipment
which can be used by visually impaired, physically disabled
and learning disabled students. Dragon Naturally Speaking is
software installed on one computer that allows a student to
dictate material which the software writes into a word processing
program. The student may use the keyboard or voice commands
to correct errors. The computer can also read text back to the
student- a good way to check for errors. The software needs
some practice time to 'learn' each student's voice patterns,
which it saves for future use. It is a good idea to arrange
for a training session with the Student Support Services Technical
Assistant, whose phone number is posted in Room 343. |
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| The Circulation Desk in
the Library maintains a confidential list of students with disabilities
who are allowed to pick up a key to Room 343, which is located
on the third floor. This room contains adaptive computer equipment
which can be used by visually impaired, physically disabled
and learning disabled students. The Kurzweil 1000 software is
designed to help visually impaired students by reading aloud
scanned text. The CCTV enlarges text on another screen. If a
student is unfamiliar with this technology, it is a good idea
to arrange for a training session with the Student Support Services
Technical Assistant, whose phone number is posted in Room 343. |
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| At the time that you and
the Coordinator work on your Notice of Disability form, you
should discuss your experiences in studying foreign languages
and the implications of your documentation, which may allow
you to substitute the foreign language requirement with International
Studies courses. |
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Foreign
language courses: If you want to study a foreign
language at Lewis & Clark, and your documentation suggests
that it will be very difficult for you, be sure to discuss
accommodations and strategies that you can use to be successful
in the foreign language classroom. We can help you find
and pay for tutors if SAAB tutors are not available. Keep
up communication with the professor in your course; he/she
may have valuable suggestions for strategies that will
help you be successful. |
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Substitutions
for the courses: If your documentation indicates
that a substitution for foreign language courses is a
suitable accommodation, you need to fill out a Petition
for Modification of Requirements (forms are in the Student
Development Center) and turn it in to the Coordinator
of Student Support Services, who then notifies the Registrar
of your option to substitute International Studies courses
for any of the semesters of foreign language that you
have not completed. You will be responsible for making
sure that you substitute the correct courses for the language
requirement during your stay at Lewis & Clark, in addition
to meeting the General Education requirement for two International
Studies courses. Acceptable International Studies courses
are listed in the Registration Announcements each year.
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As you can see, we need your
active involvement in helping us provide you with the best accommodations
possible for your particular needs. Please don't be shy about checking
back with us if you ask for assistance and it doesn't seem to be coming
quickly enough.
We need your participation and suggestions
to make our operation run as smoothly as possible, and we welcome
your input. |
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