Students with Disabilities Entering College
Students enrolling at Lynchburg College who seek services for a disability must self-identify to the Support Services Coordinator (SSC) in the Academic and Career Services Center on the second floor of Hall Campus Center. Many students served by the SSC previously received special services in high school from their local school districts. Others had their disability diagnosed as adults. Still others, because of a suspected disability, will work with the SSC regarding a referral for testing to find out if they do have a disability.
The documentation will vary depending upon the type of disability:
- Documentation of a learning disability requires age-appropriate intelligence and achievement tests with results, administered by a qualified psychological examiner along with other components.
- A statement of diagnosis from a medical doctor usually documents health impairments.
- Psychological testing and rehabilitation records usually document head injuries.
- Medical doctors’ statements verify orthopedic impairments present at birth or the result of later injury.
- Hearing impairments or deafness can be verified by the results of an audiogram
administered by an audiologist. - The result of a test of visual acuity documents blindness or visual impairment.
See the section Criteria for Documentation Requirements for Various Disabilities in the Student Guide.
Transition to college can be difficult for students with disabilities. Students who come to Lynchburg College after receiving services through their high schools must adjust to the different laws and services regarding access. At the elementary and secondary levels, the school district services were mandated by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, P. L. 94-142, which placed the responsibility on the school district to identify students with special needs, test them, and provide them with accommodations. Students may have been served in a resource room setting, where the ratio was one teacher to 20 students or less. It was the special educator’s responsibility to meet with the parents and faculty, draw up an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for each student, and attempt to help students meet their goals. Classroom teachers were aware of the students’ classroom goals, needs, and IEP goals and worked closely with the special educator to help students succeed.
At the college level, however, procedures change dramatically for the student with a disability. The law changes and special needs services are governed by the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Now the responsibility shifts, and the student becomes responsible for self-identification to the College. The student must find the service provider on the college campus and provide appropriate documentation of the disability. While the institution is responsible for providing the student with reasonable accommodations, it is the student who must demonstrate eligibility and ask for the services.
Self-advocacy is a skill that students with disabilities must learn and practice inside and outside of the classroom. It is our belief that students benefit when they understand the limitations imposed by their disabilities and can communicate these to their instructors. Students must also know what kind of classroom assistance will help them maximize their academic abilities. Students are encouraged to work with the SSC and approach their instructors early in the semester in order to explain their disabilities and to ask for accommodations.
Parents of students with disabilities sometimes have difficulty with their child's transition to college. The parents’ past experience of taking an active part in the Individualized Educational Planning Process changes at the postsecondary level. Because of the differences in the law, their child is now a legal adult and parents must take a secondary role. Sometimes parents are not aware of the changes at the postsecondary level and need to become familiar with legal limitations.
We encourage new students and their families to attend the sessions on support services at LC that are offered during the Summer Orientation and Registration (SOAR) events.
