Registration for Accommodations
Eligibility
To be eligible for accommodations, a student must:
- submit an online application for accommodation
- upload disability documentation (if unable to upload, please send to Accessibility Services)
- receive notification from an Accessibility Coordinator that you are eligible
*Please note, this notification will be sent to the email provided in the application. - schedule and attend an intake appointment with your assigned Accessibility Coordinator
Accessibility Coordinators review documentation and determine eligibility according to the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). There is no "exact formula" for determining a disability. However are the things we look for in the documentation:
- there is a chronic physical or mental condition
- evidence that the condition significantly impacts one or more Major Life Activities (such as seeing, learning, standing, etc.)
- provided by a medical, mental health, or educational professional who is licensed and qualified to diagnose, evaluate, and treat the condition
- recent enough to demonstrate an impact on current functioning or a history of similar accommodation
Application
Preferred Documentation
You may speak with an Accessibility Coordinator at any time with questions about how to best locate the type of information we need to evaluate your eligibility and provide effective accommodations.
ADHD, Mental Health, Chronic Medical Conditions and/or Sensory related Disabilities
Since Accessibility Services is interested in how your condition may impact you, we have provided a form you may share with your medical professional in order to help document the information we need.
The preferred method of documenting a learning disability is through a current, comprehensive, adult-normed psycho-educational test battery with a statement of diagnosis, functional limitations resulting from the disability, and type of learning disability. If you received services in high school, this is often contained in the Multi-Factored Evaluation (MFE). IEP’s, Section 504 Plans, or a Summary of Performance from your high school may or may not provide sufficient information. If your documentation does not meet the preferred standards, consider sending the documentation you have for review, along with documents that show the history of your accommodations.
Assistance Animals
To request an assistance animal as an accommodation, students should begin by registering with Accessibility Services through the process listed above. In addition providing documentation of your disability and how it impacts you, you will also need to provide an Assistance Animal Recommendation Form, completed by your treating medical or mental health provider.
Requests for assistance animals will be reviewed individually for eligibility by an Accessibility Coordinator, who will notify you by email of their eligibility determination and your next steps.
Please Note: After approval for an assistance animal as an accommodation, Accessibility Services will need to gather some additional information before the animal is approved to reside on campus. It is not uncommon for this process to take 6-8 weeks from the initial request to final approval.
The full policy for Assistance Animals at Ohio University can be found on the Housing and Residence Life website.