How can the family support a student with a disability?
College can be a difficult time for family members, and more so when a diagnosis or impairment is present. Here are some ways family and support partners can encourage the growing independence of their college student, and some things to avoid.
Students requesting accommodations may need documentation that verifies a disability or diagnosis to receive accommodations. The student's case manager/school counselor or school district records department can provide a copy of the student's IEP or 504 Plan, when applicable. Other forms of documentation, such as a psycho-educational evaluation or a provider's letter, can also be used to support a student's need for accommodations. Supporting documentation should establish the fundamental limitations of the student's diagnosis/condition in relation to academics. More information about documentation can be found on the Documentation Guidelines page.
Documentation can be uploaded with the student's accommodation application, delivered to EAS on the main campus Houston Hall suite 108, or by emailing it to [email protected].
Students are fortunate to have family advocacy in K-12 as well as a team of individuals that are knowledgeable about the student's learning strengths and weaknesses. Students need to be able to advocate for their learning needs. This means equipping the student with information of what their diagnosis is and how it impacts them as well as strategies that have or have not worked for supporting their learning.
Some Questions to Consider:
- Does my student know how to manage their condition? (e.g. medications, triggers, etc.)
- Does my student know what area of their learning is impacted by their specific learning disability - reading, writing, math, processing, memory, etc.?
- Does my student know what accommodations they have received and why?
- Does my student know their learning weaknesses and how to get help for them? (e.g. poor organization, deadline tracking, etc.)
Help your student understand the answers to these questions so they can advocate in their classes and future careers.
DO NOT -
- Exclude your student from IEP or 504 meetings.
- Withhold information about a diagnosis or condition from your student.
College can be intimidating, but students that are successful advocate for their learning. Help your student build confidence when asking for help:
- That may mean standing by them until they are comfortable, but let them do the talking.
- That may be role-playing scenarios to work through anxieties.
- That may be creating outlines or templates for them to start from.
DO NOT -
- Call on behalf of your student - how else will they learn college ready independence?
Students can add family members to an Information Release Consent form once the student has been registered with EAS. This is different than the Release of Information through the student's MAV profile. EAS is not able to provide information regarding specific disability services even if a Release of Information is on file through MAV zone.
Initiation of adding a family member to the Information Release Consent must come from the student. The student can call or email EAS for assistance in finding this information on their AIM profile once registered with EAS.