Faculty Handbook: Psychological and Functional Limitations

This category is designated for those students who do not specifically fit into the previously mentioned categories. Some of these disabilities include, but are not limited to: acquired brain injury, muscular dystrophy, kidney disease, spinal bifida, epilepsy, anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress syndrome, schizophrenia, and other psychological disabilities.

Many such disabilities are obvious, and the question then is one of the degree of accommodation and assistance required. However, there are cases in which a faculty member may have no way of knowing that a student has a disability. For example, a student with epilepsy who is taking medication may not expect to need any adaptation and may not mention his or her condition to the professor. Similarly, a student with multiple sclerosis may not feel the need to mention anything.

BMAC services and equipment are available to these students with a disability - temporary or permanent, visible or invisible.

Strategy for working with students with other functional limitations:

One good policy when unsure as to whether or not students may need accommodation is for the professor to announce at the first meeting of the class something to this effect,

"Any student who feels that he or she may need an accommodation for any sort of disability, please make an appointment to see me during my office hours".

This approach preserves the student's privacy and also indicates the willingness of the faculty member to provide assistance. This statement may also go on the course syllabus.