You may need a course requirement waived due to your disability. For example, some colleges in North Dakota require one credit of Physical Education. A student who uses a wheelchair may not be able to complete any of the P.E. classes offered. She could ask that the requirement be waived for her or that the school allow her to take an independent study in P.E.
You may require a modification in the course requirements. One student we knew was majoring in Art and Physical Education. She had a severe learning disability that made it very difficult for her to complete a course that required writing several term papers. She asked the professor if it would be acceptable to give a lecture and make a training video instead. The professor agreed. In this case, the student did not mention that her reason for requesting the modification was due to a disability.
You can try to obtain needed modifications in one of three ways.
1. Ask the professor, your advisor or the academic dean to allow you to take a different course or waive the requirement.
2. Ask the Disability Support Services, Disabled Student Office or other program to speak to the dean or professor for you.
3. Ask vocational rehabilitation to contact the Academic Dean's office or your professor.
Colleges are not usually very happy to change their requirements, after all, they do believe they have those requirements for a reason. However, if you are persistent, they can often be persuaded to change to accommodate a student with a disability.
Why you need to think about these issues - click here if you are interested in some facts from research on college students with disabilities. (Note: This will open up a new window. Close that window to come back to the adulhood and aging workshop.)
NEXT: When your professors ask "What do you need from me?"