Welcome to this presentation of the BCC’s Office
of disability Services, where we provide services for all of BCCs students who have
documented disabilities. I am Cindy Poore-Pariseau, a coordinator of disability
services and I will spend the 7 minutes helping you to become familiar with who we are
and how assist students with students with disabilities. After reviewing this presentation, I
encourage you to contact our office with any questions, comments or concerns you may
have. The mission of the Office of Disability Services is
to provide support services that enable students with documented disabilities to
fully participate in the life of the academic community. When working with students, our learning
specialists:
Recommend strategies to capitalize on students’ strengths and to compensate for
learning weaknesses.
We Determine classroom accommodations on an individual
basis and, although we do not conduct testing for
a disability, we can
Screen students referred by faculty and staff
disability. If you have a student in your class who you think
may have a disability, you should express your concern to the student in terms of the
behavior you have observed, but avoid using the term “disabled”. Feel free to contact the ODS for
information or guidance. Also, you may complete the ODS Request for Academic Needs
Assessment, which can be found in the shared file. We do ask that you let the student
know you are completing the needs assessment prior to submitting the form so there
are no surprises when we contact the student. When a student presents you with a Pink
Accommodation Plan, please know that the
student has disclosed a disability and has provided the
ODS with documentation that details the student’s needs and supports the
accommodations listed on the plan. You may
want to discuss the accommodations with your student to ensure
that you each have the same understanding about what the accommodations mean for your
class. Finally, please be sure to file the forms in a safe place that will ensure confidentiality for
the student. Do not hesitate to contact your student’s learning specialist if you
have any questions. The name of the Learning Specialist will be listed on the
accommodation plan. Some of the support services provided to
students as mandated by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act include: books and course
materials in alternative formats such as audio or electronic texts; extended time and
reduced distraction on exams; readers, interpreters, note takers or note sharers, approval
for guide dogs on campus and a variety of additional supports that allow students
to access course materials. Additional support services that you may see that
are not provided by ODS, are tutoring, classroom attendants that have been approved by
ODS, readers for personal study, personal assistance and individually prescribed devices. A student in your class may require extended time
for exams. How is that fair to other students? This type of accommodation
addresses a legal mandate and eliminates a competitive disadvantage. All accommodations
we provide keep BCC in compliance with the law and upholding the law is a shared responsibility. The AT or Assistive Technology Lab provides
qualified students with access to tools and equipment necessary to allow access to your
course material. Often students will also take exams in the AT lab because it is a relatively
quiet, distraction reduced area. There are many assistive technologies available
to qualified students in the AT lab. Examples are CCTV’s for enlarged text,
Kurzweil 1000 and 3000 for text to speech, JAWS screen reader for students who are blind
and Dragon Naturally Speaking with offers speech to text. When you have questions, comments or
concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at x2955 in Fall River; x4011 in New Bedford or
x2996 in Attleboro. You may also email us at disabilityservices@bristolcc.edu. We look
forward to assisting

OFFICE OF DISABILITY SERVICES Frequently Asked Questions Bristol Community College Fall River, Massachusetts Our Mission bcc1 The Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides support services that enable students with disabilities to fully participate in the life of the academic community. The Office of Disability Services… Recommends strategies to capitalize on strengths and to compensate for learning weaknesses. Determines classroom accommodations on an individual basis. Screens students referred by faculty and staff for a disability. What can I do if I think that a student in my class has a disability? Express concerns to student Avoid using term “disabled” Utilize the ODS for information Complete and submit a “Request for Needs Assessment” form to the ODS, after speaking to the students How should I to respond when a student gives me an Accommodations Plan? Accommodations are based on: student disclosure supporting documentation demonstrated need You may discuss accommodations with student File form in a safe place to ensure confidentiality Commonly Provided Support Services (as mandated by section 504) Audio books/text Classroom materials in alternate media Extended time on exams Readers Interpreters Notetakers/Notesharers Assistive Technology Guide or service dogs in class or on campus Supports that allow for access Commonly Provided Support Services (not mandated by 504) Tutoring Attendants Readers for personal use and/or study Other services of a personal nature Individually prescribed devices A student in my class requires extended time for exams. How is that fair to other students? Law addresses need Eliminates a competitive disadvantage Institutional compliance Shared responsibility NonDiscrim Why do some students request to take an exam in the AT Lab? The Assistive Technology Lab is dedicated to providing all qualified students with access to the equipment and tools necessary to allow for access to course material. The Assistive Technology Lab Available equipment: Closed Circuit TV Text Magnifiers Kurzweil 1000 Text to Speech Reader Kurzweil 3000 Text to Speech Reader Jaws Screen Reader Dragon Naturally Speaking Speech to text reader Where to Go when you have questions The Office of Disability Services welcomes your questions. To reach us, please call x2955 in Fall River; x4011 in New Bedford or x2996 in Attleboro. You may also email us at disabilityservices@bristolcc.ed u askaquestion.jpg