Individuals with Disabilities

Information for Faculty Members

Faculty with Disabilities
Faculty Syllabus Disability Statement
Interacting with Wheelchair Users
Interacting with Individuals who have Psychiatric Disabilities
Handling Confidentiality
Determining Health and Safety Concerns

The Learning Center's collection of tips on accommodating students with disabilities

Faculty with Disabilities

Please contact Teresa Belluscio to discuss your needs.

Faculty Syllabus Disability Statement

The following statement needs to be included on your syllabus, even if it is posted online in the Blackboard course. Many students print out the syllabus for reference.

If you are registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please make an appointment with the course instructor to discuss any academic accommodations you need. If you need academic accommodations and are not registered with the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, please contact the office on the third floor of the Student Services Building, by email at disserv@eku.edu or by telephone at (859) 622-2933 V/TDD. Upon individual request, this syllabus can be made available in an alternate format.

Interacting with Wheelchair Users

When addressing a person who uses a wheelchair, do not lean on the wheelchair. The wheel chair is a part of the person's personal space.
Do not assume that a wheelchair user needs assistance and always ask before providing assistance. If the offer is accepted, ask the wheelchair user for instructions on assistance and follow the instructions.
When talking to a person who uses a wheelchair, look at and speak directly to that person rather than addressing a companion.
Relax and speak naturally and do not be embarrassed if you happen to use accepted common expressions such as "got to be running along" that seem to relate to the person's disability.
When talking with a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes use a chair, if possible, to facilitate conversation and be at eye level with the wheelchair user.
When giving directions to a person in a wheelchair,consider the distance, weather conditions and physical obstacles such as stairs, curbs and steep hills.
Proper terminology should be used when referring to a person who uses a wheelchair. Terms such as "wheelchair bound" and "confined to a wheelchair" are inappropriate.
Do not assume that all people who use wheelchairs have the same limitations.
If person who uses a wheel chair has a service animal, do not pet or play with the animal. A service animal is working and should not be interrupted.
When greeting a person who uses a wheelchair, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands with that person even if he/she has upper extremity limitations.

Interacting with Individuals who have Psychiatric Disabilities

Dispel any myths about working with students with psychiatric disabilities.
- Mental illness is a disease and can be treated
- Depression and other psychiatric illnesses can be worked through with the appropriate combination of the following; a support system, counseling and medications.
- People with severe and persistent mental illness can be productive members of society.
Remember your obligation to keep disability related information confidential. Information, however, is only shared on a "need to know" basis with other instructors in relation to targeted, specific situations.
Remind students through disability statements on syllabi and if asked, that academic accommodations are given when student has completed the process to document a disability and a request for accommodation has been received.

As the EEOC noted in it's Technical Assistance Manual on Title I, (a faculty member) that believes that an individual is not an "otherwise qualified" individual with a disability because he or she poses a direct threat, must show that there is a significant, specific, current risk of substantial harm to themselves or others. The risk may not be speculative or remote and must be based on objective medical or other factual evidence concerning a particular event, contact or individual.If a significant risk of substantial harm exists, the faculty/disabilities coordinator must consider whether the risk can be eliminated or reduced below the direct threat level by a reasonable accommodation.

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Handling Confidentiality

Faculty should be prepared to handle questions from non-disabled students who perceive accommodations provided to students with disabilities as in fair advantages. Faculty may not divulge that the accommodations are provided to comply with ADA, according to the EEOC in its guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship, because this would violate the ADA's confidentiality provisions. Making such a statement by mentioning the ADA would immediately give away the fact that the person has a disability. Instead, faculty should respond that she/he meeting its obligations under federal law.

Frequently, an accommodation request is precipitated by performance problems, but performance problems do not necessarily mean an individual with a disability needs an accommodation. Do not assume that performance problems are because of an individual's disability. Instead of a disability, the problems may be due to a myriad of other reasons, including marital, financial or perhaps current drug usage. Current drug usage is not a covered disability under the ADA.

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Determining Health and Safety Concerns

Faculty can assess if individuals with disabilities pose a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the classroom or with a cooperative work arrangement, practicum or any fieldwork placement, on or off campus. (42 U.S. C. 12113 (b)). The EEOC has added the requirement that the individual not pose a threat to his or her own safety as well. The determination of risk must be made on a case-by-case basis.

Section 36.208 of the ADA, Title III, defines direct threat as a significant risk to the health and safety of others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by a modification of policies, practices, or procedures or by the provision of auxiliary aids or services, (through a reasonable accommodation).

The regulations make clear that this criterion is a stringent standard, based on an individualized assessment of a person's present ability to safety perform the essential elements of the course of the job. A decision that a person poses a direct threat must be based on medical or other objective evidence, not opinion or speculation, even if the decision maker is a health care professional (Bragdon v. Abbott).

In determining whether an individual poses a health or safety risk in the classroom or any job site, consideration must be given to:

the duration of the risk;
the nature and severity of the potential harm;
the likelihood that the potential harm will occur
the imminence of the potential harm.

Health and safety considerations probably receive the most attention in the area of contagious diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis.

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