Learning Disorders

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES AND/OR ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

POLICY

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute admits qualified students without regard to age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national or ethnic origin, veteran status, marital status, or disability. In addition, Rensselaer assures disabled students of nondiscrimination and provides accommodations in its programs and services as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Students with a diagnosed learning disability and/or attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity, who identify themselves are assured of the above protections and may qualify, based on individual need, for a variety of services. The following pages outline Rensselaer’s procedures for ensuring that students with learning disabilities or attention deficit have access to, and can benefit from, the programs offered by the Institute.

IDENTIFICATION

In order to provide appropriate services and accommodations, Rensselaer attempts to identify students with learning disabilities or ADD as early as possible, employing the same procedures used to identify, on a voluntary basis, all students with disabilities.

General - All incoming first-year students receive an Enrollment Guide, which includes information about Rensselaer's services for students with disabilities. They are asked to identify voluntarily any special needs they may have by contacting Disability Services for Students in the Dean of Students Office. They are informed that documentation of their disability will be requested, and confidentiality is assured for all information provided. Transfer students, graduate students, and international students are also notified. An additional opportunity to self-identify is offered on the Student Orientation Registration Form, and an informational meeting about DSS is held at each Student Orientation session. The Rensselaer catalog also contains information about DSS, and printed brochures are available through Admissions or from DSS directly.

Other - Some students undoubtedly attend Rensselaer without making it known that they have a learning disability or ADD, while others may not be aware of it themselves. Depending on the nature and severity of their disability and the coping strategies they may have devised, their academic performance could range from excellent to failing. In some instances, students who are aware of their disability do not self-identify because they do not believe they will require services, or because they are concerned about discrimination. However, Rensselaer encourages all students who know they have a learning disability or ADD to identify themselves, even if they are unsure whether they will need any accommodations. Early planning will help students anticipate and prevent problems. Additionally, students are assured that no services or accommodations will be provided without their full consent and participation.

Some students may suspect that they have a learning disability and/or ADD but have never been evaluated and, consequently, have no records or documentation. These students may be referred to outside resources for an assessment, at the student’s expense. Rensselaer has a limited capacity to do diagnostic evaluations, and cannot guarantee availability at any particular time.

DOCUMENTATION

All students with disabilities who request services must provide documentation of their disability. Students with learning disabilities or ADD are required to provide documentation, generally referred to as a psychoeducational assessment, from a qualified professional, which verifies their diagnosis and supports their request for academic accommodations. (A “504 Plan” often does not include a psychoeducational assessment.) Rensselaer recommends that documentation be prepared in accordance with the standards issued by the Educational Testing Service, which administers the SAT exams. (For copies of these documentation standards, please contact your high school guidance department, or go to www.ets.org/disability.)

Students are encouraged to complete a full assessment prior to attending Rensselaer, generally in the senior year of high school. It is recommended that individuals who are 17 years of age or older be tested using diagnostic instruments normed for adults. Parents may wish to request this assessment as part of the student’s “transition planning” in the senior year. We may not accept an assessment that is more than three years old for students entering from high school. All documentation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and students may be required to submit an updated assessment.

SERVICES

Rensselaer offers a variety of services and accommodations to students with learning disabilities or ADD. To be eligible, students must identify themselves to Disability Services for Students and must provide documentation of their needs. DSS staff will discuss with them the services available, based on their individual needs, and will assist in arranging those services. Services and accommodations are free of charge and include, but are not limited to, the following:

Notification to Faculty - With the student’s participation, each new academic year (i.e., each fall) Disability Services for Students will prepare a personalized notification memo for each student to share with his/her instructors, explaining the need for coursework or exam modifications. It is the responsibility of each student to show this memo to their instructors each semester. Students and faculty members together make the particular arrangements necessary in each course, with the assistance of DSS if needed.

Test Accommodations - Where appropriate to the student’s documented needs, accommodations will be provided in the administration of exams, which may include allowance of extra time, provision of readers or taped exams, use of a separate room, and other modifications as necessary to ensure equal opportunity to demonstrate acquired knowledge.

Tutoring and Study Skills - Both course-specific tutoring and general learning skills development are available free-of-charge to all undergraduates through Rensselaer’s Advising and Learning Assistance Center. Most tutors are experienced, upperclass students. All tutors and assistants receive training to be able to help students with their academic program and to assist them in developing more effective learning skills. A portion of their training involves awareness of students with special needs, including students with learning disabilities or ADD. In addition, a professional staff member with expertise in learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder is available at the Advising and Learning Assistance Center to offer individual counseling to improve such skills as reading, notetaking, test-taking, and time management. To assist students in their study efforts, back tests and quizzes from previous semesters are becoming increasingly available online through RPInfo. Also available to all students, both undergraduate and graduate, is a campus program called the Writing Center. Experienced staff and graduate assistants will help students review and revise their research papers, lab reports, essays and resumes.

Taped Books - Where tape-recorded books are needed by students whose disability interferes with their reading printed materials, assistance will be provided in arranging for taped books through the nonprofit organization, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic in Princeton, New Jersey. The services of this organization are available to individuals who supply appropriate documentation of their need. Disability Services for Students will assist students in applying and paying for services if they have not done so already, and will assist students in ordering and returning materials each semester. Students should make their need for taped books known early due to time constraints in RFB&D’s procedures. If RFB&D is not able to provide taped books in a timely manner after students have made reasonable attempts to secure their services, Disability Services for Students will arrange alternative sources of assistance.

E-text – New York State law requires textbook publishers to provide electronic versions of their textbooks to students with disabilities. E-text then can be converted to voice output to assist or speed up reading. Rensselaer offers the hardware and software for students who want to create electronic voice files that can be used on a personal laptop (see also Assistive Equipment below).

Notetaking - Rensselaer uses a variety of procedures to provide notetaking assistance to students with a demonstrated need. Several options may be available, including online notes and notes provided by the professor or teaching assistant, through volunteer students, or by tape-recording of lectures. Disability Services for Students will assist students in evaluating and implementing these options. Students who request notetaking assistance will be encouraged to work with Rensselaer’s Learning Assistance Center to determine if their own skills might be improved. Rensselaer will provide paid notetakers to students with disabilities only when no effective alternative is available.

Assistive Equipment - Students may find that they can benefit from using a Kurzweil reading system (particularly for non-technical books) or voice-recognition software for dictating written work. Students can make their own electronic text/voice files for use on their laptops. A workstation, scanner, and specialized software are located in a designated room in the Library. Interested students should contact Disability Services for Students.

Counseling Services - Students who are dealing with the ordinary stresses of college life, as well as more serious personal problems or with concerns related to their disability, can receive free counseling services through Rensselaer’s Counseling Center [link] or through Disability Services for Students. Community resources, ranging from self-help organizations to nonprofit agencies to private practitioners, are also available at the student’s expense, and may be located through the Counseling Center or Disability Services for Students.

SUMMARY

Rensselaer recognizes that needs and services must be determined on an individual basis. With the student’s assistance and participation, faculty and staff will work to arrange the accommodations and services that will enable each individual with a learning disability/AD(H)D to achieve maximum benefit from his or her program at Rensselaer.

Questions and comments regarding services for students with learning disabilities and/or ADD are welcomed and encouraged. For more information, please write to Debra Hamilton, Dean of Students Office, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590, or send e-mail to dss@rpi.edu or call (518) 276-2746.