The Office of Special Services (OSS) provides support and accommodations to students with mobility and manual dexterity impairments. With assistance, students can learn to manage the college environment successfully and reach their educational goals.
This pamphlet will provide answers to questions you may have about the nature of these impairments, support and accommodations available through the OSS, and how to make contact with the Office.
A mobility impairment is generally defined as any disability that restricts the person's gross motor functioning and which may require the use of specially constructed equipment to allow access. The effect of a manual dexterity impairment on a student's functioning depends upon the degree of impairment present.
A wide range of conditions may limit mobility and/or manual dexterity. Among the most common are partial or total paralysis, amputation or severe injury, arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. Additionally, respiratory and cardiac diseases, which are debilitating, may consequently affect mobility. Any of these conditions may also impair the strengths, speed, endurance, coordination, and dexterity necessary for proper hand functioning.
While the degree of disability varies, students may have difficulty getting to or from class, performing in class, and managing out-of-class assignments.
Physical access to classrooms is a major concern to students with mobility limitations. Those who use wheelchairs, braces, crutches, canes or prostheses, or who fatigue easily, may find it difficult moving about within time constraints posed by class schedules. Tardiness or absence may be caused by transportation problems, inclement weather or elevator of wheelchair breakdown.
Some courses and classrooms present obstacles to the full participation of students with mobility impairments. Consideration should be given to classroom seating, laboratory stations, etc., that may pose barriers to their full integration and participation. These students may also have difficulty with in-class writing assignments and taking written tests.
Students with these impairments may have to ask for assistance from library personnel when trying to access bookshelves, microfiche, and library equipment/technology or for manipulating the pages of publications. Off-campus assignments and fieldwork may pose similar problems of access. Students need to discuss in advance their special needs with their instructors so every attempt at accommodation can be made.
The Office of Special Services provides a comprehensive range of support services and accommodations that promote the full integration of students with disabilities into the mainstream college environment. Services and accommodations are individualized to meet the needs of each student, and may vary depending upon the disability and/or course content.
Marist College supports the concept of self-advocacy for all students. The Office does not provide faculty with prior notification of a student's enrollment. Requests for academic accommodations are made directly by the student.
Marist College Office of Special Services. (2003). Services for Students With Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.). [Brochure] Poughkeepsie, NY: author
