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College Assitance under the "Americans with Disabilities" act

ATTENTION TO ANYONE IN COLLEGE PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU HAVE CROHN'S OR ANY OTHER MAJOR HEALTH PROBLEMS

This is a program to help make life dealing with college a whole lot easier. If you do this program you do not have to rely on a persons "good nature" to help make life easier for you while your sick at school. This program FORCES THEM BY FEDERAL LAW to help you.

You can enroll in this program even if you are not suffering from any crohn's related problems at this time... Add it is a good idea to enroll in this program as soon as possible because you never know when you are going to have your next crohn's attack or when your going to be healthy for a long period of time...

Think of this as medical insurance for college work... Most people don't need medical insurance all the time... But when they get sick they really need it... And if you don't have medical insurance and you go to the hospital they basicly will just boot you out the door providing you don't die in the process... So treat this program/department just like you do your medical insurance. It will ONLY apply to things that are connected to the college legally though...

Unless your college has a hospital in which case it does not give you any special treatment there... At hospitals only insurance gets you special treatment or I should say treatment period...

This has NOTHING to do with federal disability money or any money in any shape form or fashion... It is just a dept that all colleges are required to have BY FEDERAL LAW to help students that have medical/mental/physcial problems...

Your college MUST have an office that deals with students with bonfide disabilities... So as long you bring them a note from your doctor stating you have an illness (in this case crohn's) you will be inrolled in their services... People with mental illness or even minor physcial handicaps can be enrolled in this porgram provided they have a offical documented letter saying that this illness can imped thier school work. It doesn't even have to be activley impeding your school work because as most of us know with crohn's you may look healthy happy normal one day then 24 hours later you are dry heaving several dyhydrated, and in the hospital getting puimped full of steriods...

So go ahead and yourself and your body a favor and enroll in this program whither you are in remission or not... Trust me you will thank me latter..

I am going to be calling Depts by what they were called at at my college, which was the Office of Special Student Services, at the University of South Alabama...

Your school will have a similar office but it's name may or may not be the same... If you want to know the name of the office for YOUR SCHOOL then check any of your teachers course sylabusses... The Sylbus should have the name of the office, its dept head, and a phone number to reach them... Please call them immedatily... DO NOT try to find this number online becasue it will generally direct you to a department that sounds like what your looking for but it is in reality compeletly different... DO NOT look up the number in the campus phone directory. Again same reason...

Also on this sylbus page is generally the Academic Honor Code... But I'm just pointing that out for refrence so you can find the page/paragraph that says in in big bold letters:

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT or something along those lines

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will be afforded reasonable accommodation. The office of Special student services will certify a disability and advise faculty members of reasonable accomendations. If a student has a specfic disability that qualifies for acadamic accomindations, please notify and provide certification from Disablity Services.
As far as the Doc note goes.. You need him to type TWO formal letters, seal them, stamp thme, and include a breif diagnonisis history. These two letters should be identical.... Do not let them give you one orginal and then a copy of that orginal.
He can also fax a copy (providing you have the right fax number) to your schools verision of the "Office of Special Student Services"... But DO NOT LEAVE THE DOCTORS OFFFICE until you have the TWO IDENTICAL ORGINAL documents in your hand...

Offical stamps seals etc do not like copy machines and will leave a big huge marks when they are copied over... That is why you do not want a copy.. Also you always want to have the orginal copy of anything if you can help it... In this case you will have an orginal copy of the letter so if they misplace or lose there copy they can make a copy of yours andhand your ORGINAL DOCUMENT back to you.

The first ORGINAL letter you get YOU keep it... Put it someplace with all of your medical records and DO NOT LOSE IT!!!

The second one you hand in person TO THE HEAD of your schools verison of "Dept of Special Student Services"... DO NOT give this to a secratary... DO NOt give this to a student worker... You tell them" This is a letter from my doctor stating that I have a bonefide medical illnesss that can potentional impede my school work."
Make sure though that the head of the deptment reads your letter while you are their and talks to you about programs that are available that can assist your schooliong needs.

After you have discussed what is available they will need you to right up a list (they have forms for this) of all the classes you are taking this semster... On this list you will right your Professors Name, his school phone Number, Fax Number, Office Room Number, Office Hours, and any other data that your proffessor lists that students can contact him at.

This is also a very good time to go and to talk to each and every one of your professors (lab profesors included) and tell them that you are enrolled in "The Department of Special Student Servcies" and that you have a bonefide illness (go ahead and say you have crohn's)... Tell them you may be perfectly fine this semster or you may be sick for 2 days or 3 weeks with a crohn's flare up...

ALSO, tell them they will be getting a letter from the "Deptment of Special Student Serrvices" stating that you are enrolled with them... It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to inform your proffessors if you are having medical problems while taking classes and that you have a bonfide medical illness...

It is also your responsbility to do all this within 2 weeks of the start of the semester... After that you may or may not get 100% asistance from both your professors and the dept...

But still go ahead and apply even if you are two weeks or later into your school semster

The "Office of Special Student Services" is just their to provide additional help where needed.

If you do all of those steps then you are now enrolled in your schools verision of "Special Student Servicies"... Once all that paper work is filled then they are required by law to help you. I qoute this from the back of one of my course policy guide lines from when I was in school..

Then you get the fun stuff... They will give you a form in which case you write down all of your professors names, office numbers. which class you are doing etc...

They willl then send a letter out to those professors saying you are in rolled in the "Special Student Services Program"... I do not think they say antyhing other than that since medical records are strictly confidential...

Next is your turn... You can do this while your getting all or your professors names, office hours etc for that paper you fill out... YOU MUST go to each professsor and tell them you are enrolled in the x program "Again for me it was the Speicial Student Services Program for me" also tell them what your disorder is (crohn's or colotis) and they will do a 180 on their impression of you and will generally go above and beyond to help make your life easier.
 
J

Janet

Guest
Do this fosho. I have a single dorm room with private bath because of this!!!! I'm also going to get priority enrollment so I can get into classes later in the morning when I generally feel better as well as note sharing for when I do miss class.
 
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