CAN I STAY HERE Reasonable Accommodation Higher Educations

CAN I STAY HERE? Reasonable Accommodation: Higher Educations Response to Students with Mental Disabilities Andrew Hong, Krista Watson, Rebekah Garner

Outline Purpose Learning Outcomes Define Disability Reasonable Accommodation Privacy/Confidentiality Define Suicide and PTSD Symptoms/Statistics Case Law/Studies Referring/Resources Bibliography

Purpose To educate new employees about standards when dealing with students who have disabilities What the university and higher education law says about reasonable accommodation

What we need to know Learning Outcomes: After attending this session, new professionals will: Be able to explain 2. Be able to identify behavior symptoms of students who are suffering from suicidal thoughts or PTSD 3. Be able to refer students to campus resources for help 1.

Dictionary Definition Disability lack of adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability; incapacity. a physical or mental handicap, esp. one that prevents a person from living a full, normal life or from holding a gainful job anything that disables or puts one at a disadvantage: His mere six-foot height will be a disability in professional basketball. 4. the state or condition of being disabled. 5. legal incapacity; legal disqualification.

ADA Definition Disability has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities has a record of such impairment is regarded as having such impairment. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 42 U. S. C. §§ 12101 et seq.

Reasonable Accommodation Rehabilitation Act Section 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 29 U. S. C. § 794

Reasonable Accommodation Cont. Jed Foundation Reasonable accommodations are modifications to an Institutions of Higher Educations (IHE) rules, policies, or practices that are designed to provide a student with a disability with an equal opportunity to meet academic and technical IHEs are required to offer reasonable accommodations when requested by a student with a disability except when the student only meets the “regarded as” part of the disability definition To some extent, whether a specific accommodation is reasonable or not can depend on the circumstances.

Unreasonable Accommodation Jed Foundation An IHE is not required to modify its rules, policies, or practices to the extent that these modifications would “fundamentally alter” the essential nature of its programs. The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that an IHE need not compromise essential academic and technical requirements for any student. For example, an IHE is not required to make fundamental changes to its core degree requirements. An accommodation is also considered to be unreasonable if it places an “undue burden” on the IHE, such as a significant difficulty or expense.

Privacy/Confidentiality FERPA – Student Rights Education Record

Privacy/Confidentiality FERPA – info disclosed without student consent emergency situations to “appropriate parties, including parents any school official with a legitimate educational interest Student a dependent of his/her parents or guardians for federal tax purposes once this status is verified If a student under 21 has violated an IHE’s alcohol or other drug use policy another IHE “in which the student seeks or intends to enroll or is enrolled provided the purpose of the disclosure is related to the student’s enrollment or transfer. ” Information about a disciplinary action taken against a student for conduct that put him/herself or others at risk of harm “Final results” of a disciplinary proceeding conducted against a student who is an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense

Suicide the intentional taking of one's own life. a person who intentionally takes his or her own life.

Symptoms Warning signs that an individual is imminently planning to kill themselves may include the person making a will, getting his or her affairs in order, suddenly visiting friends or family members (one last time), buying instruments of suicide like a gun, hose, rope or medications, a sudden and significant decline or improvement in mood, writing a suicide note. Contrary to popular belief, many people who complete suicide do not tell their therapist or any other mental-health professional they plan to kill themselves in the months before they do so. If they communicate their plan to anyone, it is more likely to be someone with whom they are personally close, like a friend or family member. http: //www. medicinenet. com/suicide/page 4. htm

Symptoms continued… Individuals who take their lives tend to suffer from severe anxiety, symptoms of which may include Moderate alcohol abuse Insomnia Severe agitation Loss of interest in activities they use to enjoy (anhedonia) Hopelessness and persistent thoughts about the possibility of something bad happening http: //www. medicinenet. com/suicide/page 4. htm

Statistics The rate of completed suicide for college students, according to a major study of suicides on Big Ten college campuses (1997) was 7. 5 per 100, 000. It is estimated that there are more than 1, 000 suicides on college campuses per year. One in 12 college students have made a suicide plan. In 2000, the American College Health Association surveyed 16, 000 college students from 28 college campuses. 9. 5% of students had seriously contemplated suicide. 1. 5% have made a suicide attempt. In the twelve month period prior to the survey, half of the sample reported feeling very sad, one third reported feeling hopeless and 22% reported feeling so depressed as to not be able to function. Of the 16, 000 students surveyed, only 6. 2% of males and 12. 8% of females reported a diagnosis of depression. Therefore, there a large number of students who are not receiving adequate treatment and/or who remain undiagnosed. http: //www. suicidology. org/web/guest/stats-and-tools/fact-sheets

PTSD a mental disorder, as battle fatigue, occurring after a traumatic event outside the range of usual human experience, and characterized by symptoms such as reliving the event, reduced involvement with others, and manifestations of autonomic arousal such as hyperalertness and exaggerated startle response.

Symptoms recurrent re-experiencing of the trauma (for example, troublesome memories, flashbacks that are usually caused by reminders of the traumatic events, recurring nightmares about the trauma and/or dissociative reliving of the trauma) avoidance to the point of having a phobia of places, people, and experiences that remind the sufferer of the trauma and a general numbing of emotional responsiveness chronic physical signs of hyperarousal, including sleep problems, trouble concentrating, irritability, anger, poor concentration, blackouts or difficulty remembering things, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, and hypervigilance to threat http: //www. medicinenet. com/posttraumatic_stress_disorder/article. htm

Statistics PTSD has a lifetime prevalence of 7%-30%, with about 5 million people suffering from the illness in any one year. Girls, women, and ethnic minorities develop PTSD more than boys, men, and Caucasians. Approximately 7. 7 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 3. 5 percent of people in this age group in a given year, have PTSD can develop at any age, including childhood, but research shows that the median age of onset is 23 years. About 19 percent of Vietnam veterans experienced PTSD at some point after the war The disorder also frequently occurs after violent personal assaults such as rape, mugging, or domestic violence; terrorism; natural or human-caused disasters; http: //www. nimh. nih. gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index. shtml#Dohrenwend accidents.

On/Off Campus Resources Student counseling center Student health service Resident hall director, dean, academic advisor, tutor, or faculty Campus religious or spiritual leader Community mental health center Local crisis center or hotlines National Suicide Prevention Helpline: (800) 273 -8255 (TALK) Isn’t only for suicidal students http: //www. ulifeline. org/main/Home. html

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