Disability Services Resource Guide

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Accessing Disability Resources for Faculty and Staff at Carnegie Mellon

Accommodations
and Services

What Faculty Members Should Know About the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Guidelines on How Faculty and Staff Can Assist Students with Disabilities

Frequently Asked Questions

Campus Resources Contact Information

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do for a student who has a disability?

Any qualified student with a disability is entitled by law to reasonable accommodations according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. If a student identifies himself or herself as having such a disability, TAs and instructors can ask if the student has an instructor memorandum which documents the disability and describes the accommodations to be made. If not, contact Larry Powell, EOS Coordinator, at x8-2013 or you can facilitate this process by including a statement on your syllabus that invites students with disabilities to meet with you to discuss their needs.

Here is an example of a syllabus statement:

If you wish to request an accommodation due to a documented disability, please inform your instructor and contact: Disability Resources, 102 Whitfield Hall 412.268.2013, lpowell@andrew.cmu.edu, as soon as possible.

How can I help students find course-specific tutoring? Are there resources specifically for students who have difficulty with writing, study skills or time management/organization?

Academic Development sponsors individualized Peer Tutoring in addition to Supplemental Instruction for selected courses. Other services offered include, writing and study skills workshops and assistance with time management / organization. For more information about Academic Development contact Linda Hooper, 412.268-6878, Coordinator of Academic Development, or stop by the office at Room 212 of 4902 Forbes (the former student center / Navy building) for details.

Students looking for tutors should also contact their departments, since some departments keep a list of students who are available to tutor for an hourly fee. The Intercultural Communication Center offers a writing clinic for non-native speakers which can be of particular help to many undergraduates.

What should I do if I have a student who appears to be having personal problems that interfere with his or her work?

Contact Counseling and Psychological Services in Morewood Gardens, E-Tower, 412-268-2922. Counseling and Psychological Services maintains a presence in the Center as a comfortable, inviting place which attends to the personal, emotional, interpersonal, developmental and psychiatric out-patient needs of students in and out of the classroom. The Center is staffed by qualified, credentialed professionals who possess demonstrated expertise in responding to the ongoing psychological and developmental needs of college students. If further help seems useful, the primary source of referrals for students having personal difficulties is the Office of Student Affairs (8-2073), which can provide a liaison for that student's college to connect the student with appropriate support, counseling, or resources as needed.

What should I do about a student who doesn't seem to be able to manage his or her academic workload?

Referrals might then be made to any of the following to assist the student academically: the student's academic advisor, the college's office of academic advising, the Associate Department Head, the Assistant or Associate Dean of the student's college, or the Coordinator for Academic Development, as described under "What can I do for a student who needs to work on study skills?"

What should you do if someone has a convulsive seizure?

If a person has a seizure, call the Campus Police at (412) 268-2323. Be sure to give the specific location on campus. At all times stay with the person who is having the seizure to protect them from injury. If you are alone, the priority is to stay with the person and call out for help.

Follow these simple steps:

  • Keep calm and reassure other people who may be nearby. Stay with the person until the seizure ends naturally or ask someone else to do so.
  • Gently turn the person onto their side. This will help keep the airway clear.
  • Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp. DO NOT restrain the person.
  • Put something flat and soft, like a folded jacket, under the head.
  • Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make breathing difficult.
  • Do not try to force their mouth open with any hard implement or with fingers. It is not true that a person having a seizure can swallow his or her tongue, and efforts to hold the tongue down can injure the teeth or jaw. You can lose a finger if you put one in the mouth.
  • Look for a Personal Identification and/or Medical ID that identifies the person as having a seizure disorder or other medical condition or problem.
  • Be friendly and reassuring as consciousness returns.

What does a seizure look like? Do they last long?
It often starts with a hoarse cry caused by air being suddenly forced out of the lungs. The person may fall to the ground unconscious. The body stiffens briefly, and then begins jerking movements. Bladder or bowel control is sometimes lost. The tongue may be bitten. A frothy saliva may appear around the mouth, caused by air being forced through mouth fluids. Breathing may get very shallow and even stop for a few moments. Sometimes the skin turns a bluish color because the lower rate of breathing is supplying less oxygen than usual. The jerking movements then slow down, and the seizure ends naturally after a minute or two. After returning to consciousness the person may feel confused and sleepy. In some cases, only a very short recovery period is required, and most people can go back to their normal activities after resting for a while. For others, recovery may require 20-30 minutes. For further information, contact Anita Barkin at Health Services at (412) 268-2157.