Document Type

Report

College

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Department

Occupational Therapy

Degree

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Report Date

2022

Faculty Mentor

Wells, Erin

Doctoral Experiential Coordinator

Latour, Debra

Abstract

"Students with disabilities (SWD) are an increasingly prevalent population in post-secondary education (PSE) settings (Jirikowic et al., 2013). These students are entitled to reasonable accommodations/modifications through section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), when they register with the school’s Disability Services (DS) department. Previous research has shown that when SWD use available supports they are more likely to complete their courses (Petcu et al., 2021). However, it has also been found that this population struggles with self-advocacy, and navigating the many available campus resources, with some lacking awareness of resources altogether (Accardo et al., 2018; Kreider et al., 2015). A mixed qualitative/quantitative research study was conducted, which involved collection of data through an online survey. This study sought to gain insight into the types of support these students tend to use, their perceptions toward effectiveness of resources/support, and determine if they have a need for additional resources to enhance their success. Responses from 4 undergraduate WNE students registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) indicated that they tend to want support for academic matters, and find the academic support they receive does reduce their stress. However, their responses also indicated a potential lack of awareness of available resources, or hesitance with self-advocating, which results in underutilization of support."

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