Students with temporary illness or injury are not considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and DSS is NOT obligated to provide accommodations for temporary disabilities. However, DSS will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to students who identify to our office on a case to case basis (please note that accommodations cannot be applied retroactively). Temporary disability is defined as a transitory impairment with an actual or expected duration of six months or less. Some examples of temporary disabilities addressed by these guidelines include broken extremities, hand injuries, post-surgical recoveries, concussions, etc.
For students who have a temporary injury or illness, DSS encourages them to first talk directly with their instructors to discuss their temporary impairment prior to contacting DSS to determine what, if any, reasonable arrangements can be made with the instructor(s). In many cases, students with a temporary disability do not need to come to DSS and can work informally with their instructors to get the support they need. If the student’s temporary injury/disability is obvious (i.e. cast, crutches, sling, etc.), DSS encourages instructors to informally work with students related to their impairment. Reasonable amount of absences due to temporary disability will need to be discussed directly with the instructor(s) by the student. If a student is expected to be out for an extended period of time, it may be necessary for a student to seek a leave of absence or course withdrawal as outlined in CTC’s policies.
Students may consult with DSS after talking with their instructor(s) if any additional reasonable accommodations may be needed beyond what instructors may be able to provide. DSS may be able to provide some reasonable support services to eligible students with temporary conditions on a case by case basis. The eligibility process for a temporary disability is the same as for permanent disability cases (student must complete our DSS Student Intake eform and attach appropriate medical documentation to the eform for review).
The documentation for a temporary disability must include ALL the following information:
- Type of disability, severity, limitations, prognosis and estimated duration of the condition
- It is also helpful to know any adverse side effects caused by medication
- Must list recommendations for accommodations
- The documentation must be on an official letter head, dated and signed by the treating health care provider (provider must be qualified to make the diagnosis)
DSS may require student to provide additional medical documentation to verify the need for continued accommodations after the estimated duration of the condition has expired. DSS will determine if any appropriate/reasonable academic accommodations are needed after reviewing the student’s submitted medical documentation.
Reasonable academic accommodations, if any, will be determined by the type of temporary disability, medical documentation and through an interactive process with the student.
Accommodations are NOT retroactive Examples of possible accommodations:
- Audio recorder for lectures
- Extended testing time