Explore new offerings from Disability Resources and Services

Starting college is an adjustment for any student. And if you’re a student with disabilities, it also means learning to navigate a newer, more self-driven accommodation process.

To help ease that transition, Disability Resources and Services (DRS), located within the Office of Institutional Engagement and Wellbeing, held its first orientation program for incoming students earlier this month, connecting them with staff and resources before classes began.

Leigh Culley, assistant vice chancellor for accessibility and DRS director, said the new orientation was designed to help make the office’s offerings more accessible to students.

“The transition from high school to college can be a significant adjustment for students, particularly for students with disabilities who must navigate self-advocacy and the accommodation process,” Culley said. “DRS created the orientation program to connect with students before they arrive on campus, reinforce their role in accessing accommodations ... and help them feel more prepared and supported as they begin college.”

The office also puts out a monthly newsletter during the fall and spring semesters, covering academics, getting around campus and internship opportunities. Students can subscribe or read past issues.

We asked DRS to share more of its new and under-used offerings, plus some general tips for first-year and transfer students who may need the office’s services.

Start with the application

Everything runs through registering with DRS, and it begins with an online application and documentation of your disability. You have to start that process yourself — a parent can’t do it for you. From there, DRS sets up a meeting with an accessibility coordinator, either in person or remotely. You’ll talk through how your disability affects your academic life, and you share as much or as little as you’re comfortable sharing.

Accommodations aren’t pulled from a standard menu. The coordinator works through your individual needs case by case, gathering the relevant details to figure out how to alleviate the barriers you’re running into. Come ready to talk specifics about where you could use help. Speed up the paperwork by familiarizing yourself with the appropriate guideline documents and forms.

Re-request your accommodations every term

This is the step students most often miss, Culley said. Being registered with DRS doesn’t put your accommodations in place automatically, and each semester you have to request a Disability Notification Letter that spells out your accommodations for the instructor for every class where you need them.

DRS has an overview video showing how to request yours. Build it into your start-of-term routine along with buying books and finding your classrooms.

Ask about a mentor

Culley says the office’s most underused offering is Panther Peers, which pairs first-year and transfer students with disabilities with upper-class mentors who have disabilities of their own. Mentors offer friendship and guidance built on first-hand experience, Culley added, and help foster community, connection and leadership.

Throughout the year, participants have additional opportunities to connect through social events, programs, informal meetings and activities hosted by the office. DRS invites students to sign up for the program as they register, and you can contact the office anytime if you’re interested.

Move at your own pace

DRS and Campus Recreation have partnered to launched Move Your Way, a new fitness series aimed at helping students find a form of movement that works for them rather than pushing one workout plan. Sessions run all semester, with yoga in September, cycling in October and strength training in November. Watch DRS communications for registration details.

[Read more: Accessibility is baked into Pitt’s Recreation and Wellness Center]

Set up a ride if you need one

Pitt community members with a permanent disability or a temporary injury can use the Accessibility Shuttle at no cost. Once your application is approved, DRS will email you instructions for requesting rides in the TransLoc app. Anyone at the University can use the service for the duration of the current semester, and anyone who needs it longer than that can choose to become a permanent rider. Check the fixed shuttle routes first — one of them may already cover your trip.

Get your materials in a format you can actually use

SensusAccess converts inaccessible documents into audio, braille, e-text or a searchable PDF, and it’s open to any student with an active Pitt email. You upload the file and the converted version comes back to you by email.

For braille and tactile materials, Falk Library has a braille embosser with Tiger Software, which converts Word documents into braille and turns Excel charts and graphs into tactile graphics.

Six campus computing labs also run accessibility software including the screen reader JAWS, the magnifier MAGic and Kurzweil 3000, which supports students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. If you’d rather work from your own machine, the Pitt Digital Virtual Lab offers that same software from anywhere.

Bring your accommodations to the job search

DRS has been working closely with the Career Center on providing accommodations and educating employers for the Fall Career and Internship Fair, set for Sept. 15-17 in the William Pitt Union.

In October — which is National Disability Employment Awareness Month — DRS hosts Access at Work: Student-Employer Career Night, a panel and networking event about disability in the workplace. This year’s event is Oct. 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m., in the O’Hara Student Center. shm102 [at] pitt.edu (Reach out to Sharon Mickens) for more details, and watch the newsletter for the office’s other programming that month, which is still being finalized.

Email drsrecep [at] pitt.edu or call 412-648-7890 for any questions about these resources.

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski