Disability Services

Any Stritch student who may require accommodations and/or modifications due to a handicapped condition or learning disability should meet with the director of the Academic Support Center or the disabilities services facilitator so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

The Academic Support Center may arrange modifications and/or accommodations for Stritch students with documented disabilities. Any Stritch student who may require accommodations and/or modifications due to a handicapped condition or learning disability should meet with the Director of The Academic Support Center or The Disabilities Services Facilitator so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Cardinal Stritch University affirms the intent of Federal Law, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, the ADA Amendments of 2008, and other federal mandates, state and local requirements regarding individuals with disabilities.  Under these laws, no qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in the services, programs, and activities of Stritch.  Students with learning disabilities (LD) are protected under these laws and may request reasonable accommodations for their disabilities.  Academic accommodations for students with LD are intended to provide equal access to instruction and assessment.  Each academic accommodation is determined on an individual basis and made available to the extent it meets the student’s needs and does not compromise the academic integrity of the university program.  

Learning Disabilities  

Students are responsible for providing documentation that supports the LD diagnosis, and substantiates the need for the requested accommodations.  Verifying documentation must include, but is not restricted to the following:

  • A qualified professional trained in the diagnosis of learning disabilities in adults (e.g. psychologist, neuropsychologist, LD Specialists) should conduct the assessment. The diagnostic report must include the name(s) of the examiners, titles, and professional credentials of the examiners, dates of testing and the testing instruments used.
  • Assessment, and any resulting diagnosis, must consist of and be based on comprehensive assessment that relies on multiple forms of evidence (i.e., standardized test results, informal assessment results, observational and historical data) that support a learning disability diagnosis.  The comprehensive assessment battery must contain the following domains:

                                    • Aptitude/Cognitive Ability

                                    • Academic Achievement

                                    • Information Processing

  • Specific areas of information processing to be assessed should include short and long-term memory, sequential memory, auditory and visual perception and processing speed.
  • A clinical summary which: (a) indicates the substantial limitations to major life activities posed by the specified learning disability, (b) describes the extent to which these limitations impact the academic context for which accommodations are being requested, (c) suggests how the specific effects of the learning disability may be accommodated, and (d) states how the effects of the learning disability are mediated by the recommended accommodations.
  • The report should be dated no more than three years prior to admission or request for services (historical documentation of a disability provides useful information; however, it alone cannot be used for special admissions purposes or to determine service eligibility).
 

Physical Disabilities  

Documentation verifying a physical disability must:

  1. be prepared by a medical doctor and include diagnostic results as well as prescriptive information
  2. be dated no more than one year prior to admission or request for services                                   

Psychological Disabilities 

Documentation verifying a psychological disability must include:

  1.  verification of the diagnosis and severity of disabling condition from a qualified treating professional (e.g. psychologist or psychiatrist) by the student
  2.  a detailed description of how this impairment significantly limits a major life activity in an educational setting.

To ensure the provision of reasonable and appropriate services for students with psychological disorders, current and comprehensive documentation of disability is required. This documentation should include information from which the diagnosis has been made, a description of the student’s functional limitations in an educational setting, as assessment of the severity and longevity of the condition, and a recommendation for educational assistance.

Contact Information

Dr. Marcia Laskey
Director of Academic Support
(414) 410-4168
mllaskey@stritch.edu

Michael Schade
Disabilities Facilitator
(414) 410-4828
meschade@stritch.edu