You may be asking yourself, “am I the only student receiving accommodations?” — the answer is no, you are not. Disability Services supports all 12 schools at the university and each semester hundreds of students are registered and approved for accommodations. We want students to feel comfortable connecting with us to request accommodations. Unfortunately, there may be students that do not feel comfortable requesting accommodations due to stigma that still exist around disabilities and accommodations. Our hope is that through educating mores students, faculty and other campus partners that we de-stigmatize asking for accommodations due to a disability.
Academic accommodations are meant to give you equal access. They do not guarantee success, but they do provide a level playing field in courses to better align all students. Disability Services welcomes students to connect with us at any point during their time at Penn. We support students through every step of the process and advocate for them when they are not able to advocate for themselves. Stigmas are not going to go away over night, but we can continue to work together towards chipping away at them little by little until we reach a point of more understanding and acceptance. Our dream is to have a more inclusive universally designed society, so that one day you will no longer have to ask for accommodations because they will already exist and be in place for everyone!
Written By Sabria Kegler, Associate Director for Disability Services, Weingarten Center