Even though my Disability Services file only exists in the classroom, my disability impacts all aspects of my life and college experience, including how I participate in extracurricular activities. While there are plenty of activities in college that I can participate in fully without accommodations or modifications, it’s important to know how to request extracurricular accommodations in college and how to make clubs inclusive for students with disabilities- something I thought about frequently when serving on the executive board of a student organization. Here are my tips for requesting extracurricular accommodations and modifications for students with disabilities, based on my own experiences as a student with low vision and a neurological condition.
How I chose college clubs and extracurriculars
My college has hundreds of extracurricular clubs and student organizations, and it can seem overwhelming at first to figure out what to join. As much as I would love to “do it all”, that isn’t an option when living with chronic illness, so I tried to be intentional when choosing what extracurriculars I would participate in.
Examples of college extracurriculars I participated in include:
- College pep band, which has flexible attendance requirements compared to concert band programs
- Student group for visually impaired students
- My college’s Roosevelt Institute chapter, a nonpartisan student-run think tank
- Lunch hour lecture series and noncredit classes, many of which had food provided
- Attending swing dancing events and lessons with one of my best friends
- Virtual book groups or writing groups
- Other events hosted by clubs that my friends were part of, or that were open to the campus community
When choosing extracurriculars, I wanted to include activities that I already had done for years (like band) as well as try other activities that I had never been part of before. I also did a few short-term events like hackathons or similar extracurricular activities that only meet for a few days/weeks.
Related links
- How I Play In GMU Green Machine/Pep Band With Low Vision
- Seeing The Future: My Feature in 10 Ideas From Roosevelt Institute
- Swing Dancing And Low Vision
- Managing Chronic Migraines in College
Figuring out accommodations
My Disability Services file contains a lot of information about how I take exams, get assignments in class, and other information that is very helpful for the classroom, but it’s not a document I necessarily need to share for school clubs. Something that helped me to figure out extracurricular accommodations was to figure out what accommodations I would need to use when at a club meeting, which included:
- Copies of presentations or items that are presented on the board, i.e a PowerPoint
- Verbal warnings before flickering lights or watching content that has strobe/flashing lights
- Large print music for band
- Assistance with navigating crowded spaces
Related links
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
- How I Talk To Professors About Photosensitivity
- My Large Print Music Binder
Reach out to the executive board
At my college, all student organizations are required to have an executive board that consists of students and faculty advisors. For students that have questions about disability accommodations or modifications, I recommend reaching out to the executive board via email- some groups have a student email listed, while others have a general email address for submitting questions. Examples of emails I have written and received as a student and executive board member include:
- “I have trouble seeing the PowerPoint presentations used for meetings, can you send me a copy so I can follow along?”
- “Can you turn on captions for the movie?”
- “Let’s space out the chairs so that someone using a wheelchair can get through”
- “Can you label foods that are being served that contain tree nuts?”
- “Can you let me know when someone calls on me? I can’t see pointing very well.”
- “Where is the meeting being held? How do you get there from the elevator?”
Members of the executive board and faculty advisors can reach out to Disability Services for general questions about inclusion and disability accommodations, but the office cannot provide advice for specific students- I can’t approach their office and ask “hey, how can I make this accessible for Veronica?” but I could ask “how can I use the document camera to enlarge text for some0one with low vision?”
Related links
- How To Be An Effective Human Guide For People With Vision Loss
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- Learning to Self-Advocate
- Strategies for Hand Raising and Low Vision
- Finding College Classrooms: College O&M
Going to meetings
When attending club meetings at college, I typically bring a laptop or tablet with me so I can follow along with reading or take notes about what is going on. I also have my smartphone with me, as I can easily use it as a makeshift video magnifier, take photos of schedules, and get contact information for other members. While I have some specialty devices such as a desktop video magnifier that I use in my college classes, it was rare for me to bring these to shorter meetings- I prefer to use mainstream devices that “blend in” more/that other students wouldn’t notice me using, and these devices also would need to be charged after a day of classes anyway.
Related links
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Tablets
- Questions To Ask When Choosing A Laptop For College
- How I Use Google Assistant While Traveling
- How I Use My Phone As Assistive Technology In Class
Requesting accommodations/modifications in real time
Sometimes, accessibility issues may pop up during club meetings unexpectedly, or the person may not have had time to think about accessibility accommodations or modifications. I understand that students may fear disclosing their disability or talking constantly about an access need, but there are ways to make sure that meetings are as inclusive as possible. Some examples of things I have said and have had said to me while being a part of club meetings include:
- “Can you speak into the microphone?”
- “What is the website link for what’s on the screen?”
- “Can we open the door while watching this video so the room isn’t pitch black?”
- “Are captions turned on?”
- “Where is that small group located?”
- “Let’s talk more next to an outlet so I can charge my laptop” or “let’s sit down and talk more about this.”
Usually, I only have to mention these things once or twice, as people are good at remembering disability accommodations or modifications, especially if they are helpful for everyone in the group.
Related links
- How To Make Classroom Videos Easier To See
- Tips For Screensharing With Low Vision
- Five Common Technology Behaviors That Hurt My Brain
Can extracurricular activities discriminate against students with disabilities?
From a legal perspective? No, student organizations are under the same nondiscrimination policies as the college/university that hosts the organization.
Is this a thing that happens sometimes? Yes.
I ran into an issue where I couldn’t get access to items in large print, and the faculty advisor said that they had no idea how to help me, and suggested I find another group to join. I referred them to the assistive technology office on campus, which provided the advisor with guidance on how to enlarge materials and how to make digital copies available to students. This solved the issue so that I could participate fully without additional assistance.
If students face discrimination within a student organization, helpful campus resources to contact include:
- Office of Student Involvement or governing organization for extracurriculars
- Faculty or staff advisor for the organization- they may not necessarily be present at club meetings, but they can be reached by email
- Disability Services
- Diversity/Compliance office
Related links
- Reporting Accessibility Issues: College O&M
- What To Know About College Assistive Technology Specialists
- What If I Have To Report Disability Accommodation Violations?
- Reporting Academic Ableism For Someone Else
Other tips for requesting extracurricular accommodations and modifications
- Students do not have to disclose a specific diagnosis or other medical information in order to receive disability accommodations. As an executive board member, I also cannot ask a student for their diagnosis or details
- Even though I’m not supposed to ask specific questions about students, I made an exception for students that disclosed food allergies since those can be life-threatening
- Looking for recommendations on clubs to join? Disability Services may have a list of recommendations that other students have enjoyed
- If a particular extracurricular really isn’t working out, try something new- people try out new clubs all the time, and it’s not uncommon to see members join or quit throughout the semester
