As a student with low vision, I spend a lot of time talking to people about my disability accommodations and how I access information at school and in my classes. While it’s important to focus on disability accommodations in the classroom, my disability doesn’t stop existing when I participate in other school affiliated programs like clubs, extracurricular activities, and other school organizations/college organizations. Here is a list of tips and strategies on how to request club extracurricular accommodations for low vision, including sample accommodations that I would use as a student with low vision.
Do I have to disclose my disability for extracurricular accommodations?
I know many students with low vision who are tempted to “mask” their low vision and not bring up their visual impairment because they are worried about being treated differently or people asking questions. Executive board members and club sponsors cannot ask students for specific diagnosis information or names of medical conditions, but it can be helpful to share that someone has trouble seeing or that they have other accessibility needs from a safety perspective. Also, telling someone else can take off the cognitive load of masking or “hiding” disability, or feeling pressure to figure out accommodations and single-handedly figure out how to be included in activities.
As an executive board member, I cannot ask students specific questions about their disability or access needs— I would expect students to tell me what I need to know. However, I personally make an exception for food allergies since those are life-threatening, could require immediate medical attention, and can vary in levels of severity and/or sensitivity. If a student discloses food allergies to me, I will ask them additional follow-up questions to minimize the risk of accidental exposure or cross-contact.
Related links
- Disability Accommodations For Fluctuating Eyesight
- Eight Things You Need To Know About Your Disability Accommodations
- Why You Should Get A Disability Services File
- School Cafeterias and Low Vision
- College Interview Tips For Disabled Students
Choosing clubs and extracurricular activities in college and high school
As a student that attended two different high schools and one large public college, there were dozens of clubs and extracurricular activities to choose from, and it was overwhelming at first to figure out what to join— my college had hundreds of student organizations and would host events with tons of different groups. However, I had to be intentional about what clubs and extracurriculars I participated in as a chronically ill student; “doing it all” was not an option and I was often exhausted by the end of the school day.
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. Disability Services can often recommend school clubs or extracurriculars that students have enjoyed in the past, and it’s not uncommon for students to drop out of clubs or try new ones at various points of the school year.
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. I was one of the winners of their national 10Ideas policywriting competition for my proposal “Seeing The Future”
- 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
- Book clubs and writing groups, both virtual and in-person
- Other events hosted by clubs that my friends were part of, or that were open to the campus community
I also did a few short-term events like hackathons, small group ensembles, or similar extracurricular activities that only meet for a few days/weeks. Again, being realistic about my fatigue levels was important here, as I physically couldn’t handle all-night hackathons, all-day rehearsals, or large parties/events.
Related links
- How I Play In GMU Green Machine/Pep Band With Low Vision
- Seeing The Future: College Transition for Visual Impairment
- Managing Chronic Migraines in College
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
- Swing Dancing And Low Vision
- Model UN Disability Accommodations For Low Vision
Identifying existing disability 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. The same goes for my IEP— if I hand either of these documents to a club sponsor or member of the executive board, they will have absolutely no idea what to do with this information and will look to me as the expert on my own disability. For club accommodations, students are expected to come in with an informal list of accommodations that they would need and how they would want them implemented in this context.
Examples of extracurricular accommodations that are also on my Disability Services file and/or IEP from high school include:
- Copies of PowerPoints or items that are posted on the board. These can be emailed to me or posted on a club website.
- Verbal warnings before flickering lights or watching content that has strobe/flashing lights
- Large print music for band (which I would modify myself)
- Use of a human guide for navigating crowded spaces
- Use of assistive technology such as magnification, high contrast pens for writing, etc.
Another disability accommodation that I receive in college is alt text and/or image descriptions for images, which provides a description of visual content that can be read by someone with visual impairment. When posting club announcements on social media or sharing images, it is extremely helpful to have alt text and/or image descriptions that have a transcript of the text in the image as well as other important image characteristics.
Related links
- How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
- How To Make Music Accessible With Microsoft PowerPoint
- How To Be An Effective Human Guide For People With Vision Loss
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
- Options For Attending College Classes Remotely
Reach out to the executive board/club officers
At my college, all student organizations are required to have an executive board that consists of students (club officers) 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, or say my name when it’s my turn to talk? 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. For example, someone can’t approach their office and ask “hey, how can I make this accessible for Veronica?” but they could ask “how can I use the document camera to enlarge text for someone with low vision?”
Related links
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
- Learning to Self-Advocate
- How I Talk To Professors About Photosensitivity
- Disability Accommodations For Graduation
- Strategies for Hand Raising and Low Vision
- Dance Classes and Low Vision
- What To Know About College Assistive Technology Specialists
Use mainstream devices as assistive technology
I don’t like bringing specialty assistive technology devices to school clubs or extracurricular activities very much because I feel like they “stand out” too much, or that they need to be charged after being used for my classes all day. Instead, I frequently use accessibility features built into mainstream technology devices in the following ways:
- Bringing a tablet or laptop to club meetings to read files or write/type information
- Reading books or annotations from an eReader or eReading app
- Using a GPS application to get from one building to another, or using an indoor wayfinding application to find meeting rooms
- Enlarging documents or handouts using a phone camera as a makeshift video magnifier
- Writing down quick reminders in a Notes app
- Taking photos of items or reminders
- Using a visual assistance application or smart camera like Google Lens to read text or identify items
Many of my friends will use specialty devices like video magnifiers or braille note takers during club meetings depending on the type of extracurricular activity they are participating in. However, this didn’t make much sense for the activities I participated in.
Related links
- How I Use My Phone As Assistive Technology In Class
- Accessible Maps and Wayfinding Tools For Low Vision
- Using GPS Apps On College Campuses: College O&M
- Finding College Classrooms: College O&M
- How I Use Google Lens With Low Vision
- How I Use My eReader For School and Online Classes
Requesting extracurricular accommodations 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?” (And no, shouting isn’t helpful)
- “What is the website link for what’s on the screen?”
- “Can we keep a light on 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
- Creating Accessible Bulletin Boards For College Dorms
- Five Common Technology Behaviors That Hurt My Brain
- How To Make Things On The Board Easier To See
- How I Talk About Disability With New Friends
- Questions To Ask Other Students With Low Vision
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For POTS
Can school clubs and 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 can happen anyways? Yes.
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
When I was a young student, I joined a writing group that would often complain about having to share digital files so that I could read what other people wrote, and that would make comments about me using a computer to read/write with instead of pencil and paper. While I did try to educate them about how I use these tools to access information, I ultimately joined a different writing group because this other group required all members to share digital files and encouraged writing in multiple formats, which was a better fit for me.
Is this an inspirational story about addressing discrimination? Not really, but it does illustrate how the second group incorporating a culture of accessibility and inclusion helped attract other disabled writers like myself.
Related links
- Tips For Handling Academic Ableism In The Classroom
- What If I Have To Report Disability Accommodation Violations?
- Dealing With Paparazzi/Unwanted Attention: College O&M
- Dealing With Imposter Syndrome: College O&M
- Dealing With Anxiety About Accommodations
More tips for requesting extracurricular accommodations and participating in school clubs
- Many colleges have started offering virtual or hybrid clubs on platforms like Zoom and Discord, which can be great for chronically ill students— Discord requires students to verify their college email before viewing organizations.
- To help with organizing emails from extracurricular organizations, I use the strategies listed in How I Organize Emails In College With Low Vision
- Some of my friends participated in a film club where they would watch videos separately outside of club meetings and then attend film discussions. I share some strategies for watching videos in How To Make Classroom Videos Easier To See, How I Use Kanopy With Low Vision, and How I Watch Concert Videos Without Strobe Lights
Published February 15, 2017. Updated January 2025