RCPD must fully understand the impact of your disability/medical condition/mental health condition to review your accommodation request(s). In addition to the documentation we have on file, please write a disability impact statement explaining the impacts of your diagnosis(es). This statement must demonstrate how your functioning is impacted in the area of your specific request (housing, courses, etc.). Impact areas may include major life activities. Your disability impact statement can be sent to your RCPD specialist via email.
If you have questions, please connect with your Access Specialist! We can help you examine your impacts and access needs.
Answer the following questions:
- What accommodation are you requesting?
- What disability impacts do you experience that cause a need for this accommodation?
PLEASE READ! Additional guidelines:
- Accommodations at the college level must be focused on access, not success or preference. In other words, we need to understand why the accommodation is a necessity for providing you access to courses, housing, campus, or etc.
- Do not focus on what your preference is, what would be best, how difficult a course is generally, etc., which are often “success”-focused reasons.
- Focus on how the accommodation will provide you equal access to your non-disabled peers.
- At the college level, much of the strategies you need to be successful are dependent on you and factors you can control (where/when you study, using tutoring, meeting with professors, scheduling appointments outside of class times, utilizing available transportation options, etc.)
- Most often, focus your request on your disability impacts, not how others may be impacted by you (roommates, classmates, etc.).
- If there is relevant history related to your request, please share! This may be medical or educational interventions you’ve tried, previous accommodations, or former experiences that demonstrate the need for accommodation.
But...RCPD wants me to be successful, right?
YES! We care about you and are here to support your college journey so you can find success! However, under the law (ADA & Section 504), the accommodations we create and approve must be focused on access.
There are tons of campus resources available to help promote your success at MSU. If you are unsure how to find what you need, contact your RCPD specialist and we will help!
Disability & Major Life Activities
A person with a disability is someone who:
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or
is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).
What does substantially limits mean?
The term “substantially limits” is interpreted broadly and is not meant to be a demanding standard. But not every condition will meet this standard. An example of a condition that is not substantially limiting is a mild allergy to pollen.
What does major life activities mean?
Major life activities are the kind of activities that you do every day, including your body’s own internal processes. There are many major life activities in addition to the examples listed here. Some examples include:
Actions like eating, sleeping, speaking, and breathing
Movements like walking, standing, lifting, and bending
Cognitive functions like thinking and concentrating
Sensory functions like seeing and hearing
Tasks like working, reading, learning, and communicating
The operation of major bodily functions like circulation, reproduction, and individual organs