Brain Injury

RCPD provides services and accommodations to persons with disabilities for both academic and workplace settings. Before receiving accommodations, students and employees must Identify and Register as a person with a disability and provide appropriate documentation of their disability to RCPD.

Step 1: Self-Identify

To get started in the process of registering with RCPD, start by self-identifying as a person with a disability. Use your MSU NetID and password to log into the MyProfile system to create a profile and initiate contact with RCPD. This process will then assign you to an Ability Access Specialist.

Step 2: Disability Documentation

Submit documentation to your assigned Ability Access Specialist. The disability documentation is necessary to verify the presence and impacts of your disability. Documentation of a disability must appear on official letterhead from a licensed medical or diagnostic professional and include a diagnosis, scope or degree of involvement, and summary of related functional limitations. RCPD provides a downloadable Brain Injury Documentation Form that may be used by medical providers to document conditions.

Step 3: Needs Assessment

Once your Ability Access Specialist has received sufficient disability documentation, they will reach out to arrange a Needs Assessment meeting. During this meeting reasonable accommodations are discussed and determined.

The MSU Disability and Reasonable Accommodation Policy provides additional guidance.

RCPD recognizes that accommodations may be required in order to assist individuals in maximizing their educational and workplace experience at MSU. While the university provides reasonable accommodations, we do not change essential academic requirements or job functions. Accommodation determinations are based on documentation and an individualized needs assessment.

The MSU Disability and Reasonable Accommodation Policy provides additional guidance.

Student Accommodations

Students will receive a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations letter, otherwise known as a VISA. The VISA is the primary method for students to communicate their RCPD approved accommodations to course instructors. A similar document that performs the same functions as a VISA for students with conditions of a temporary nature is known as a VISTA.

Students registered with the RCPD should contact their assigned specialist by phone, email, or by scheduling a meeting to request their VISA.

• The VISA typically has an expiration date, so students will need to request an updated VISA at least 2 weeks prior to when a current VISA is needed.
• Accommodations are not retroactive and will not apply to events or situations that occurred prior to the student notifying and providing a copy of the VISA to the course instructor.
• Accommodations can be updated at anytime and students should reach out to their assigned specialist to discuss this further.

Employee Accommodations

Employees will receive a Statement of Employee Accommodation Determination letter, otherwise known as a SEAD. The SEAD is issued by the Office of Employee Relations (OER), when an accommodation is granted. The employee should then work with their supervisor to discuss implementation of the SEAD.

Regardless of the source of the injury, symptoms of brain injury vary in type and severity for each individual. This depends on the degree of the injury and the area of the brain that is injured. Results of a brain injury include impairment of cognitive abilities and/or physical functioning. Each part of the brain controls specific functions of the body such as vision, physical movement, speech, memory, and emotions.

Loss of consciousness may occur lasting from a few minutes to weeks (coma). A brain injury without the loss of consciousness may go initially undiagnosed with the individual encountering significant problems in their attempts to resume daily activities.

Symptoms of Cognitive Disabilities and Brain Injury may include:

Physical: speech impairments, paralysis, headaches, vision, seizure disorder, muscle spasticity

Cognitive: concentration & attention, perception, planning & organizing, written & oral communication, short- and long-term memory, judgment, sequencing, orientation

Behavioral/Emotional: fatigue, anxiety, self-esteem, restlessness & agitation, mood swings, depression, sexual dysfunction, lack of motivation, difficulty coping, self-centeredness

The RCPD adheres to strict standards of confidentiality in the management of student information. Since RCPD is the only holder of disability documentation, all disability-related documentation should be directed to RCPD (not other campus departments).

The RCPD staff are designated as mandatory reporters and must promptly report incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual misconduct, stalking, and relationship violence that are observed or learned about in their professional capacity and involve a member of the university community or occurred at a university-sponsored event or on university property.

RCPD Ability Access Specialists are committed to an active partnership with students and employees who make reasonable accommodation requests through our office. In the case you experience a disagreement regarding disability determination or appropriateness of accommodations, you may consider taking the steps outlined in our dispute resolution process.

MSU provides many venues for collaboration and community building on disability issues. Please consider becoming involved in the following organizations:

• Accommodating Technology Committee
• Council of Students with Disabilities 

• Assistive Technology
• Housing & Campus Life
• Brain Injury Association of America
• Brain Injury Association of Michigan
• Brain Injury Research Center of Mount Sinai (BIRC-MS) 
• Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative (NSSC) Resources 
• Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
• MSU Counseling and Psychiatric Services
• MSU Employee Assistance Program
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• National Resource Center for Traumatic Brain Injury
• Service Animal Policy