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What Is A Disability?
Southern West Virginia adheres to the civil rights
definition of disability as provided in the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
A person with a disability is one who meets one of the following
criteria:
- have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits
one or more major life activities;
- have a record of such a physical or mental condition; and/or
- be regarded as having such an impairment, whether actually
having the impairment or not.
Examples of Disabilities include, but are not limited to:
- arthritis
- attention deficit disorders
- blindness/low vision
- cerebral palsy
- communication disorders, deafness/hearing impairments
- emotional/psychological disabilities
- multiple sclerosis
- seizure disorders
- specific learning disabilities
- spinal cord injuries
- traumatic brain injuries
- temporary disabilities, and
- other health problems
What is a Major Life Activity?
Major life activities include but are not limited to:
- walking
- seeing
- hearing
- speaking
- breathing
- learning
- working
- caring for oneself
- performing manual tasks
What is a Functional Limitation?
A disability must limit functioning in school before one can receive an
accommodation. Disability Services refers to the impact of the
disability on program access as a functional limitation. A disability, in
and of itself, does not necessarily require accommodation. There
must be a logical link between the functional limitation stemming from the
the disability and the accommodation requested.
Disability Services staff identify functional limitations through
review of the documentation and discussion with the student. Staff
provides the student with information about the accommodations for which
the student is eligible. The student chooses which accommodations
will best address his or her functional limitations.
Example:
A visually impaired student elects to have books on tape instead
of printed texts. The disability - low vision, causes the functional
limitation - an inability to read printed texts.
To facilitate prompt provision of reasonable accommodations, it is best
to have documentation of a disability which details the impact of the
disability in an educational setting. Should the documentation provide inadequate information
of functional limitations, Disability Services may require additional
documentation that describes them.
Last Update -
05/21/2007
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