WEBINAR: Optimize Your Office - Writing Accommodations That are Clear and Intentional

When:  Nov 8, 2022 from 03:30:00 PM to 05:00:00 PM (ET)
Writing the language for the way that disability accommodations are described in accommodations notifications to faculty is part art and part science. There is no one right way to do this, but there is certainly wording that can cause confusion or worse. When taking on a new role, some disability professionals find they have “inherited” unclear or loose descriptions. Other schools realize when implementing a new database system (AIM, Clockwork, Symplicity, etc.) that they must streamline existing descriptions or draft entirely new ones, and don’t know exactly where to start. The presenters, who have rewritten accommodation language at multiple schools over their careers, will offer a very straightforward “how to,” with issues to consider and some sample language to help ensure that accommodations are described in a clear and uniform manner. It will discuss the importance of individual institutional culture and historical context when crafting the language, so that faculty know as soon as they receive the notification what they need to implement for a student and how, thus smoothing the student’s experience, and reducing the burden on the disability office to engage in further clarification conversations. Takeaways will include basic principles for creating language, nuances and complexities to the language used, the uniqueness of clinical requests, getting the most buy in and output of institutional change, and the role different data systems play.