- [Narrator] This is a WVYC News special report on the Office of Disability Support Services. The Office of Disability Support Services, part of academic services, has a vital role of assisting the ever-growing population of disabled students on the York College campus and the country at large. As the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there are 17.8 million adults living with just a physical disability alone. The National Institute of Health reports that nearly 20% of all adults in the US have a learning disability. Disabled students lead their lives in the same way as everyone else, while facing different challenges. They just want their equal chance at an education. The accommodations made by the office range from early registration to ensure enough time for disabled students with mobility challenges to get from class to class, to a quiet place to take an exam. This is where Linda Miller, Director of Disability Support Services, steps in.

- [Miller] We are here to provide accommodations and equal access to any student who chooses to request academic accommodations. We currently are serving approximately 300 students. The majority of them are students with either learning disabilities and/or ADHD. But we also are working with a quickly growing number of students on the autism spectrum. We work with students with chronic mental health issues. We work with students with physical mobility issues, as well as students with chronic health problems, such as diabetes, Crohn's disease, juvenile arthritis, things like that.

- [Narrator] Many students with physical or learning disabilities find the transition to college difficult. When in elementary and secondary schools, State Agency can provide these types of services. As colleges and universities are held to a different legal standard in helping those with disabilities, the burden of advocacy falls on the student. One of the most common services that the office provides is testing accommodations. Senior mass communications major, Alexis, understands this advocacy all too well.

- [Alexis] Having a learning disability is a disadvantage in and of itself. By gaining these opportunities, such as the testing center, which simply is a separate room for you to take your exam, your exam is literally the same thing as everyone else, but just the change of scenery, the quiet location, perhaps you get accommodations to type your exam instead of writing it, that's what I do, just those small factors alone really increase my test scores. But it has nothing to do with my test being easier than someone else's, it's just my comfort level when going into the exam.

- [Narrator] Linda and Alexis both have a common goal of eliminating the false idea that using the office's accommodations gives students with disabilities an advantage.

- [Linda] In actuality, they're giving every other student an unfair advantage over them if they choose not to use accommodations when they need them. The whole point of accommodations is equal access: equal access to information in the classroom, equal access to their textbooks and written material, and equal access to being able to give back to their professors on tests their complete knowledge.

- [Narrator] Alexis has been going to York College for several years, and sees the testing center as a vital part of her collegiate success.

- [Alexis] If you are someone with a disability, and you have yet to reach out to Linda Miller, you really should. You are doing yourself a disservice by not, because with the whole concept of confidentiality, you would only be telling this information to the people who it is necessary to know. So there's no real, well I should say it's my personal opinion, that there is no real embarrassment factor. I've never felt uncomfortable talking about it. It is something I live with every day.

- [Linda] Whether it be a learning disability, or a physical issue, or a focus issue, or an anxiety issue, these are all common things that our students who use extra time are dealing with. Any one of those things could act as an obstacle and prevent that student from being able to perform their best on the test in the regular amount of time. So it's really important that people understand that it's not about an unfair advantage at all. The college would not allow it if it were an unfair advantage. That academic integrity is extremely important. It's just a matter of equal access. Say most of the people in the class had 20/20 vision and they did not, and they couldn't see the board. Would wearing glasses give that student an unfair advantage? No. It would just allow them to see the board like everybody else, and that's what accommodations do: allow them to perform just like everybody else.

- [Narrator] Linda and her team in the Disability Support Services Office have seen a dramatic increase in students who need academic accommodations. The testing center alone has doubled the administered tests from 2014. If a student is struggling with a learning disability or another disability that inhibits his or her ability to learn, they are encouraged to see Linda in the Academic Services Office in Campbell Hall Room 237. This was a WVYC News special report. I'm Justin Walker.