Students with Psychiatric Disabilities

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Tips for Teaching Students with Psychiatric Disabilities

Some reasonable accommodations for a student with a psychiatric disability may include the following.

• Allow early access to the syllabus and reading assignments. Getting organized ahead of time and beginning reading assignments early may help the student stay on track in case of later absences.

• Support modifications in seating arrangements. Seating location in the classroom can have an impact on ability to focus and concentrate.

• Allow tape recording of lectures. Access to these tapes after class will help the student get more benefit out of lectures during times when concentration is compromised or the student is drowsy from medications.

• Assist in finding notetakers. Notetaking may be difficult due to concentration difficulties or difficulties in organizing the material quickly enough to get down the important points.

• Allow beverages in class and/or tolerate the leaving of the classroom for breaks. Some medication regimes cause extreme thirst as a side effect.

• Allow extended time for exams. Since concentration ability may be compromised by either the illness or the medications, extended time may be an appropriate accommodation.