Ambrose aids students with special needs

Sept. 23, 2004
By Anna Anderson
Staff Writer

In the basement of O’Keefe Library, conveniently located a straight shot from the elevator, is the Services for Students with Disabilities Office.

St. Ambrose University learning disability specialist Beth Cook said most of the students the Services for Students with Disabilities Office works with are those who have documented disabilities, either physical or learning related.

However, there are also services for students who are temporarily disabled.  For example, a temporary handicap-parking permit is available for a student with a broken leg.

Services offered include sign language interpreters and note-takers. If a student has a sprained wrist and is unable to write, a note-taker will be found. A student can volunteer to be a note-taker and write notes from class on provided carbon notepaper.

The note-taker keeps the original notes and gives the carbon copies to the professor, who passes them along to the injured student.  This is a service that goes both ways.

“It’s a plus for the note-taker, who is more likely to take better notes,” Cook said.

Textbooks on tape and readers for students who have difficulty reading are also available. A full listing of services offered is available in the Services for Students with Disabilities Office.  This information is also available on audiotape, in Braille and large print formats.

Back to the FEATURES-PAGE or "The Buzz" HOMEPAGE