Student Information
Getting Started
Information on this website is designed to help students with disabilities
at JCCC to understand their
role in the educational accommodation process.
In college YOU are responsible for getting the help you need. You must be
able to advocate for yourself. Advocates are persons who know what they
want and will stand up for their rights.
Self-Advocacy
If you make the following four steps a habit you will help yourself become a good self-advocate and a successful college student.
1. Know Yourself and Your Disability Before you can advocate for
yourself, you need to identify your:
Strengths– the skills you do well right now
Areas to improve – the skills you need to improve that will help
you become successful
Interests– the career areas you may want to explore
Preferences– the way you like to learn
You also need to know how to talk about your disability in a way
that other people will understand.
Do you know what your disability is?
Where is your official documentation or paperwork that explains what your
disability is?
2. Know Your Rights and Responsibilities JCCC cannot close its
doors to you because you have a disability. JCCC must provide services
that will allow you an equal opportunity to succeed at JCCC.
To ensure you have an equal opportunity for a successful education at JCCC
you need to be able to answer the following two questions.
My responsibilities are__________________?
My rights are __________________________?
(Rights & Responsibilities
of Students
with Disabilities)
3. Know Where To Go For Help A very important part of being a
successful student is the ability to know when you need help or when you
don’t need help. Writing down the names and phone numbers of the people
on campus who will help you, including the faculty and staff of Access
Services, is a good idea.
4. Take Action Once you know what you want and need, you can work
on reaching your goals. You should also work on communicating your needs.
This means that you should practice talking with your instructors.
Practice explaining your disability and the accommodations or
modifications you will need for you to be successful.
Much of the above information is adapted from the Individual Accommodations Model that was developed at the University of Kansas and was funded by the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (Cooperative Agreement No. H324M980109).