1.1 Reflections on Disability

Your thinking about disabilities can shape how you provide accommodations for students with disabilities.

The quick survey below will help you think about your
beliefs about people with disabilities. Be honest. There are no wrong answers - this is just a chance to pause and consider what you already know and believe about disability.

Models of Disability

Different frameworks and theories for discussing disability are often called "Models of Disability." To learn more about Models of Disability for your research or teaching, check out resources for this website.

Your answers are private, and NCCSD staff will not see your responses.
Check any statements you believe to be true or mostly true.
When you finish the training, look at the list again - have any of your responses changed?

Be sure to print out your answers
so you can review them later.

Did any of your answers surprise you? In what ways?
How do you in different roles as a teacher, researcher, mentor, or advisor?
How might students with disabilities agree or disagree with your statements? How might disability services providers agree or disagree? Is their approval or disapproval important to you?
How do you hope the NCCSD Faculty Training can your understandings about students with disabilities?

This training and resources may be used without permission for educational purposes, with acknowledgment. Users may not modify materials from this site without permission. This faculty training is copyrighted by the National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) at the University of Minnesota (2024). Content and design were created by Wendy Harbour (AHEAD), Sheryl Burgstahler (DO-IT), Richard Allegra (AHEAD), David Johnson (ICI), Brian Abery (ICI), and Renáta Tichá (ICI), unless otherwise noted. All pictures are from Bigstock.com or Canva, unless otherwise noted. This training was developed by the National Center for College Students with Disabilities with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (P116D150005) to the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. It was developed in collaboration with DO-IT: Disability Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology and the Association on Higher Education and Disability.

If you have difficulty accessing this site, contact the NCCSD at [email protected]. We cannot guarantee accessibility of external links.
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the U.S. Department of Education, ICI, DO-IT, or AHEAD.

reflections on disability

What do you notice?