1.1 Reflections on Disability

When providing accommodations, it can be helpful to consider your perspectives on disabilities, because it 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 truly just a chance to pause and think about 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, see the Resources section of this website.

Your answers are private, and NCCSD staff will not see your responses.
We encourage you to print out this page.
When you finish the training, look at the list again - have any of your responses changed?

Be sure to print out your answers.

Did any of your answers surprise you? In what ways?
How do your responses make you a better teacher, researcher, 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 Online 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

A short reflection

What do you notice?