ADA & Mental Health Accommodations – On-Demand Training

Policies and Procedures to Maintain Fair Processes and Ensure Compliance

The mental health challenges students are facing today place a high demand on staff and professionals across campus, including disability service professionals. Determining accommodations can be an overwhelming and time-consuming process, as campus staff, faculty and administrators strive to make education accessible and equitable for all students.

Our expert presenters will review the nuanced considerations related to mental health services and supports; when and how ADA/504 applies to psychological/psychiatric conditions; the importance of documentation; and the need for consistent processes and procedures to avoid noncompliance.

Better meet the demand for mental health accommodations for students with disabilities, improve faculty and staff compliance, balance academic standards with accommodation requests, and navigate confidentiality and communication issues even with resource constraints and service gaps. 

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you: 

• Explore nuanced considerations related to mental health services and ADA accommodations to best support your students’ academic and social needs.
• Train faculty and staff members on ADA requirements for mental health accommodations, to help avoid inconsistent implementation or resistance to accommodations in academic settings.
• Advocate for better funding, training, and policies that improve mental health accommodation processes on your campus.
• Identify integral information to assist with accommodation determinations and/or other campus supports to overcome access barriers.
• Analyze whether an accommodation contraindicates the disability and can potentially have a negative effect on a student’s well-being or health.
• Implement streamlined accommodation request processes, such as online submission and case management systems, to improve efficiency.
• Offer proactive mental health support through early intervention programs, peer mentoring, and wellness initiatives to reduce the need for formal accommodations.
• Expand partnerships with community mental health providers to supplement campus counseling resources.
  

Presenters

Peyton Collins serves as the Director of Mental Health Services at the Kelly Autism Program at Western Kentucky University. He has worked closely with autistic college students in both clinical and academic settings.
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Veronica Willis-Oldham, M.A., is a native of Kentucky and a two-time Alum of Western Kentucky University. She serves as the Assistant Director of the WKU Student Accessibility Resource Center which is the point of contact for students to initiate the process for securing ADA related accommodations at WKU.
Click here for full bio.