How Does Accessible College Work with Students?

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5 students sitting at a table

Accessible College provides:

One-on-one college preparation and transition support to students with physical disabilities and health conditions, because these students have unique needs in this process. Our clients range in age from high school through graduate school. Annie Tulkin is the Founder and Director of Accessible College. She works directly with students and families to ensure that students and families are prepared for the changes that come when a student transitions to college.  

 Accessible College supports students in the following areas: 

  • Considerations for college based on healthcare needs
  • College Accommodations
  • Medication management
  • Healthcare management
  • Hiring and managing a Personal Care Attendant (PCA)
  • Continuity of care (including transfer of care)
  • Self-advocacy skills
  • Disability disclosure
  • Disability documentation review and development
  • Communicating with the college’s Disability Support Office
  • Disability specific questions for college tours and tour debriefs
  • Study skills and time management 

The services that Accessible College offers is different, and yet complimentary to the work a student may be doing with a guidance counselor or a college consultant. The work that Accessible College does can be done alongside guidance counselors and college consultants to provide specific support and coaching to students. Annie knows that it’s important to meet students where they are at, and make sure they understand the differences between the accommodations process in high school and college. By focusing on self-advocacy skills, students can grow to be strong and informed self-advocates. 

Examples of work we have done with students in recent months: 

Rising High School Senior, Wheelchair User (Cerebral Palsy):  Annie supported this student for over a year. Through one on one meetings, Annie worked with him to identify his current needs and considered how those needs may change once he is away at college. Upon acceptance, he will need to hire a Personal Care Attendant (PCA). The PCA will support him with a daily living tasks (bathing, dressing, eating, etc.). Annie worked with him to create a list of his needs and outlined the role he envisions for the PCA. Together, Annie and the student created questions for him to ask the staff in the disability support office (DSO) at the universities he was touring to help him get a sense of the accommodations he may receive on campus. He used these questions to have a conversation with the DSO staff a multiple universities. He received a wide variety of responses from the staff, and these responses have helped him take into account the services and supports that each school provides, as well as the level of care with which they administer accommodations. This helped him decide where to apply in the fall. Annie will continue to support this student through his acceptance, and assist him in preparing to hire a PCA and start college in Fall 2021. Annie is working collaboratively with his independent college consultant to coordinate his applications and lend a perspective that takes into account his accommodation needs, as well as his health and wellness needs.

First Year College Student, Multiple Health Conditions (POTS, Elhers-Danlos, Depression): Annie has been working with this student for several months as she prepared to start college away from home this fall. Annie worked with her to  identify her needs and accommodations, and coached her through the college accommodations process, including housing accommodations. Annie assisted her in thinking through the transfer of care to a doctor near her college so that she could continue to receive weekly, in-dorm, IV fluids. Annie also worked with her to make a plan to have her prescriptions transferred, so that she would not have a gap in medication. Annie provided coaching on self-advocacy skills, and got her prepared for the conversations that she will have with the DSO and her professors, about her disability and her accommodations.

Rising High School Senior, Multiple Health Conditions (Epilepsy, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Sleep Disorder): Annie has been working with this student for over a year. Annie worked with her and her family to create a system for her to be able to start managing her 8 daily medications independently. Annie supported the student in identifying the accommodations she will need to request in college, and created questions for her to ask the DSO’s at the colleges that she is considering. Annie continues to work on her self-advocacy skills. Annie is working collaboratively with her high school guidance counselor to coordinate and factor in her health needs in her college choice. 

These are just a few examples of the types of work that Annie does with students who utilize the support that Accessible College provides, to make sure that they have all the tools they need to be successful in college.

Think Accessible College might be a good fit for your student? Contact us today for a FREE 30 minute consultation