Accessible College: Working Together with IEC’s and Counselors

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Accessible College, provides nationwide college preparation and transition support for students with physical disabilities (spinal muscular atrophy, cerebral palsy, para/quadriplegia, hearing impairments, visual impairments, etc.) and health conditions (diabetes, crohn’s disease, seizure disorders, POTS, ehlers-danlos syndrome, mental health conditions, etc.). This work often goes hand in hand with the work that a student may be doing with a college counselor or a college consultant.

Accessible College will work with students starting in 9th grade through graduate school. We offer support in a number of areas including: 

Independent Educational Consultants (IECs) and schools counselors work with students to find the best academic fit, and provide support with the college search, admissions, and decision process. However, we have found that sometimes IECs and counselors are lost when trying to support students with physical disabilities and health conditions. Instead of you spending countless hours researching how to support the student in determining accommodations, identifying the correct questions for the disability support offices, navigating continuity of care, and thinking through the college fit while considering the health and accessibility needs of the student, Accessible College is here to help!

How We Work With IECs and School Counselors: 

  1. Accessible College can work directly with the family and we can all sign an information sharing agreement. 
  2. You can hire Accessible College as a consultant to work with you and the family.
  3. Accessible College can consult with you. 

How We Work With Students:

Accessible College knows that the laws change from high school to college, and understands how this impacts the types of accommodations a student may request and receive. We take a holistic approach to working with students with physical disabilities and health conditions, supporting them to ensure that they are able to: 

  • Discuss their disability with clarity
  • Know their needs and self advocate
  • Understand the college accommodations process
  • Request accommodations (including housing, academic, transportation, and programmatic)
  • Manage medication and healthcare needs
  • Seek support 

We support students by providing them with: 

  • One-on-one consultations focusing on their transition to college and determining the types of accommodations they may need
  • Personalized transition plan 
  • Coaching on self-advocacy and independent living, including medication management and continuity of care

The needs of students with physical disabilities and health conditions are unique. Accessible College prides itself on having a deep knowledge and understanding of the college accommodations process. Annie Tulkin, Founder and Director of Accessible College, served as the Associate Director of the Academic Resource Center at Georgetown University, for nearly 6 years where she supported undergraduate, graduate, and medical students with health conditions and physical disabilities in the accommodations process, and oversaw academic support for the general student population. It was in that role that Annie identified a gap in transition planning and support for this student population. 

Collaboration With IECs:

Adrienne Frumberg, Lighthouse Guidance (Student who uses a wheelchair)

Denise McLinden, Alliance College Coaching (Student with a visual impairment)

An IEC who wishes she had known about us:

“A few years ago, I worked with a student who was a quadriplegic. He needed a personal care attendant and lots of support in order to be able to live independently on campus. I had no idea about how to evaluate which colleges would be a good fit for his needs. I wish I had known about Accessible College.” -Jamie Dickenson, Jamie Dickenson, LLC

Contact Accessible College for a FREE 30 Minute Consultation

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