By Jessica Szabo
WINNEMUCCA - While it is commonly known that college and graduate students may request accommodations for physical disabilities and learning disabilities, some are not aware that accommodations may also be made for a student's mental health issues.
Great Basin College, which has a Winnemucca branch, is similarly committed to providing reasonable accommodations for students with all types of disabilities, including mental health-related disabilities. Their official statement, available on the school's website, reads "In carrying out Great Basin College's policy regarding students with disabilities, we recognize that disabilities include mobility, sensory, health, psychological, and learning disabilities, and we will make efforts to provide reasonable accommodations for these disabilities to the extent it is readily achievable to do so."
The University of Nevada-Reno's official website pledges to comply with federal law and offers a detailed list of the duties and responsibilities of students, the university and the school's Disability Resource Center in ensuring that all students with disabilities are offered the same opportunities to learn and participate in campus life as UNR students without any disabling conditions.
Both students and faculty should consult the disability resource center or staff member in charge of handling disability accommodations for their institution for specific information about the school's policies and procedures for securing accommodations for mental health issues.
Any type of arrangements made for mental health disabilities are handled in the same manner as any other disability accommodation. Anyone seeking an accommodation for a psychologically based disability must provide documentation of their disability from the appropriate licensed professional and arrange accommodations that are directly related to their mental health issues and that are within reason. Simply telling an instructor that one has a psychological disability and asking for extra time to complete assignments or tests or asking to be excused from attending a class or event will only generate the same response the instructor would give to any other student making the same request.
While all faculty and staff at an academic institution must abide by their school's rules and regulations, opinions vary as to whether offering accommodations for mental health issues helps the student succeed in life or merely sets them up for unrealistic expectations as soon as they enter the workforce.
Dr. Patricia Chatham, a licensed clinical psychologist with the University of Nevada-Reno's counseling services believes these accommodations benefit students both at school and in their careers.
"It doesn't always work out, but it often does," she stated. "Students have a variety of issues. They are not always (possible), but they often are."
Dr. Chatham allows that many people may not be offered these accommodations in their workplace, but strongly believes that students receiving accommodations for mental health disabilities gain valuable coping skills they can take with them to the workplace.
"Jobs may be less tolerant than for physical disabilities," she said, "But I think students are learning skills for managing their disability along with the accommodations."
Representatives and employees of other northern Nevada colleges did not respond to requests for interviews.
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