• Academic Advising
• Academic Technology
• Career Center
• Career Center
• Center for ASL Literacy
• English Language Institute
• English Works!
• First Year Experience
• First Year Experience
• Library
• Mentoring Program
• International Programs and Services
• Disabilities Office
• JUMPSTART
• Summer Bridge Program
• Tutorial & Instructional Programs

Office for Students with Disabilities

Director: Edgar Palmer
Coordinator: Patricia M. Tesar
Phone: 202-651-5256
Fax: 202-651-5887
Location: SAC, Room 1233
Department website: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/OSWD/
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD) provides individually tailored, comprehensive support services and programs for students with disabilities. OSWD empowers eligible students to succeed in their pursuit of higher education by striving to assure equal access and opportunity to curricular and extra-curricular activities. Faculty and staff, administrators, alumni, paraprofessionals, and parents and families also benefit from services and programs. Support services and programs are designed to meet the individual needs of those being served and are coordinated with services offered on campus and in the community.

Support services that are provided and/or coordinated with other on- or off-campus offices/agencies include: psychoeducational and psychological evaluations which assess for Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, and Psychological Disorders; individualized support service plan development, support service counseling/advising, advocacy training, academic advising, career development, interpreting, note taking, specialized testing, study lab, orientation and mobility training, reader/scribe services, and accessibility consultation. Information and referral services offer assistance in attendant care, wheel chair repair, Seeing Eye dog training, tutoring, mental health care, medical services, and legal advice.

Programs services that are offered by OSWD include: adaptive technology assessment and training, braille/large print services, faculty development seminars, scholarships, public service and outreach, support groups and advisory boards, and compensatory/study skills training.

OSWD students are protected from discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These mandates carry within them rules regarding the confidential treatment of disability related information. Because disability related information is treated as medical information, it is handled under the same strict confidentiality rules as other medical information. Disability related records provided by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professionals are not subject to free access under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. In general, OSWD must have written permission from the student before releasing any information from a student's record.

Students may come directly to OSWD and request services. Faculty and staff may refer students to OSWD and request technical assistance from OSWD staff.