Collective Notes: z.umn.edu/SC2024-Notes6.
The number of students with a disability entering post-secondary education programs has increased, with approximately 12% of post-baccalaureate-level students reporting a disability (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2023). Creating an ongoing supportive learning environment enhances students’ ability to become successful occupational therapy practitioners. Although students are not required to disclose an accommodation to a fieldwork site or educator, academia can help foster an environment for students to feel safe and supported if they choose to do so (AOTA, 2020). A survey of practicing OT professionals found that opinions on the reasonability of accommodation types varied widely depending on practice setting– and some common accommodations were determined to be unreasonable (Ozelie et al., 2022). It’s clear that there is a general lack of understanding and consensus around which accommodations hinder essential job functions, and which are reasonable (Ozelie et al., 2022). When it comes to providing accommodations within the academic and fieldwork settings, a collaborative approach between faculty, academic fieldwork coordinator, fieldwork educators, student, and disability services professional is necessary for supporting the process and optimizing student learning throughout experiential learning. (Hughes et al., 2022). This session was developed with collaboration between a faculty member, an academic fieldwork coordinator, a fieldwork educator, an OT student who uses accommodations, and a disability service professional. The aim of this short-course is to provide an overview of a collaborative framework, a timeframe of the accommodation process, and strategies for implementing accommodations during experiential learning opportunities such as fieldwork or capstone experiences. This session will provide resources as well as time for reflection on the accommodation process and considerations for optimizing this process for students, academia, and practitioner perspectives.