BYU-Idaho changed the name of its Disabilities Services to Accessibility Services this month.
Nate Reese, an accessibility services administrator, explained that when many people hear the term “disabilities” they tend to think of physical handicaps.
“We do hear a lot of times when students say, ‘I didn’t know that disability services could help me,'” Reese said. “Because they just automatically assume that a disability is something physical.”
Although Accessibility Services offers aid to students with any form of disability, the majority of students they serve have what Reese calls “invisible disabilities,” including mental health disorders and learning disabilities.
Accessibility Services aims to offer students with disabilities equal access to everything they need to succeed in college.
“We don’t necessarily guarantee that the accommodations are going to give them success because they still have to do the work like any other student,” Reese said. “But it might just be that they need more time or certain alternative assignments to help prove that success, and that’s where Accessibility Services helps.”
Students can learn about accommodations for specific disabilities and register with Accessibility Services by visiting their page on the BYU-I website.