Special Needs Guidelines
Guidelines for Requesting Textbooks on Tape
- Register with SNS. Your SNS counselor can provide additional information regarding needed documentation, equipment, and textbooks.
- Obtain an accommodation card. Qualified students will receive a card from their advisor which will enable them to check out tapes through the SNS counselor at Counseling Services (808) 293-3999 or 293-3518.
- Register early for classes.
- Contact the professor or academic department for each class you are taking to obtain textbook information. You may also call the BYU-H Bookstore, (808) 293-3569, for additional help.
- Fill out a Book on Tape Request Form. These forms are available through the SNS counselor at Counseling Services, (808) 293-3999 or 293-3518. If necessary, call the SNS counselor to have a request form sent to you. Because books on tape are ordered from the mainland we suggest submitting your book request form one semester in advance. Please list your books in order of preference. Students should also check with the Hawaii State Library System (audiovisual department of the main library (808) 586-3470) before submitting a request form to find out whether the textbook is already available on tape locally.
- Textbooks come on four-track cassettes and require a four-track tape recorder. These are available for loan through the SNS counselor (application forms are available at the Counseling Services).
Guidelines Regarding Personal Care Needs and the Physical Campus
Personal Care Needs. Students and/or their families have the responsibility of recruiting and paying personal care attendants. Please be aware that a student with a mobility impairment cannot rely on a roommate or fellow residence hall member to assist him/her on a care attendant basis. The student's peers may want to help, but it is dangerous and against the law for them to do so.
Nursing agencies on the island should be contacted to provide assistance in recruiting trained professionals. If a student requires a care attendant as a reasonable accommodation and he/she does not or will not have one, BYU Hawaii Housing has the right to refuse the student residency. The student will need to arrive at BYU-H with a personal care attendant in place or the means to hire that individual prior to moving into the residence hall.
Assistants. In the past, parents have approached Special Need Services and Housing requesting that individuals check up on their son or daughter. While both SNS and Housing empathize with parents concerns about disorders such as seizures or diabetes, this service is not offered at BYUH. Students who require attention for health and safety during the night should live in an environment where those needs can be attended to and/or hire a personal care attendant.
Physical Properties on Campus. Students needing on-campus dormitories which are accessible to wheelchairs or which otherwise require detailed attention and preparation should begin making arrangements as soon as they receive admission notification. SNS will assist students in contacting housing and communicating special needs for residential living and other adjustments to physical properties on the campus.
Guidelines and More Information About Being Tested for Learning Disabilities
Q: Who Can/Should be Tested?
A: If you are a student at BYU and have concerns about the possibility of a learning disability or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you may complete a full learning disabilities assessment. If you have been diagnosed previously, you may be required to complete additional testing (depending on how current and complete your previous test results are) in order to receive accommodations from SNS.
Q: How is the Testing Process Initiated?
A: If you would like to be tested, set up an appointment to speak with an SNS counselor. You and your advisor will discuss your difficulties and decide if a full assessment is appropriate.
Q: What Does the Assessment Involve?
A: The testing process at BYU Hawaii usually involves meeting with the university psychologist several times and performing numerous, diverse testing activities. The entire assessment usually takes between six and ten hours. Most people prefer to break this time up into two-hour sessions.
Q: What Does it Cost?
A: The only cost is your time. A similar assessment performed in the private sector would cost several hundred dollars. This is a free service to full time BYU-Hawaii students when an SNS counselor or Counseling Services staff makes an appropriate referral.
Q: Is the Process the Same for Learning Disability and ADHD Concerns?
A: Since a physician must make a diagnosis of AD/HD, the psychologist works closely with a medical professional at the BYU-H Student Health Center. The SNS counselor asks that students complete a full assessment as it provides several indicators of attention/ concentration problems. After you have completed the assessment, you and the psychologist can discuss whether a referral to the Campus physician or your own physician seems appropriate based on the results of the testing.
Q: What Will I Learn From the Testing?
A: Regardless of whether or not you are diagnosed with a learning disorder or AD/HD, the results of the assessment can be very helpful. The testing examines many different aspects of learning (e.g., reading, writing, math, memory, information processing, problem solving, attention, concentration, etc.) and can help you understand where your strengths and weaknesses are. If you are diagnosed with a learning disability or ADHD, the results of the assessment can help you and your counselor know how you learn best so that accommodations can be most appropriately matched to your needs.
Q: Will I Receive a Copy of the Results?
A: Each student who completes the full assessment can receive a student copy of the report. This includes results of the tests, conclusions reached, recommendations, and possible accommodations.
