Ability Services

Your Access Resource Center

Honoring Abilities with Equal Access

The mission of the Ability Services office is to arrange equal access and opportunity for students in the way of academic accommodations and to provide students an inclusive and accessible campus community and culture.

Ability Services serves students with a documented disability who need to arrange academic accommodations for their classes. A disability under ADA may include ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Acquired Brain Injury, PTSD, or a physical, sensory, psychological, or learning disability, etc.

In an effort to ensure equal access for eligible students and appropriately guide and support those students,  Ability Services focuses on the following learning outcomes: fostering independence, reducing barriers, and promoting inclusively.

Please see the Future Students Page on the left column to learn more about the process of arranging accommodations. For a basic overview of our office, what to expect, and information on reasonable accommodations, check out the Information to Know for New Students.

What is an accommodation?

An accommodation is typically an adjustment in the way things are done, not an adjustment in the curriculum. An accommodation could be a different way to receive important information for a course, such as using an audio textbook in conjunction with the hardcopy. It could also be a different way to do important things such as having additional time to take tests.

Connect ASAP

1. Call 715-425-0740 to schedule your intake appointment. Get your questions answered. You may invite a guest to accompany you.

2. During your intake appointment, be prepared to discuss how your barriers affect you as a student. Please take this time to discuss what academic accommodation has or has not worked for you in the past.

3. Do you have a new diagnosis? No problem. Let's talk about it.

4. Bring documentation to support your need for accommodation. If you don't have immediate access to this documentation, still meet with us. We'll work through the rest of the process later. It's important to be as proactive as possible. 

Accommodations for Placement Testing

If you request accommodations to take a placement test under non-standard conditions due to a disability, do not register online. Instead, send a letter on high school letterhead from a teacher, counselor, or principal describing the appropriate accommodations you need.

With the letter, please include:

• Your address and telephone number
• Which site you would like to test at
• Which UW campus you plan to enroll

Email this information to tnoconno@wisc.edu, or mail to:

Tim O'Connor

1025 West Johnson Street

Madison, WI 53706

Upcoming Events:

To learn more about what's happening in our office and opportunities for current student involvement, please check out the sessions below.  

Ability Services News:

We are looking to start a DREAM Chapter on our campus this fall. DREAM is a student-centered organization focused on disability rights, education, activism, and mentoring. This group is not only for students with disabilities, but also for student allies who support a disability culture! If you are interested, or have any friends or peers who would be interested in joining and developing this new student organization, email Alicia Reinke-Tuthill at alicia.reinketuthill@uwrf.edu.

Learn more. 

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