Description
Most students with disabilities arrive at college thinking their accommodations will carry over automatically. They don’t. Not because anyone is being unhelpful — because college operates under different law (ADA and Section 504, not IDEA), with different rules, with dramatically different expectations for who’s responsible for setting everything up. This checklist walks you through what changes, what doesn’t, and exactly what to do — from before you apply, through the summer before freshman year, to graduation and beyond.
What’s Inside the College Accessibility Checklist
The College Accessibility Checklist is 43 pages organized into 10 sections:
- The K-12 to college shift — side-by-side comparison of how IDEA and ADA/504 work differently, what this means for you
- Choosing the right school — 12 questions to ask the DSO, accessibility factors beyond the academics, school comparison worksheet
- Registering with disability services — the typical 8-step process, documentation requirements by disability category, DSO registration tracker
- Academic accommodations — 17 common types, professor introduction email template, working with professors throughout the semester
- Housing and dorm accommodations — single rooms, ADA-compliant rooms, service animals vs. emotional support animals, dietary accommodations, the housing timeline
- Campus accessibility — physical navigation, transportation, dining, library, recreation, emergency planning
- Health and mental health services — pre-arrival checklist, the campus health center, the counseling center, realistic notes on what’s available
- Self-disclosure strategies — required vs. optional disclosure, 5 disclosure scripts for different situations
- Career services and internships — how career services help, the work disclosure question across application/interview/employment phases
- The student-parent shift — FERPA, what changes for students, what changes for parents, when parents should step in
This College Accessibility Checklist Is For…
- Students with disabilities preparing for 2-year or 4-year college
- Students with IEPs, 504 plans, or recently diagnosed disabilities
- Students with learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, mental health conditions
- Students with physical disabilities, chronic illness, or sensory disabilities
- Parents supporting a college-bound student with a disability
- Transfer students moving between colleges
- Returning adult students with disabilities
Written To The Student
This checklist is addressed to the student directly — because in college, the student is responsible for their own advocacy. Parents are supporting actors, not lead. Parent-specific notes are inserted strategically throughout, marked clearly. If you’re a parent reading this, please share it with your student: the work is theirs to do, with you supporting from a step back.
The Bottom Line
The students who succeed in college aren’t the ones with the easiest disabilities. They’re the ones who learn to advocate early and build relationships with the right support people. This checklist gives them the playbook. $17 — instant PDF download.
