The following story is part of The Globe’s back-to-school content for fall 2022.
For students with disabilities, the Disability Resource Center at Salt Lake Community College, or DRC, offers a mixture of individual accommodation and services.
They include assistive technology – such as voice dictation software, all-in-one desktop magnifiers and more – testing accommodation, and access to early registration and campus events intended to help students with disabilities.
Melinda Mostyn, an accessibility advisor for the DRC, said the center aims to be as inclusive and accessible as possible. Though its goal is to assist as needed, she said, the center also seeks to provide opportunities for students with disabilities to advocate for themselves.
“It is really big and vital for us to make our services known and not to necessarily hand-hold our students, but to help walk them through the process,” Mostyn said.
Faye Edebiri, the South City Campus DRC assistant director, pointed out that disabilities can be physical or hidden. Hidden disabilities refer to disabilities that are not immediately apparent, such as ADHD, learning and psychiatric impairments, and health conditions like epilepsy.
“Life happens and it’s okay to have a disability,” Edebiri said. “But how do we work with that and how does that work in the school setting but also in the workplace and then in the home life?”
The center works closely with other school programs, such as STEM Learning and the Student Writing and Reading Center, to provide accommodation for students throughout different areas of the college.
“[It’s] really amazing to be able to work with, train and help students learn,” Edebiri said.
To qualify for learning disability accommodations, students must seek off-campus evaluations. Edebiri said the center used to provide in-house evaluations before changes to grant funding.
Students can then fill out the DRC application form and set up an appointment at one of the center’s four in-person locations at the Taylorsville Redwood, South City, Jordan and Miller campuses.
For more information about location hours or assistance and services the center provides, visit the DRC webpage.
