Request an academic accommodation

All Adler students with a disability may be eligible to receive academic accommodations. Services are completely free and support those whose disabilities affect them in an academic setting, including vision, movement, thinking, remembering, learning, communicating, hearing, mental health, or social relationships.

At Adler, our most common disability groups who have accommodations are students with ADHD, mental health conditions — like anxiety, depression and PTSD — and chronic medical conditions.

To receive an academic accommodation, students need to:

  • Schedule an intake meeting with Disability Services.
  • Complete an Accommodation Request Form.
  • Provide the appropriate documentation.

For those enrolled in an Chicago or Online Campus program who would like to initiate the request process, please review the complete step-by-step guide below.

Still have questions about the process? Ready to get started? We’re here to support you. Schedule a meeting with Disability Services.




Accommodation Request Process

To get started, schedule an intake appointment with Disability Services via Books, email, or by calling 312.662.4141. We will walk you through the entire process when we meet, but here is what you can expect.

Following the intake appointment, there are several documents Disability Services will need — two of them are required. Students will need:
  • A completed Accommodation Request Form.
    You will receive this following the intake meeting.
  • Current documentation from a medical professional identifying the disability, assessing the ways in which the disability affections functioning, and suggesting how the disability may be best accommodated.
  • An optional copy of an accommodation letter from a previous higher education institution.
    This is not required. It will not substitute medical documentation.

Once approved, Disability Services will issue a letter of accommodations, addressed to faculty members outlining approved accommodations.

Depending on a variety of factors, this may be completed in under 2 days but can take up to 10 days. We advise you to initiate this process as soon as possible so your accommodations can be in place for the first day of class.


The student will share the letter with their faculty members as deemed appropriate by the student.

Note that accommodations are not retroactive and may take up to a week for faculty members to implement. For students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing and require an accommodation, Disability Services will work with the student and their faculty to streamline the process of hiring a service provider for your classes.


Faculty will modify classes/assignments/deadlines for the student based upon the accommodations outlined in the letter.

Faculty with questions should contact Disability Services.

Accommodations are not retroactive and may take up to a week for faculty members to implement.


If questions, concerns, or new conditions arise, students should contact Disability Services.

The letter of accommodations from Adler can be used for current and future terms at the University without updating, if no changes occur to the student’s condition or no additional accommodations are needed.

If you have a temporary disability, the letter of accommodation will include an end-date. If that end-date changes (e.g., recovery of your broken leg takes longer than expected), please contact Disability Services to revise.


Accommodations and Adler Events

If you are a participant requesting accommodations for an Adler event or hosting an event and would like assistance to ensure accommodations are available, please contact Disability Services or call 312.662.4141 with as much notice as possible. 

If you are planning an event, we encourage you to try to have the event be as accessible as possible.

When the event begins, remind attendees about the available accommodations. Encourage them to use the “chat” function in Zoom to reach out if they have issues accessing the accommodations or to the host for an in-person event.

STATEMENT OF WELCOME:
People with Disabilities are Welcome!

We are committed to making this event accessible to everyone. For this event, we will <LIST ACCESSIBLE OFFERINGS (e.g., enable the automatic closed captions in Zoom)> If you require other accommodations to participate fully, please contact Disability Services (non-linkable format: DisabilityOffice@adler.edu) or call 312.662.4141 with as much notice as possible.