Disability Support Services determines reasonable academic accommodations for students, based on appropriate documentation and the academic requirements of the individual program. DSS also considers the current academic needs of students as well as accommodations that have been used in previous educational settings. 

To register with the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) at the University of North Alabama (UNA), a student must:

1. Be admitted to the University of North Alabama.

2. Contact the DSS Office at 256-765-4214 or dss@una.edu to arrange for an intake appointment.

3. Provide the Office of DSS with current documentation of a disability or disabilities.

4. Complete intake appointment with DSS staff.

5. Complete Impact Statement.

6. Accommodations will be approved through Disability Support Services Accommodation Committee.

7. Meet with DSS staff to review approved Accommodations and pick up Accommodation Forms.

Curated Book Lists

• 8 Books That Move Disability from the Margins to the Center

• 10 Awesome Books for Adults about Disabilities, Accessibility, and Inclusion

• 13 Books for Understanding Disabilities

• 13 Great Books That Show There's Power in (Dis)ability

• 15 Books to Celebrate Disability Pride

• 18 Books That Will Help You Better Understand Disability and Chronic Illness

• 20 Best New Disability Books to Read in 2024

• 25 YA Disability Pride Books

• 20 Best Disability Books of All Time

• Books about Disability and Higher Education

• The Best Books on Disability

EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America is a Smithsonian page that focuses on people with disabilities throughout history and the historical impact on the American culture around disability.

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – History & Summary this video provides a simple overview of the history of IDEA and the struggles of students with disabilities to have the right to a free, appropriate public education protected by law.

Learning for Justice showcases the shared struggles and the intersectionality shared by people with disabilities and African Americans. This includes lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school students.

Museum of disABILITY History: Educational Resources provides extensive lessons plans, with worksheets and readings, on the history of people with disabilities, including the ADA of 1990. The lesson plans based off of the New York State curriculum also includes quizzes and other resources for different age groups.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History: The Disability Rights Movement this is an online exhibit focuses on the disability rights movement with text, pictures and video to explain various aspects of the movement and the ADA.

Stigma and Intellectual Disability: A Review of Related Measures and Future Directions is a manuscript evaluates existing measures of intellectual disability stigma through a systematic review of the literature.Supreme

Court Rules Schools Must Provide More Opportunities for Students with Disabilities where the Supreme Court ruled unanimously (8-0) that schools must do more than provide “merely more than de minimize” education for students with a disability and instead provide them with the opportunity to make “appropriately ambitious” progress.

Who I Am Outreach is a toolkit that talks about people with disabilities living life in various roles. Produced by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, this toolkit includes videos and stories about people with disabilities.

Wisconsin Reflecting on 20th Anniversary of ADA this video illustrates the struggle of passing the ADA, as well as successes and future opportunities for people with disabilities in Wisconsin and across the nation.

Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) – AHEAD is a professional membership organization for individuals involved in the development of policy and in the provision of quality services to meet the needs of persons with disabilities involved in all areas of higher education.

Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED) – For more than 25 years, the Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED) has been a national leader in promoting access to postsecondary education for students with disabilities. Their work combines research-based evidence and professional training to inform the field and advance postsecondary education opportunities for students.

College for Students With Disabilities Guide – This guide from Maryville University Online covers educational opportunities, preparation steps, knowing your rights, different types of disabilities, and recommended resources for additional information.

Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) – The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through technology and education. It promotes awareness and accessibility—in both the classroom and the workplace—to maximize the potential of individuals with disabilities and make our communities more vibrant, diverse and inclusive.

Disability Rights, Education Activism and Mentoring (DREAM) – DREAM (Disability Rights, Education Activism, and Mentoring) is a national organization for and by college students with disabilities. DREAM advocated for disability culture, community and pride, and hopes to serve as an online virtual disability cultural center for students who want to connect with other students. They are supported by sponsoring organization National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) and based at the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD).

Graduate School Success for Students With Disabilities – This guide provides both educational and financial resources to people with disabilities to succeed in graduate school. It includes an extensive list of scholarships, advice from an expert in the field, a Q&A with common questions and concerns, and additional funding resources.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Disability Consortium – This project involved a group of colleagues working in disability services at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Colleges and Universities (PBCUs), working in partnership with the Taishoff Center at Syracuse University. They worked to identify strategies for providing culturally responsive disability services and classroom instruction to Black and African American college students with disabilities on all campuses, while also trying to increase the number of Black and African American students with disabilities graduating from college and graduate schools.

National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) – The National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD) is a federally funded project under the U.S. Department of Education (P116D150005), through the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). NCCSD’s home is at the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD).

NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship – Thanks to a contribution from NBCUniversal, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) offers scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who are interested in pursuing a career in the communications, media or the entertainment industry. Recipients will receive $5,625 to help cover the cost of education at their current college or university.

Think College – Think College is a national organization dedicated to developing, expanding and improving inclusive higher education options for people with intellectual disabilities. With a commitment to equity and excellence, Think College supports evidence-based and student centered research and practice by generating and sharing knowledge, guiding institutional change, informing public policy, and engaging with students, professionals and families.

Support Your Student

• AHEAD is a national, professional organization focusing on individuals with disabilities in higher education settings.

Helpful Books and Articles on the College Transition

• The Happiest Kid on Campus: A Parent's Guide to the Best College Experience (for you and your child) by Harlan Cohen.  Harlen Cohen, America's most trusted college life expert, delivers the best advice, facts, stats, tops and stories from parents, students and experts across the country to ensure that you and your child will have an incredible and meaningful college experience.  

• What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain.  Combining academic research on learning and motivation with insights drawn from interviews with people who have won Nobel Prizes, Emmys, fame, or the admiration of people in their field, Ken Bain identifies the key attitudes that distinguished the best college students from their peers.

• As Drop-off Looms, A Professor's Note for New College Parents by Nick Anderson of the Washington Post.  Advice from a professor about how to manage the protective-parent instinct. 

• New College Parents: Lost in the Transition by Brian Harke of the Huffington Post.  The author describes three distinct stages parents go through during their child's transition to college.

• CAST – CAST is a nonprofit education and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.

• Making Sense of Universal Design for Learning – This is a great video that explains how Universal Design for Learning can be incorporated into the classroom.

• Meet the Normals – Adventure in Universal Design – This is an animated short that focuses on the process and challenges of universal design.

• UDL Center – The Center for Universal Design for Learning serves as a hub where teachers from all over can share tips, resources and other great tools, which helps spread Universal Design in the classroom. In addition, the site hosts an online version of Universal Design for Learning by David Gordon, Anne Meyer and David Rose.

• UDL Credentialing and Certification Initiative – This website is an initiative to develop a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) credentialing and certification process to recognize best practices in education program design, product development and classroom instruction.

• Understood.org –This hub possesses great resources for caretakers trying to figure how to navigate the education system. There are tips on how to ensure a universally accessible classroom on the site.

UNA is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified persons with disabilities, as well as other federal and state laws pertaining to individuals with disabilities. Under the ADA and its amendments, a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects individuals who have a record of a substantially limiting impairment or who are regarded as disabled by the institution whether qualified or not. A substantial impairment is one that significantly limits or restricts a major life activity such as hearing, seeing, speaking, breathing, performing manual tasks, walking or caring for oneself.

Inquiries about ADA/504 Compliance should directed to the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources or the Director of Disability Support Services and ADA Compliance.  

• ADA.gov

• Association on Higher Education and Disability

• Department of Education

• Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

• UNA Disability Support Services