Navigating Learning Disabilities: Support and Success at IUP

Education is a fundamental right, and ensuring equal access for all students, including those with learning disabilities, is a critical responsibility. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is committed to providing a supportive and accessible learning environment where students with disabilities can thrive. This article explores the resources and services available at IUP, as well as broader information about Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and the rights of students with disabilities.

Disability Access and Advising (D2A2) at IUP

IUP's Disability Access and Advising (D2A2) office is dedicated to providing accommodations and services for students with a wide range of disabilities, including learning, physical, hearing, vision, and psychological disabilities. D2A2 strives to create a fair and accessible learning environment where students can succeed based on their own efforts and initiatives. The office works to reduce competitive disadvantages and environmental barriers that affect learning. Faculty and staff collaborate with students, faculty, and other university personnel to coordinate accommodations compliant with federal legislation.

D2A2 plays a crucial role in ensuring IUP's compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The office provides program access accommodations, making every effort to ensure the university is accessible to students with physical disabilities. This includes moving classroom locations to provide first-floor access or proximity to other classrooms used by students. D2A2 was located at 421 Eberly (664 Pratt Drive, Indiana, PA 15705), and moved locations during summer 2025, now located in 216 Pratt Hall.

Getting Started with D2A2

Students with disabilities are encouraged to meet with a member of the D2A2 staff upon entering IUP or upon the onset of a disability. D2A2 provides information about initiating the accommodation process, including guidance on providing appropriate documentation. While students are primarily responsible for managing their progress towards graduation, D2A2 assists in guiding them through the process of documenting their disability.

Accommodation Plans

Once documentation is secured, D2A2 prepares an accommodation plan and shares it with the student. Accommodations vary based on the limitations caused by the individual's disability. The student then collaborates with D2A2 to determine which eligible accommodations are appropriate for which classes each semester and to share the plan with professors.

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Types of Accommodations

The accommodations for which a student is eligible relate to their specific disability and its impact on their functioning. Examples of accommodations include:

ASL interpreters and/or visual aids provided through D2A2
Note-taking assistance
Alternate text formats
Testing accommodations

D2A2 also liaises with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) or the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BVS) to provide additional support.

Support Services Offered by Disability Support Services (DSS)

Advocacy for equal access for people with disabilities
Weekly time management and study skills advising for students with disabilities
Test proctoring and reading/scribing
Note takers
NCR paper for note taking
Recorded textbooks
Equipment loans: tape recorders/players, talking calculator, magnifying sheets, Franklin spellers, etc.
Access to assistive technology (housed within Department of Disability Access and Advising and/or various computer labs on campus): CCTV, Kurzweil scanned text to voice software, JAWS screen/text to voice software, Magic screen enlarging software, Dragon Naturally Speaking voice to text software, etc.
TTY access
Limited Brailling of textbooks and other sighted material
Liaison with faculty, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), and Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS), etc.

The Labyrinth Center for Autism Spectrum Support

IUP provides additional support for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder through the Labyrinth Center. This center offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to support students as they build relationships, gain independence, experience academic success, and graduate with the professional and personal skills needed for a fulfilling life and career. The kinds of programming Labyrinth provides-academic and life coaching, supervised study sessions, peer and faculty mentoring, on- and off-campus social activities-is like that which will be provided under the Crimson Hawks Bridge program.

Crimson Hawks Bridge Program

IUP is expanding its support for students with intellectual disabilities through the Crimson Hawks Bridge program. This program, supported by grant funding, offers a credential for students completing the program, in this case, a certificate. The program builds on the Rock Life program at Slippery Rock University, but it is significantly different because the goal of the IUP program is to offer a credential for the students completing the program, in this case, a certificate.

Program Components

The Crimson Hawks Bridge program includes several key components:

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College in High School Classes: Indiana High School teacher Tara Pangonis teaches specialized courses at Indiana High School for the Crimson Hawks Bridge students while they are still in high school. She also develops additional courses for the program to be taught at Indiana High School and works closely with the students as they transition to IUP.
Dual Enrollment Classes: Following completion of the Pathways to Independent course, students in the program enroll in selected dual enrollment classes at IUP, according to their interests. Currently, the IUP team has identified courses in retail, hospitality, childcare, and animal grooming for the certificate programs. At least 50 percent of the classes required for the program will be inclusive university classes.
Practicum: Pangonis is responsible for implementing the Crimson Hawk Bridge’s fourth-semester practicum, focused on work skills development and supported employment.
Social Activities and Mentoring: Students in the Crimson Hawks Bridge program are invited and expected to join in social activities and programs, including with IUP graduate students who serve as mentors and volunteers from IUP’s Best Buddies program.
Living-Learning Community: Beginning in the student’s second year, they have the opportunity to live with other Crimson Hawk Bridge students in a university residence hall living-learning community.
Comprehensive Support: Tamara Miller-Leeper serves in a coordinator role, working with the Division of Academic Affairs, departments of Counseling, Disability Support Services, Speech-Language Hearing Clinic, Labyrinth, and others to ensure appropriate accommodations and support are in place for students. She also builds on current Labyrinth activities that integrate students into campus life.

Program Goals

The Crimson Hawks Bridge program aims to:

Address the stigma that individuals with intellectual disabilities face in the community.
Change perspectives of IUP students who interact with the Crimson Hawks Bridge students, who may never have met an individual with intellectual disabilities.
Address a national call for career-based learning and the real need for trained and enthusiastic workers in our community.

Program Funding

Program personnel work with students to help them access educational support funds available from the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and from state and federal financial aid agencies to ensure that students can afford the program. With the funds from participant enrollment, it is anticipated that IUP’s program, once established, will be largely self-sustaining.

Understanding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

For students who need extra help and support in school, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) can be a crucial tool. An IEP is a program offered free of charge to families of kids in public schools that outlines the goals and any support services that may be needed for a child to succeed in school. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) emphasizes that parents and guardians of students with disabilities or special health care needs are important members of their child's education team and should work with educators to develop a plan that helps kids succeed in school.

Who Needs an IEP?

Students who are eligible for special education services need an IEP.

How Are Services Offered?

In most cases, the services and goals outlined in an IEP can be offered in a general school environment. This can be done in the regular classroom, where a reading teacher may help a small group of children who need extra help while the other kids in the class work with the regular teacher. Every effort is made to help kids learn alongside their peers who do not have disabilities. However, sometimes the level of support needed cannot be met in a general classroom, so students are educated in a specialized learning classroom that is more appropriate for their needs. These classes have fewer students per teacher and allow for more one-on-one instruction. Students spend most of their day in a small group classroom and join the regular classes whenever possible - for example lunch, gym, or the arts.

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The Referral and Evaluation Process

The referral process begins when a teacher, parent, or doctor is concerned that a child may be having trouble in the classroom, and the teacher notifies the school counselor or psychologist. The first step is to gather specific information about the student's progress or academic problems. This information helps school officials decide the best next step. Sometimes new classroom strategies are all that's needed to help a child become more successful. If this doesn't work, the child will get an educational assessment, which can find a specific learning disability or other health impairment. The presence of a disability doesn't automatically guarantee a child will get services. To be eligible, the disability must affect how the child does at school. To decide on a child's eligibility, a team of professionals will consider their observations, as well as how the child does on standardized tests and daily work such as tests, quizzes, classwork, and homework.

Who's On the Team?

As a guardian, you can decide whether to have your child assessed. If you choose to do so, you'll be asked to sign a permission form that will detail who is involved in the process and the types of tests they use. These tests might include measures of specific school skills, such as reading and math or developmental skills, like speech and language. When the team finishes the assessment, a comprehensive evaluation report is developed. This report includes an educational classification and outlines the skills and support the child will need. You can review this report before an IEP is developed.

The IEP Meeting

The next step is an IEP meeting with you and the team to decide what will go into the IEP. A regular teacher should also attend this meeting to offer suggestions for how the plan can help your child progress through the standard education curriculum. At the meeting, the team will discuss your child's educational needs - as described in the evaluation report - and develop specific, measurable short-term and yearly goals for each of those needs. You can take an active role in developing the goals and determining which skills or areas will receive the most attention. The cover page of the IEP outlines the support services your child will get and how often they will be provided (for example, occupational therapy twice a week). The child who has trouble with handwriting might work one-on-one with an occupational therapist while everyone else practices their handwriting skills. When deciding how and where services are offered, the child's comfort and dignity should be a top priority.

IEP Review and Updates

Your child's IEP should be reviewed annually to update goals and make sure your child is getting the support that's needed. However, IEPs can be changed at any time on an as-needed basis. If you think your child needs more, fewer, or different services, you can request a meeting and bring the team together to discuss your concerns.

Legal Rights

Guidelines (sometimes called procedural safeguards) outline your rights as a parent to control what happens to your child throughout the IEP process. For example, timelines ensure that the development of an IEP moves from referral to providing services as quickly as possible. When your child is referred, ask about this timeline and get a copy of your parents' rights. The parents' rights also describe how you can proceed if you disagree with any part of the evaluation report or the IEP - mediation and hearings are some options. You can get information about low-cost or free legal representation from the school district or through early intervention programs. Attorneys and paid advocates familiar with the IEP process will provide representation if you need it. You also may invite anyone who knows or works with your child whose input you feel would be helpful to join the IEP team. Federally supported programs in each state support parent-to-parent information and training activities for parents of children with special needs.

Private Schools

Parents have the right to choose where their kids will be educated, including public or private elementary schools and secondary schools, including religious schools, charter schools and home schools. But parents should know that the rights of children with disabilities who are placed in private elementary schools and secondary schools are not the same as children with disabilities who are enrolled in public schools. Children with disabilities who are placed by their parents in private schools may not get the same services they would get in a public school. Not all kids with disabilities placed by their parents in private schools will get services.

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