The MIT Disabilities Services Office (DSO), as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, makes every reasonable effort to provide appropriate accommodations and assistance to students with disabilities. The objective is to ensure that our students receive equal access to all Institute programs and services. To that end, we seek to balance the student's right to access with our obligation to protect the integrity of Institute programs and services.

Accommodation decisions are the product of an interactive process which involves students and their past academic history, parents, DSO staff, academic advisors, faculty members and, where necessary, outside experts. Students who provide incomplete documentation are offered assistance and guidance, such as referrals for additional testing. Accommodations that are judged to have a negative impact on the academic integrity of the educational program (e.g., those that would fundamentally alter the program of study) will not be honored. The final determination for providing appropriate and reasonable accommodations rests with the Institute. The DSO ensures that the ultimate decision conforms with well established practices in the field and pertinent legal precedents.

MIT is required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to provide effective auxiliary aids and services for qualified students with documented disabilities if such aids are needed to provide equitable access to MIT's programs and services. Federal law defines a disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits¹ one or more major life activities." Major life activities are defined as the ability to perform functions such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, or taking care of oneself. It is important to note that an impairment in and of itself does not necessarily constitute a disability. The degree of impairment must be significant enough to "substantially limit" one or more major life activities. Therefore, documentation provided by a qualified professional must address the substantial limitation posed by an impairment.

Besides impairments pertaining to vision, hearing, physical well-being, and perception, individuals with disabilities may also include those with emotional or mental illness; illnesses such as cancer, heart disease or AIDS; learning disabilities such as dyslexia and dysgraphia; and physical impairments such as repetitive strain injury (RSI) or carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).

These and other types of disabilities do not necessarily impair the individual's performance but may require the individual to seek alternative methods of carrying out a given task. This guide is a description of the policies and procedures which the DSO follows to assist individuals with disabilities at MIT in doing just that.


¹From AHEAD publication "Title by Title" by Jane Jarrow: "Substantially limits means unable to perform a major life activity or significantly restricted as to the condition, manner, or duration under which a major life activity can be performed, in comparison to most people or the average person."