FAQ

Yes! We recommend you read our guide and then set up a meeting with the Accessibility and Disability Resources (ADR) office to talk about accommodations. Some accommodations require documentation from a doctor or health care professional, but not all. ADR can let you know what you require to receive accommodations, whether that's testing, documentation, or something else.

In addition, "disabled" is a broad and often times contentious label with which to reckon. Regardless of how you define yourself and your circumstances, you deserve to get whatever you need to thrive at Wellesley.

Unlike the SAAs, we are not paid for this work and we are not affiliated with the administration. This independence gives us the freedom to campaign against ableism on campus in a way the SAAs cannot.

We also have a greater interest in bringing awareness to disability issues and amplifying disabled voices at Wellesley to eliminate systematic ableism. The SAAs primarily research and publicize accessible technologies for students to use.

Identity-first language ("disabled person") emerged from the Autism Rights movement as a replacement for person-first language ("person with disabilities"):

"When we say 'person with autism,' we say that it is unfortunate and an accident that a person is Autistic. We affirm that the person has value and worth, and that autism is entirely separate from what gives him or her value and worth. In fact, we are saying that autism is detrimental to value and worth as a person, which is why we separate the condition with the word 'with' or 'has.' Ultimately, what we are saying when we say 'person with autism' is that the person would be better off if not Autistic, and that it would have been better if he or she had been born typical. We suppress the individual’s identity as an Autistic person because we are saying that autism is something inherently bad like a disease.

"Yet, when we say 'Autistic person,' we recognize, affirm, and validate an individual’s identity as an Autistic person. We recognize the value and worth of that individual as an Autistic person — that being Autistic is not a condition absolutely irreconcilable with regarding people as inherently valuable and worth something. We affirm the individual’s potential to grow and mature, to overcome challenges and disability, and to live a meaningful life as an Autistic. Ultimately, we are accepting that the individual is different from non-Autistic people–and that that’s not a tragedy, and we are showing that we are not afraid or ashamed to recognize that difference."

From "The Significance of Semantics: Person-First Language: Why It Matters" by Lydia Brown

Some disabled people prefer person-first language, but we make it a policy to use identity-first language to emphasize that not all disabilities are separable from an individual's identity.