Disability

The disability student status can be granted to students with:

• a learning disability (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia);
• a long-term physical or mental illness;
• a concentration disorder (e.g. ADD, ADHD);
• an autism spectrum disorder;
• an auditory, visual or motor skills impairment;
• a report added care from the school of secondary education.

Application procedure

Step 1: fill in the application form. You can download the form from this page. 

Step 2: gather the requested certficates or reports.

You can hand in the following documents: 

• a certificate of registration of the Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities
• a certificate of recognition of disability from the Disabled Persons
  Directorate General (certificate of increased Child Benefit or certificate of income
  substitution/integration benefit)
• if you have a learning disability: a motivated report from an approved centre (Pupil guidance center (CLB), rehabilitation center, Code, Praxis P,…). This report includes examination reports, an overview of conducted tests, the achieved results and the conclusions of the examination
• if you received extra support in the school of secondary education: a motivated report from the pupil guidance centre (CLB)
• if you received educational and / or exam facilities in the school of secondary education: a report from the school’s student counselor team

If you do not posses any of the above, you will need to hand in a VLOR+ document, filled in by a doctor or a psychologist. You can download the right VLOR+ document from this page.

Step 3: make an appointment with the disability officer of your campus. Bring along your application form and the requested certificates. 

If you are unsure whether you are eligible for this status, or which certificate you need? Contact the disability officer. He will be able to clarify things for you. You find the contact details of your disability officer on this page. 

Apply for your disability student status immediately after enrolling as a student of our school. That way you are granted your facilities soon & you can make the right start in your college.

The deadlines for application are: 

• the 15th of October for the first semester (the 10th of October for dyslexia or dyscalculia);
• the 21st of March for the 2nd semester.

After these dates we can't guarantee that you will receive your student disability status before the exam period. 

Important:

• you need specific care;
• certain campus infrastructure needs to be adjusted;
• certain learning resources (courses, teaching materials) need to be adapted;
• do you expect not to be able to participate in all parts of the curriculum (as described in the year program);
• do you have any questions about the feasibility of your study programme?

Please contact the care coordinator before enrolling.

Adjustments made for you

During the meeting with the disability officer, we take a look at the care you already received in secondary education and how this can be translated into your studies at our university of applied sciences. Based on this, a number of facilities can be awarded. These can of course still change during your study career. Do you notice that the allocated facilities are not sufficient? Reach out to your disability officer.

Facilities: some examples

• Educational facilities: introduction of the student and the problem to lecturers and fellow students, use of special aid...
• Permanent evaluation facilities / exam facilities: oral explanation, an adapted exam copy, exams or tests on laptop...
• Internship facilities and facilities for workplace learning: an introduction to the internship, an adapted internship schedule, use of special aid...

Confidentiality of data

All personal data is treated with strict confidentiality. This also means that the disability officers will not pass on any information about you to third parties without your explicit permission. We will not communicate directly with your parents either.

The inclusion coach offers individual coaching tailored to your needs and works directly with you in your personal growth process. In frequent individual counselling sessions, the support is aimed at both strengthening study skills and monitoring and promoting social-emotional wellbeing.

You can use the individual coaching for different aspects of your student life:

• Introduction: to teachers, fellow students and/or internship
• Study skills: study method, planning and organisation of your studies, problem-solving ability, self-management, etc.
• Social-emotional wellbeing: finding your way in college, student life, feeling good in a new environment, self-confidence, placing events in context, ...
• Communication: contact with professors and fellow students, asking for help, discussing obstacles, taking initiative, ...
• Psycho-education: insight in own possibilities and limitations, ...

Within the framework of a broad basic care, 6 examination facilities are guaranteed to every student:

• extra time (1/3) in case of a written exam
• extra preparation time for oral exams. This does not apply to practical exams without preparation time.
• having examination questions read out to you
• language will only be taken into account for the evaluation if correct use of language (e.g. correct spelling) is included in the ECTS sheet of the OPO
• use of a simple pocket calculator for basic operations (unless this is a core objective of the course)
• permission to eat and drink something small during the exam (e.g. dextrose, small dry snack).

It is possible that these facilities are sufficient for you to cope with any difficulties, and that you will not need to apply for a special statute.

All Odisee students can also use inclusive reading software. Read more about Alinea on this page.