Founded at Butler University in the early 1990s after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Student Disability Services (SDS) started with just 25 students. Today SDS has grown to serve almost 700 Butler students with disabilities. Our mission is to ensure that every student with a disability has equal access to a college education; SDS is above all else, committed to accessibility. We work with students individually to ensure that the supports they receive provide equal access to their education in a way that acknowledges their specific needs.
SDS supports disability as an aspect of diversity in a myriad of ways for Butler students, faculty, and staff, including:
- running a bustling testing center for students with exam accommodations
- providing various assistive technology tools and software for students with specific needs
- working to improve the accessibility of campus as a whole, including both the digital and physical spaces
- working one-on-one with students who need support with self-advocacy or transition into college
- collaborating with ability-related student organizations on campus to support the advocacy side of accessibility
- facilitating disability awareness programming across campus, including tailored opportunities for faculty, staff, or students interested in learning about specific aspects of disability
- support for students with accommodations needs in internships and career transition
Opportunities for Support
SDS strives to provide a comfortable, stress-free space for students to take accommodated exams, and with 700 students, that space can get dated and worn over time. This year, we’re hoping to spruce our space and provide new, more comfortable testing chairs for our students.
SDS provides various assistive technology and software tools to help students who need them, including text to speech software for those with learning disabilities. These technologies have allowed students to access their reading materials and improve their academic outcomes.
The Butler student community is passionate about accessibility and SDS plans to bring a speaker to campus this year to talk about their own personal journey with disability and how universal design and access can make all the difference for individuals with disabilities. We hope this will be a campus-wide event that will continue to dismantle stigma around disability.
Student Reflections on SDS as part of their Butler journey:
Mia Fazio '22, Luke Manship '22, and Rachael Apter '21Mia Fazio ’22: “Working with SDS was key to my academic success. I felt incredibly supported by everyone who works there. I truly felt like everyone wanted me to succeed. Asking for help has always been hard for me, but SDS made asking for help easy by treating me as an individual.”
Luke Manship ’22: Luke experienced some adversity and health changes during his college years, and credits SDS for assisting him. “SDS was the place that helped navigate those changes and supported me with everything I went through…I was always provided with an ear to listen and support to learn and take steps forward… Thanks to SDS, I have grown into a person that feels good about themselves and feels confident they can do anything they want.”
Visit our SDS Alumni Page to learn more about where these graduates are in their career journeys today as well as to read more alumni stories.
