College dorms and staying on campus

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katkins
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20 Aug 2012, 4:14 pm

My son is entering his second year at RIT/ NTID. The housing dept. informed him last week that he will be living in off campus housing. Even though he specifically requested the dormitories in his top ten choices, he still was assigned in a hotel, ten miles from college.
My concern is he won't have easier access to campus resources such as faculty and academic advisiors, the library, computer labs, the student health center, dining halls, recreational facilities, and student organizations. I am also worried about his safety and security. This off campus housing means he will have to travel by bus to attend classes. Last year my son was bullied by another student because it was discovered that he took prescriptions to ease his anxiety and temper outbursts. Once it was brought to the attention of the dorm advisior, the bullying immediately stopped. But my son was not the one to tell, another student intervened. My son simply accepted the bullying. My God, what will happen to him in this "hotel" environment?
My son is anxious about the change in routine, the travel, and change in surroundings. Last year, to ease him into college life, I stayed in a hotel until he adjusted to a routine. I can not possibly do this again.
So, my question is this, has anyone been in a similiar situation where you wanted to remain on campus and were placed in off campus housing? Did you write a letter to the disability services? What did the letter entail?
FYI. My son is deaf and has Asperger's. He uses ASL to communicate.



Thumbprint
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20 Aug 2012, 9:20 pm

From my personal experiences at the university I go to the housing department is usually willing to accomodate situations such as this. My suggestion would be to talk to someone in the department and bring up the disabilities to them, hopefully they will at least put him on a waitlist for a spot in on-campus housing (usually some people decide university isn't for them and they will move out). They might require some form of documentation proving the disability, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. The key is to make sure that they are aware of his disabilities and that his quality of life will be affected by living in the hotel environment.



katkins
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20 Aug 2012, 10:46 pm

Thumbprint wrote:
From my personal experiences at the university I go to the housing department is usually willing to accomodate situations such as this. My suggestion would be to talk to someone in the department and bring up the disabilities to them, hopefully they will at least put him on a waitlist for a spot in on-campus housing (usually some people decide university isn't for them and they will move out). They might require some form of documentation proving the disability, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. The key is to make sure that they are aware of his disabilities and that his quality of life will be affected by living in the hotel environment.


Thank you. I have assisted my son in the completion of an online request for special housing accommodations. We are keeping our fingers crossed.