Campus Resources for Access InterVarsity

A side view of crowd worshipping at Urbana, with two students in wheelchairs. The lighting is blue and yellow.

Campus Resources for Access InterVarsity

5 Stages of Disability Awareness

A journey map showing the stages of disability awareness in 5 flag shapes in pink, orange, blues, and green
  • Ignorance – Lack of knowledge (rude or negative opinions)
  • Pity – Feeling sorry (good opinions but ignorant actions, they need healing)
  • Care – I can help (good opinions and a heart to help effectively)
  • Friendship – Genuine relationship
  • Co-Laborers – Serving together

Steps to Starting an Access Small Group

  • Ask questions and see if an Access small group is needed (Another option is to help your existing chapter be more accessible.)
  • Pick a place that is accessible on campus to meet.
  • Invite disabled students and allies to the group.
  • Go through the Belonging Bible Study.

Nine Tips for a Disability-Friendly Chapter

These nine practical tips will help your chapter become a more welcoming and disability-friendly community.

  1. Provide a warm, friendly, welcoming environment.
    • Greet people with disabilities as you would anybody else.
    • Communicate, in words and actions, that people affected by disability are loved, belong, and are included in your InterVarsity group.
  2. Provide basic disability awareness training for staff and student leaders.
  3. Improve accessibility. Make modifications where necessary.
    • Imagine yourself in a wheelchair or having a difficult time with mobility and make changes as needed.
    • If necessary, modify the access to the main entrance at a large group or small group event, or move to a new location.
  4. Provide serving opportunities for people with disabilities.
    • God gives all His children spiritual gifts. Include people with disabilities in all areas as you learn their strengths and spiritual gifts, just as you do with all students.
  5. Provide disability-friendly materials as needed.
    • For example, have large print or Braille Bibles available and print song sheets for those who are visually impaired.
    • Consider providing assistive listening devices for the hearing impaired.
  6. Provide space in large group gatherings for wheelchair users.
    • Shorten a few rows or take some chairs away so wheelchair users can sit with their friends.
  7. Provide a sign interpreter for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  8. Provide a mentor/friend for those who might need assistance.
    • Someone can offer assistance during meeting times, as well as helping a student with disabilities get across campus if needed.
  9. General communication and interaction tips.
    • Treat people with disabilities as you would anyone else.
    • Be relaxed.
    • Don’t get caught up with fancy terms such as “physically challenged.”
    • In speech and in writing, put the person first, not the disability.

 

Downloadable Resources - 3x3

3x3 resources give you quick tips: 3 important facts to know, 3 common mistakes to avoid and 3 suggested activities to try on campus.

Welcoming Students with Disabilities

Open 'Welcoming Students with Disabilities' PDF Download DOCX Version

3 Things to Know3 Things to Avoid3 Things to Try
  1. Students with disabilities need a place to belong and grow in their areas of gifting.
  2. They have unique obstacles to overcome as they consider joining our chapters and being our co-laborers
  3. The percentage of U.S. students with a documented disability according to the National Center of Education Statistics: 19% Undergraduate and 12% Post Baccalaureate.
  1. Don't assume. If you've met one person with a disability, you've met one person with a disability.
  2. Watch your language. Defer to what the individual (or group) with the disability prefers.
  3. Avoid architecture and attitudes that cause exclusion.
  1. Pray and ask God to help you build a close friendship with someone who has a disability.
  2. Visit your school's disability office to learn about services provided and ways you can be more involved.
  3. Think through your chapter's various meetings. Are they accessible for all students to meet Jesus? If not, what can be changed?

 

Welcoming Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Open 'Welcoming Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)' PDF Download DOCX Version

3 Things to Know3 Things to Avoid3 Things to Try
  1. Autism is a developmental disability which affects three main areas: communication, social interaction, and repetitive behaviors or interests. The official title is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as each person falls at different points on the spectrum and is unique.
  2. One in 44 children have been diagnosed with ASD, according to estimates from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. And autism is four times more common in boys than girls.
  3. Individuals with autism often experience sensory overload and high anxiety. Loud or large groups with a lot happening simultaneously can be difficult. Smaller, quieter settings are often helpful.
     
  1. Don’t make snap judgments. Those with autism often appear uncomfortable and the reality is they are often misunderstood and mistreated. Students with autism want and need to be accepted and loved just like everyone else.
  2. Don’t assume ASD affects intellectual ability or go to the other extreme and assume everyone with autism is a savant. Everyone with autism is different and one size does not fit all!
  3. Avoid sarcasm, at least until you get to know your friend with autism better. Those on the spectrum are often literal thinkers. 
     
  1. Pray and ask God to help you build a close friendship with someone who has a disability.
  2. Visit your school's disability office to learn about services provided and ways you can be more involved.
  3. Think through your chapter's various meetings. Are they accessible for all students to meet Jesus? If not, what can be changed?

 

Welcoming Students with a Mental Health Diagnosis

Open 'Welcoming Students with a Mental Health Diagnosis' PDF Download DOCX Version

3 Things to Know3 Things to Avoid3 Things to Try
  1. One in 5 adults in the in the U.S. (52 million in 2020) have a mental health diagnosis according to the National Institute of Mental Health (source).
  2. Everyone experiences worry and feeling down. With a clinical diagnosis, symptoms last at least two weeks and keep people from functioning at their typical level.
  3. There are many different mental health diagnoses including/not limited to bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety disorders. While there are common symptoms, each person's experience of the diagnosis is unique.
  1. Don't judge or spiritualize something that is biochemical. Ex: you wouldn't tell someone who has diabetes to stop taking their insulin and instead pray, read the Bible and have more faith.
  2. Watch your language. It's easy to say things like, "I'm kind of OCD" but Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real anxiety disorder. Be respectful.
  3. Don't stop including your friends with mental health diagnoses. Let them decide if they want to participate or not.
     
  1. Be an empathetic listener. Learn to say, "That sounds hard," and "I'm sorry."
  2. Check out your campus counseling center to know what resources are available. Encourage friends to seek professional help if they've repeatedly tried to change thoughts, feelings or actions but have been unsuccessful on their own.
  3. In a crisis, call the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 988 or text 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Resource Topic - Primary
Community
Discipleship
Resource Type
Guide
Audience
Everyone
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Kathlyn Roffina

Kathlyn serves as a Campus Staff Minister at Rider University and Rowan College of South Jersey in New Jersey. She first got involved in InterVasity as a freshmen at Rider University where she currently serves. She has a passion on helping students get the accommodations they need to grow closer to Jesus no matter there ability. She lives in Morrisville, PA with her husband and son.

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