<p>The ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which the ADA is based on, do not cover specific diagnoses. In order to be considered as disabled under these statutes you need to have a problem, not just a diagnosis, which interferes with a major life activity, for example, learning, walking, standing, speaking, or seeing. This needs to be determined by an appropriate, certified (and often very expensive) professional. You also need to be qualified for the program. At the postsecondary level that means that you are considered eligible for admission. </p>
<p>If you are considered a qualified individual with a disability (qid) you may be entitled to accommodations, e.g., assistance designed to level the playing field as much as possible, but not to give a qid any advantages over non-disabled students. Depending on your disability, at the postsecondary level, that may include scribes, sign language or verbal interpreters, tapes or brailed books, an accessible classroom, or extra time. Colleges are not required to provide qids with items for personal use such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, or personal aides. </p>
<p>The obligations of colleges to provide accommodations to disabled students are substantially less than those of elementary and secondary schools because children have to be in school by law; young adults do not have to go to college. So, the requirements are different. Additionally, for a variety of reasons colleges may hold you to a much higher standard when they assess whether you have a disability; higher than a school did in determining whether you needed an IEP or a 504 Plan</p>
<p>Read the following pamphlet very carefully. It will answer most of your questions. </p>
<p>"Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities"
<a href="http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html</a></p>
