<p>We have never depended on the disabilities office. It has been a dean or other administrator who has really helped, by e-mailing professors and vouching for the legitimate need for accommodations (which my daughter resists to a ridiculous degree).</p>
<p>I read somewhere that “reasonable” means that the school should not have to alter curriculum in any way, or suffer any financial or administrative burdens. That makes sense to me. The disabilities office can serve, in that sense, as a sort of guard dog who preserves the curriculum from incursions from accommodations that change standards or content.</p>
<p>Some schools,including my daughter’s do not offer incompletes at all.</p>
<p>It’s a tough break, but sometimes the best thing is to withdraw and have the slate wiped clean, which is an accommodation in and of itself. But for a chronic condition that would mean constant withdrawals, it can help to have a plan worked out, that can be activated quickly. That is the best reason for registering, and registration with disabilities is completely confidential.</p>