Some Separation Anxiety: Accessible Learning Services and Counselling Services | The Teaching & Learning Centre

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by Sherri Parkins, Learning Strategist in Accessibility Services and Faculty Development Advisor in the Teaching & Learning Centre

If you have been at Seneca for a while, you might be used to referring students to “Counselling,” an umbrella term for services offered to students who might need “accommodations” for their courses or to help them navigate through life issues. Did you know that they are now separate services?

If you are considering referring a student for help, you will want to consider what the student is saying as you support them. If the concern the student is expressing seems to be challenges such as relationships, lack of housing, financial, etc., you would want to connect them with Counselling Services. You don’t need to worry about which counselling service is appropriate for your student, but you might be interested in the types of counselling support offered:

Student Support and Intervention Specialist (SSIS) Service

• Meet with an SSIS, typically within the same day, for support navigating social service or education system regarding a situational concern (housing issues, food insecurity, safety concerns, etc.)
• Provide information, resources, or connections to school or external community services

Quick Connect

• Meet with the next available counsellor about what's concerning them, typically within a week
• Supports the student to gain ideas, skills, and or resources to get started
• Reconnect as needed with the same or a different counsellor

Brief Ongoing Counselling

• Meet with a Counsellor for a series of sessions about what’s concerning them
• Have their progress monitored with regular follow-up appointments, typically every 2-3 weeks
• In the first appointment(s), discuss their personal goals and any relevant background information
• Support the student to gain ideas, skills, and/or resources to achieve the goals over time

Students who are indicating that they have a diagnosis/disability or that they had an IEP in the past can connect with the Accessible Learning Services. In addition to providing guidance throughout the accommodation process, students may access additional support through meetings with an Assistive Technologist or a Learning Strategist.

Accommodation Letters versus Letters of Consideration

Accommodation Letters

An Accessible Learning Services Counsellor can issue a letter of accommodation based on medical documentation. The Counsellor and the student work together to explore the best accommodations for them. Sometimes these accommodations need to be adjusted depending on course demands and format.

The accommodation letter provides direction on how to support a student in the classroom. Sometimes accommodations require further discussion and collaboration between the accessibility counsellor and the professor in order to determine what accommodations may support the student's ability to demonstrate their learning based on the course objectives.

Letters of Consideration

In Counseling Services, a counselor can issue a “letter of consideration” for the student to be given some basic accommodations while they navigate their current life situation.

If a student is expressing a disability or diagnosis, or perhaps uses terms like having an IEP in the past, you'd want to refer them directly to Accessible Learning Services.

If you're unsure about the kinds of supports that a student might need, you can always contact the Counsellor or Accessibility counselor noted in the letter of consideration/accommodation.

This Spark Plug article gratefully acknowledges the support of Tanya Andrews (Director, Counseling Services), Natalie George (Counsellor), Heather Leckey (Director, Accessible Learning Services), Euodia Leung (Counsellor), Mitchell Mallette (Senior Manager, Accessible Learning Services), and Venky Sridhara Rao (Senior Manager, Counselling Services).

^{Header photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY 3.0}

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