Our work starts with the belief that how we think about disability affects how we relate to others with disabilities.
Accessible Educational Services (AES) is the disability services office for IU Indianapolis, IU Columbus, IU Fort Wayne, School of Dentistry, McKinney School of Law, and the School of Medicine students.
Our office determines if a student qualifies for accommodations, approves reasonable accommodations, and serves the campus community to ensure the implementation of those accommodations whenever possible.
Mission Statement
Accessible Educational Services (AES) fosters humanizing and collaborative practice, ensuring access, advocacy, and justice to create a more inclusive and equitable educational environment for disabled students and students with disabilities.
Request Accommodations Online!
*While you are welcome to submit a housing request at any time, it is beneficial to complete your housing contract prior to making your accommodation request. The priority housing contract deadline is March 15th. The implementation of housing accommodations relies on the availability of spaces that meet the requirements. Approved housing accommodations remain on file with AES and the housing office and are implemented as space becomes available.
Students can now request accommodations online with Accessible Educational Services! Simply point your browser to the Accommodation Request form to securely submit your information and upload your Medical Documentation. You will receive a response from AES inviting you to schedule an intake appointment.
This appointment will likely take no more than 30 minutes. It will take place in-person, via phone, or via Zoom. You will have an opportunity to discuss how your disability affects your academic experience. You and AES staff will also talk about which accommodation(s) would be most appropriate for you.
Be prepared to upload your Medical Documentation if you have it. If you have none or if your documentation will come from your medical provider, go ahead and submit your online accommodation request. We will discuss your documentation during the intake appointment.
Please contact our office if you have any questions.
Accommodation Process
There are three steps in the accommodation process: Determine qualification, approve accommodations, and accommodation implementation. AES holds exclusive authority and responsibility for the first two steps (Qualification and Accommodation). The academic unit—usually the course instructor—is responsible for implementing approved accommodations. AES serves as an instructor resource during the implementation step.
Who are Persons with Disabilities?
A person with a disability legally defined as "any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities," a person who "has a record of such an impairment," or a person treated as if he/she has a disability.(Rehabilitation Act of 1973)
Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, feeding one's self, working and learning. Often disabilities are grouped as Physical disorders (auditory, visual, orthopedic, chronic illnesses, or systemic neurological disorders), Learning disorders(dyslexia, ADHD, disorders of written expression, dysgraphia, autism spectrum disorder, etc.), and Emotional Disorders (affective disorders, thought disorders, behavioral reactions, etc). Some individuals may have multiple disorders or varying degrees of a disorder which means that accommodations vary from individual to individual which in turn means that the university must have documentation about each individual’s disability to determine how best to serve them. IU Indianapolis has designated Accessible Educational Services (AES) as the office to receive and evaluate documentation, determine the appropriate accommodations, and support academic units implementing those accommodations.
