For Parents
Below are a few resources you may find useful as you prepare for the transition of sending your son or daughter to Cal Lutheran.
Documents
How to Help Your Student
- Encourage Self-Advocacy. We will be working with and supporting your student. They will be our focus during conversations and decisions. Encourage your student to make the first step to contact our office to schedule the initial meeting. If they want you to be with them during the meeting, this is fine, but speak to your student beforehand about them taking the lead role in the discussions. View the COVID-19 Open Letter to Parents for other tips on encouraging your student to take an active role of their DSS services.
- Assist in Preparing Necessary Documents. One aspect of registering with DSS for aids and services is to submit appropriate and relevant disability information. This documentation should be signed and dated by a qualified professional stating the student’s disability and a description of specifically how the disability impacts the student in an educational setting. View the Appropriate Disability Information Handout for more details.
- Explore Points to Ponder. Take time to discuss with your student about their expectations for heading into college. Review together what accommodations they or may not have received in high school; which of those worked well and which did not. Engage your student in a conversation about when and how they best focus and study during an average day. Help them think through how long it might take them to read a textbook chapter versus one in a novel, or write a research paper verses writing a self-reflection paper etc. If your student struggles with taking exams, talk with them about what specifically causes the most challenges. Speak with them about what are their strengths and how they might continue to develop those. Encourage your student to use self-reflection and to consider what career paths they may want to take or how they may want to positively impact their greater local and global communities in the future.
Office for Civil Rights
This is a straight forward website that comes from the U.S. Department of Education. It helps educate students with disabilities transitioning into college about their rights, their responsibilities, and general services provided at an institution. There is a thorough section with responses to the questions typically asked by students with disabilities as they head into college.