Disability Accommodations

Arkansas State University maintains an Office of Disability Services for assisting students with disabilities. Since students with varying degrees of physical disabilities are actively seeking a better education, such students may consider a career in the clinical laboratory sciences. Clinical Laboratory settings do employ persons with disabilities. The following guidelines may be helpful in helping persons with disabilities to determine their potential for success in the clinical laboratory setting.

The clinical laboratory environment requires the employee to have a reasonable degree of mobility and to lift weighted items. In addition their coordination needs to be such so as to allow for fine manipulations and movements. Physical handicaps such as: loss of motor skills that are compensated by braces, hearing loss, deafness with the absence of understandable speech, total deafness, speech defects, cardiac disorders, abnormally short stature persons or individuals on crutches or in wheel chairs are capable of working in the clinical laboratory.

Because laboratory work requires good visual acuity and color discrimination, students with severe color perception defects or partial vision defects which cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lens will find laboratory work very difficult, if not impossible. Students with correctable visual defects have, in many cases, been able to compensate for this problem and work successfully in the laboratory.

It is strongly recommended that those individuals with physical disabilities should visit a clinical laboratory and shadow a working technologist through out the day. By talking to the professional technologist and observing the varied activities of the laboratory, then the student can accurately evaluate his potential and capabilities for a career in the clinical laboratory. Contact the program office for assistance in making such arrangements.

Dr. Jennifer Rice-Mason, Director of the Disability Services Office, is designated as Arkansas State University coordinator of services for students with disabilities. As such, she is the university’s coordinator for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this capacity, Dr. Rice-Mason arranges for academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to be provided to qualified students and coordinates work place accommodations. She is also the individual to whom concerns about physical access to facilities should be addressed. Dr. Rice-Mason’s office is located in room 410 of the Chickasaw Building. The telephone number is (870) 972-3964.

Arkansas State University will provide auxiliary aids, without cost, to those students with verified disabilities/ handicaps who require such services. If service providers are necessary, Arkansas State University will provide appropriately trained providers.