"Attitudes are the real disability" - Henry Holden

The Role of the Office for Students with Disabilities at McGill.

The role of the OSD is to provide academic accommodations and services for McGill undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students who have a documented disability. Our legal mandate is to provide reasonable accommodations within a framework which does not compromise academic objectives and standards, and our position within Student Services emphasises our goal of supporting individual student success.

We do this through the application of principles outlined in the “Social Model of Disability” and the “Processus de Production du handicap”, so that we approach our support of students through the identification of factors within the university environment that are likely to support success; and implement accommodations, when required, to overcome academic, administrative and physical barriers within the university environment which may impede that success. The OSD accomplishes these goals by encouraging the adoption of both the Principles of Universal Design and Universal Instructional Design, and by working proactively with students and all units at McGill.

As we assist McGill students who have a disability we observe principles outlined in the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by ensuring that we respect the dignity and the autonomy of the person; we work to prevent discrimination and promote equality of opportunity; we support the enhancement of both inclusion and accessibility; and we promote a respect for difference.