Services & Supports

SAS offers a range of services and supports to ease the transition to university, support you in develop your skills and access the services on campus that support your needs.

Jump to:

Skill Development
Services
Designated Accessible Study Spaces
Assistive Technologies

Find the support you need:

Skill Development

Assistive Technology Specialist

Our Assistive Technology (AT) Specialist provides training and support in the use of assistive technology (software and apps) and accessible features found within your laptop or phone. Speak to your Accessibility Counsellor about a referral if you would like to explore how AT can support your learning.
You may also be interested to learn more about our designated accessible student spaces on campus and assistive technology.

Academic Skills Coach Supporting Autistic Students

An Academic Skills Coach is available to autistic students who are registered with our office.
Academic Skills Coaches can help you with developing and implementing time management, study strategies, organization skills, problem-solving methods and more.
They can also help with navigating processes and can refer you to events, clubs and organizations on campus.
Speak with your Accessibility Counsellor about access to an Academic Skills Coach.

Academic Peer Mentors

Academic Peer Mentors are available to support students registered with Student Accessibility Services. They provide support with navigating processes such as accessing your Letter of Accommodation and signing up for tests and exams. They also help with developing academic skills like time management, study strategies and note-taking. They can also support with just navigating life as a student!
Students can be referred by their Accessibility Counsellor to work with an Academic Peer Mentor on an ongoing basis or can attend drop-in sessions with our Academic Peer Mentors. Speak with your Accessibility Counsellor to find out more and take a look at the Student Accessibility Services eClass for upcoming workshops and events run by our Academic Peer Mentors.

Services

Interpreters and Live Captioning Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

If you have ASL Interpreters and live captioning services listed in your Letter of Accommodation, you can request interpreting and live captioning support for course-related appointments, group meetings, administrative appointments and co-curricular activities.
Please note: Live captioning services are only provided to students who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing.

VanGO

VanGO can provide a wheelchair-accessible van to help you move between buildings on York's Keele Campus. Priority is given if you are going to and from class.
If you are registered with Student Accessibility Services, speak with your Accessibility Counsellor about access to VanGO.
If you are not already registered with Student Accessibility Services and only require VanGO support, you will need to provide medical documentation (e.g. a note from a fracture clinic) by uploading it to our VanGO Request Form.

March of Dimes Canada (MODC) Attendant Services at York University

March of Dimes Canada logo

If you require assistance with personal care or activities of daily living, you can apply for Attendant Services through the March of Dimes. This can include personal care (toileting, bathing and dressing), meal set up and feeding assistance, housekeeping, laundry, setup support before and after class and shopping on campus.

Learn more about March of Dimes Attendant Services

Designated Accessible Study Spaces

These spaces provide a quiet place to study and relax during your day on campus. Students registered with Student Accessibility Services can request access at the Keele and Markham campuses by filling out our Adaptive Equipment Labs Request Form.

Keele Campus

Assistive Technology (AT) Lab, Room 1017 Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building, Keele Campus

Located on the first floor of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building on the Keele Campus
The AT Lab provides a quiet workspace with internet access. Computers in the lab have word processing and Assistive Technology (JAWS, Kurzweil 3000, Read and Write Gold, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Inspiration and ZoomText) or you are welcome to bring your own laptop. You will find our Assistive Technology Specialist, Academic Skills Coach and Academic Peer Mentors in the AT Lab.
Summer Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Adaptive Equipment Lab, Room 134 Scott Library, Keele Campus

Located on the first floor of Scott Library on the Keele Campus
The Adaptive Equipment Lab offers study spaces, accessible furniture, accessible washrooms, scanners and computers with assistive technology (JAWS, Kurzweil 3000, Read and Write Gold, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Inspiration and ZoomText).
Hours: The Adaptive Lab is open during regular Scott Library hours.

Markham Campus

Adaptive Learning Lab, Room 3030, Markham Campus

Adaptive Equipment Lab offers quiet and low-sensory study spaces, accessible furniture, washrooms, computers, printing and software (JAWS, Kurzweil 3000, Read and Write Gold, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Inspiration and ZoomText).
The Adaptive Learning Lab is open during regular Markham Library hours.

Technology available in our accessible study spaces:

JAWS

JAWS is a screen reading tool that converts on-screen text, icons and menus into synthesized speech. This enables blind and visually impaired users to navigate computers, browse the internet and use applications independently.

Inspiration

Inspiration is a program that allows you to easily create a visual representation of a mind map or brainstorming session.

Colours and shapes can be used to organize ideas. These diagrams can be collapsed into a linear outline that uses headings and subheadings. This outline can be copied into Microsoft Word. As a result, this program can facilitate the essay writing process.

This tool is great for brainstorming and for outlining an essay that has already been written to check for flow. This program can also be used to create study notes for tests and overheads for oral presentations. Templates can be created for any task that follows a repeated structure,, such as lab reports, or for breaking down a task into smaller steps.

Kurzweil

Kurzweil allows you to scan reading materials, have them appear on the screen exactly in their original format and have those materials read back to you.

As Kurzweil reads, it will track the sentence and word it is reading. The document can be made larger or smaller for students that have visual difficulties or those who get distracted by seeing too much of the page.

Kurzweil also reads definitions or synonyms of selected words. In addition, itcan extract highlighted text or notes. This text can be pasted into a word processing program for further note building. This is an amazing program that supports people with reading speed and comprehension. It can also be used to develop study skills related to reading and note making.

TextHelp Read & Write

This program works in conjunction with other programs like Microsoft Word. It reads text-based documents aloud for you. This program also includes spell checking, word predication and a thesaurus, which are specifically designed for people with learning disabilities.

You will be able to write a document and then hear it read aloud to check for flow and mistakes. When spell checking the document, you can hear the suggested corrections aloud. This is useful if you cannot differentiate between the words in the list. This is a great program for increasing independence in editing.

Dragon Naturally Speaking

This is a program that transcribes your speech with the help of a headset microphone. After the program learns your voice, it can perform all the functions of a normal word processing program using auditory commands.

For example, you can compose, edit and save documents all through voice commands without needing to touch the keyboard. It also allows you to listen to what has been dictated to ensure accuracy.

Services & Supports

Services & Supports

Find the support you need:

Skill Development

Services

Designated Accessible Study Spaces

Keele Campus

Markham Campus

Technology available in our accessible study spaces:

JAWS

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