- PMC’s Core Functions
- New Term Checklist
- Academic Accommodations
- Skills Development and Connection
- Resources
- Graduate Student Support
Welcome to the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC)! You’ve successfully registered with us; now what? On this page, you will find information about individualized disability accommodations, services and resources available to you as a PMC student.
PMC academic accommodations and support services are tailored to the individualized disability-related needs of each student and based on documentation provided by a regulated health care practitioner.
PMC’s Core Functions
PMC’s Three Core Functions
What we do, at PMC, falls into three Core Functions: accommodation; skills building; integration and connection.
These core functions inform the ways that we:
- Provide individualized disability accommodations and support services while maintaining academic standards.
- Provide skills building opportunities to foster independence and resilience in university and beyond.
- Foster integration and connection to the greater-Carleton community by working with campus partners to build capacity to support students with disabilities.
New Term Checklist
The PMC new term checklist is a quick and easy way to make sure you get each term started and set-up for success. We’ve included information about important deadlines to note in your calendar, your responsibilities as a student how and when to seek support from your PMC Coordinator.
The New Term Checklist includes:
- Important deadlines for requesting your accommodations
- Deadlines to apply for PMC-administered awards for students with disabilities
- Information about your responsibilities as a student
- The types of support your PMC Coordinator can provide
- How to book an appointment with your PMC Coordinator
Take the time to review our to-do list of things you should do every term to ensure you academic accommodations and support services are in place.
Academic Accommodations
Accessing accommodations in a postsecondary setting often looks quite different than it did to have an IEP (or similar) in high school, or other venues. The biggest difference is that it is incumbent on you, as the student, to self-advocate and ask for the support(s) that you need. Support is available, but you need to take the steps to secure it.
Academic accommodations and services, classroom accommodations and exam accommodations are individualized to each student and the learning needs of each course. They must be requested each semester, and will vary course-to-course in order to fulfill learning needs and outcomes.
Our Academic Accommodations page includes:
- Information about what academic accommodations in University look like
- Requesting academic accommodations
- Types of accommodations and services that may be available to students with disabilities
- Information about exam accommodations
- and more…
Skills Development and Connection
Learning Strategies and Assistive Technology Services
We aim to support students in developing their learning skills and strategies in ways that are individualized to them, specifically. To do this, PMC Learning Strategists and Assistive Technologists work with students to provide individualized one-to-one service designed to address the students’ learning goals and improve their academic performance.
Disability Counselling
Students registered with the PMC can receive counselling support from graduate students supervised by a registered psychotherapist for mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Disability counselling interns use evidenced-based practices and solution-focused interventions to help students address symptoms of mental health while focusing on academic functioning. Typically, students can access 6-12 sessions during the academic year.
The following topics can be explored and discussed in disability counselling sessions:
- Managing difficult emotions and improving emotion regulation
- Increasing self-awareness about the impact of thoughts and emotions on behaviours
- Learning new ways to relate to thoughts and emotions
- Improving communication skills and relationships while maintaining healthy boundaries
- Managing one’s disability and symptoms of mental health
- Developing new strategies and identifying new actions to address patterns of behaviours that no longer work
- Exploring values and increasing motivation
- Incorporating time management and organizational skills to self-monitoring strategies
For additional information or to be referred to our disability counselling services please speak with your PMC coordinator.
PMC Support, Social and Study Groups
In efforts to support students in keeping connected with the PMC, each other and their studies, the PMC has created and launched a series of support, social and study groups open to all PMC-registered students.
Offerings Include:
- PMC Learning Strategy Workshop Series
- Grad Student Writing Group
- ADHD Group
- and more…
Mentorship Volunteer Program
The PMC’s Student Mentorship Volunteer Program (MVP), connects PMC veterans with PMC newbies to help make many aspects of university more approachable to students with disabilities. We aim to pair mentors and mentees who share similar disabilities and/or areas of study.
Please note that the PMC MVP Program is currently on-hold. Stay-tuned for updates about the program return.
Resources
PMC works in partnership with the Carleton community to increase accessibility for students with disabilities into all aspects of university life. There are many student resources and support services available to Carleton students.
On our PMC Student Resources webpage you will find disability-specific and general resources offered by the University to assist you with your various needs during your academic studies.
Resources available for PMC students include:
- Information about the Attendant Services program for students with physical disabilities
- Career and employment support through Accessible Career Transitions (ACT) and ACT to Employ
- Financial resources such as scholarships, bursaries and awards available for students with disabilities
- Library Accessibility Services
- Mental Health Resources
- Learning support(s)
- Student Associations