Academic accommodations and considerations are often handled by the course instructor. Clarify this with your instructor at your orientation meeting, and ask for advice on what to do if students come to you with accommodations-related questions.
That being said, make sure that your interactions with students are as accommodating and accessible as possible. If you are hosting office hours, vary the time of day the hours are held so that they accommodate the schedules of a variety of students. Offer meetings by appointment for students who cannot make your office hour times. If you are holding online office hours, these same principles apply. If you are meeting students face-to-face, make sure that the building you are meeting in is accessible to students with mobility devices. If the same questions are coming up during office hours consider posting a Frequently Asked Questions page that students can access asynchronously.
TA Tip: Make sure your students are aware of Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS), and reach out to QSAS if you have any questions yourself.If you are not sure how to effectively help your students, ask them how they could best be supported.
Resources:
- Teaching Resources - Queen's Accessibility Hub
- Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations - Queen's Accessibility Hub
- Creating Accessible PDFs - Adobe
- Removing Barriers: Accessibility and Accommodation - University of Waterloo
- Trigger Warnings - University of Waterloo