Disability Services

Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) is committed to insuring students with documented disabilities have the opportunity to take part in educational programs and services in accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are federal laws designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds. Under this law, individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include caring for one’s self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, and learning.

How to Request Accommodations

Support is available to assist you in becoming a successful college student. To receive protections outlined in Section 504 and ADA, each individual must show he/she is an individual with a disability and request reasonable accommodations.

After you have received your acceptance letter from LFCC, please complete the Disability Services Application and schedule an appointment at:

the Middletown Campus with Larry Friedenberg, Disability Services Counselor, at 540-868-7165 or e-mail lfriedenberg@lfcc.edu,
at the Fauquier Campus with Brian Richardson, Coordinator of Student Success, at 540-351-1507 or e-mail brichardson@lfcc.edu, or
at the Luray-Page County Center, please contact Eddie Walker, Disability Coordinator, at 540-843-0722, or e-mail ewalker@lfcc.edu.

Please bring your documentation (see below). At this meeting, your eligibility for services will be established and the types of accommodations you may need will be discussed.

Required Documents

Please bring current (within the past two years) copies of medical, educational and/or psychological records to your meeting with the counselor. Alternatively you may have your records released and forwarded to the counselor.
Documentation on file for the student should include the following:

A diagnosis of the physical, mental, or emotional impairment that may qualify as a disability,
a description how the diagnosis was reached,
the credentials of the professional making the diagnosis,
a description of current functional limitations and how the diagnosis affects a major life activity,
how the disability currently affects academic performance,
a description of current and past accommodations, assistive technology, medications, and other aids or support services, and
prognosis and expected functional impacts over time.

While an Individual Education Program (IEP) may help identify effective services, it is not considered sufficient documentation for accommodations.

For additional information on disability documentation, check the following resources:

Self-Advocacy

Once you receive an accommodations letter, you may present this letter to your course instructors in order to receive the specified accommodations. This letter officially communicates your accommodation requests to faculty and staff. It is your responsibility to share your need for an accommodation with your instructors. Students are advised to make an appointment with their professors and discuss the content of their accommodations letter. The type of disability you have will not be shared with instructors unless you share the information.

If your professor has questions or concerns with the accommodations letter, refer the professor to the appropriate counselor.

It is recommended you share your accommodation letter with professors as soon as you receive it. Accommodation requests will begin at the point in time you give the letter to your professors; accommodations are not retroactive.

Contact the Disability Services Counselor if you are having Academic Difficulty

Although the disability services process is designed to identify all relevant accommodations, accommodation letters may be revised during the course of a student's enrollment due to changes in disability status, disability documentation, or program standards and requirements.