Students with special needs are entitled to diverse forms of assistance












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            * Students with special needs are entitled to diverse forms of assistance
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            It takes more than just learning effort in order to successfully complete a university deg

            moments, your path is blocked by barriers from around you. Support in tackling such barrie
            by a system of assistance to students with special needs run by Charles University´s Facul
            David Čáp, coordinator of assistance to students with special needs, explains.

            To begin with, could you define the type of person who receives your assistance. Who does 
            “students with special needs” apply to?
            They are a comparatively wide range of people, covering students with sensory handicaps, i

            hard of hearing, blind or sight-impaired. The group also contains students with physical h
            limited ability to move their arms or legs. Other people with special needs include studen

            with specific learning disabilities, i.e., in particular, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dysorto
            as those with chronic physical or mental disorders.
            What does an admitted student need to do in order to be eligible for the assistance?

            It is, above all, a good thing to indicate in the application form that you are interested
            handicap, in a modified version of the admission procedure. If the person is admitted, I c
            them with an offer of assistance and include them in the registry of students with special

            Another important thing is called functional diagnostics. The purpose of this is to identi
            what modifications of the degree programme and of the testing procedure the student requir
            meet their special needs. And having gone through the diagnostics, the student may make fu

            services. Functional diagnostics also lead to recommendations for the relevant teachers an
            guiding them on how to accommodate the particular student´s needs in order to allow his/he
            develop and be fulfilled.

            What forms of assistance are provided to handicapped students?
            First and foremost, there are the five key assistance services provided by Charles Univers
            ´s Office for Students with Special Needs. One concrete example is promotion of language e

            i.e. language instruction with modified teaching materials. Equally, sporting activities m
            students with special needs are provided centrally. Another form of assistance, targeted f
            in particular, is digitization of study materials. The deaf and hard-of-hearing make use o

            services which include taking notes and copying texts in addition to interpreting as such.
            key services is study assistance – this includes accompanying, tutoring, but takes a numbe
            as well.

            The Faculty of Arts itself runs a Psychological Counselling Centre, implements modificatio
            and exams, arranges barrier-free premises for study, equips lecture rooms and other premis
            technologies and ensures overall support for students with special needs.

            And what are your duties as Coordinator?
            The Coordinator acts like a liaison officer of sorts, mediating between two parts of the a
            communicating with the staff at the Rectorate as well as the Faculty of Arts academia and 

            apart from being a communicator, the Coordinator is, to an extent, an organizer and provid
            is also responsible for functional diagnostics, preparing modified versions of the admissi
            receiving tips from students and teachers for improving conditions for students with speci

            to put these ideas into practice. The Coordinator may also provide specific aids and promo
            changes. In some cases, the Coordinator will intervene with teachers, asking them to accom
            students´ needs by, among other things, introducing suitable learning materials (such as e

            documents readable by specialized software for the blind), individual consultation and ins
            ensuring short waiting times in exams for students who might suffer from extreme stress du
            periods, which might potentially affect their exam performance).

            I happen to be a psychologist and teacher at the Department of Psychology which means I am
            the Faculty´s Psychological Counselling Centre.
            In your opinion, is there anything that may still be improved regarding assistance to stud

            needs? Are any changes planned?
            The most burning issue is most probably that some of the Faculty´s premises are still not 
            free, especially the building at 20 Celetná Street. Another thing worth improving is the a

            students about the services provided; students currently seem to be very little informed. 
            factors, this fact has resulted this year in a new role of the Coordinator who is now expe
            action. It is because of these new responsibilities that I have been trying to identify FA

            handicap who have so far been unregistered, and to introduce them to the services they cou
            In addition, I have been seeking to improve the availability of information about this ass
            other members of the academia so that they know about the opportunities in time to success

            students´ problems.                                                                       
            PhDr. David Čáp has a degree in special pedagogy – ethopedy from Charles University´s Facu
            with special needs and member of the Faculty of Arts´ Psychological Counselling Centre, pr