What Does a Disability Services Specialist Do?
If a student's disability affects classes or exams, disability services specialists are involved too. Whether working with a deaf student, a veteran with a head injury, or a student with ADHD, they need to be able to turn medical paperwork into accommodations, such as extra exam time or a sign language interpreter. In the case of a broken wrist, it might be something as simple as a note-taker for a few weeks.
Also known as: Disability Specialist
Disability Services Specialist Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a disability services specialist include:
- Meet with students to discuss how their disability affects classes, exams, housing or campus jobs.
- Review medical and psychological documentation to decide which accommodations are reasonable.
- Send accommodation letters to faculty each term and explain what each approved arrangement requires.
- Arrange sign language interpreters, real-time captioners and note-takers for classes and events.
- Schedule accommodated exams with extra time, reduced-distraction rooms or assistive technology.
- Mediate disagreements when an instructor believes an accommodation would change a course's essential requirements.
- Refer students for accessible textbooks, housing adjustments and counseling when needs go beyond the classroom.
- Keep confidential case notes and disability records separate from academic files.
- Train faculty and staff on disability law and on designing accessible course materials.
- Walk new buildings and event sites to spot access barriers and report them to facilities staff.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a disability services specialist, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Working knowledge of the ADA and Section 504
- Case management software such as AIM or Symplicity Accommodate
- Reading medical and psychological reports
- Calm, private conversations about sensitive health topics
- Firmness with faculty when an accommodation is required
- Familiarity with assistive technology, such as screen readers and dictation software
- Accurate, confidential record keeping
- Knowledge of Deaf culture and interpreter services
Education and Training
Certified rehabilitation counselors are the preferred hire at some colleges. Most specialists hold a master's degree in counseling or rehabilitation counseling, the level BLS lists as typical for this group of counselors and advisors. Colleges also hire from social work, special education and sign language interpreting, and smaller offices sometimes take candidates without a graduate degree.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $51,270 - $82,870 per year, with a median of $64,330.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors.
BLS projects employment of educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors, the group that includes disability services specialists, to grow about 3 percent from 2025 to 2035. The group should see roughly 27,800 openings a year. And, as long as federal law requires colleges to accommodate students with disabilities, specialists will be needed to make sure those arrangements work in practice.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors.