Grants for Students with Disabilities

Grants Offer Big Incentives and Support

Students with disabilities face many more challenges than do traditional students. Many have mobility challenges or difficulties navigating campuses and institutions. Others have hearing and visual impairment. But outside the physical challenges students with disabilities also battle psychological barriers.

The federal government assures that all students, regardless of disability, will get a college education if he or she wants one. Colleges and universities have made significant structural renovations to accommodate mobility challenged students. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act changed the way the college systems dealt with disabilities—it’s all about accessibility.

Students with Disabilities

If you’re a college-bound student with a disability then part of the responsibility for getting a good education rests on your shoulders. YOU are the student, after all. Make sure you are totally engaged during college interviews and absolutely visit the campus. You must learn first hand how user-friendly your potential new home is before you agree to anything.

Disabled Student Grants from Organizations

Organizations for the disabled are primary sources for grant and scholarship aid.

  • National Association of the Deaf provides a variety of resources for hearing impaired students.
  • National Federation for the Blind is the largest national organization dedicated to the blind and low-vision Americans. The federation is instrumental in providing a wide range of helpful aids AND for providing psychological and emotional support and advocacy that has spurred on plenty of college students. Annual grants are awarded to full-time college students and to an adult learner attending part-time. All applicants must be legally blind to qualify.

Colleges and Universities that Offer Disabled Grants

Part of your process in narrowing down colleges and universities is in finding those that provide grants for essential equipment you’ll need to have the same chances in your studies as other students. For example, if you’re blind you will need access to Braille and reading aids; hearing impaired you’ll need a signer, adaptable computer software and accessibility to professors able to adapt teaching methods to match your needs as well as the needs of his/her other students.

Federal Trio Programs that Aid Disadvantaged Students

Many colleges and universities offer a TRIO program. These are primarily support services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including minorities and disabled students. The purpose of TRIO is to build bridges that break down barriers that could work against students as they progress through their college careers.

Colleges for the Disabled

Of course you cannot compete with a college that is specifically designed for the challenges of disabled students. In the U.S. the following institutions have been mainstays in the academic environment and they get better every year. Expect grants and scholarships to be quite plentiful:

  • Gallaudet University is famous for its dedication to the post-secondary education of the deaf. Undergraduate and graduate students may apply for a number of grants.
  • National Technical Institute for the Deaf at RIT is a pioneer in technical education for hearing impaired students. Located in RIT, one of the nation’s top technical schools, students are learning that disabilities pose few barriers. Deaf students can apply for a variety of grants.