Faculty often have more contact with students than administrators and may be in the best position to realize that a student is having difficulty. There are a range of places where a student can be referred including Student Affairs/Services, advisors, etc., and it may be easiest to start with an office other than SDS if you are not sure what may be impacting the student. If they do report a possible disability including ongoing medical conditions, letting them know about how to contact SDS will be important, especially since it is our legal obligation to share this information whenever a disability is reported or accommodations requested without a letter from SDS.
Here is information that can be shared directly with the student:
Student Disability Services is available to provide support to students who are being impacted by a disability and who may want to explore or request accommodations or services related to it. There is a designated SDS coordinator at each school who can be contacted to ask questions and get additional information.
If you are ready to request accommodations, you can submit the SDS initial application online as a first step in that process.
SDS is also available to discuss or consult about any concerns before you refer a student. While we cannot share information about specific students without their explicit consent, we can provide information about our process as well as possible accommodation. SDS can expedite requests when students are injured or have a change in needs that may require new accommodations. Please make sure to let us know if your outreach is time sensitive.