The Students with Disability Internship Project is a three year demonstration project intended to enhance career services for students with disabilities in higher education. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and The Career Center, Cal State Northridge. Opinions expressed are the Project's and do not necessarily represent the position of the funding agency or the host institution.

This handbook is a compilation of information from different sources designed to provide you with introductory information on working with people with disabilities. By no means is this book intended to offer all the answers to meet your disability related needs. However, it is a book of resource information that can provide you with avenues to get the assistance you and your company are seeking. In choosing and developing the materials contained here, my staff and I tried to anticipate and address what we perceive to be some of your more common questions and concerns.

This publication suggests ways to interact and communicate with people with disabilities. While there is really nothing extraordinary about such interaction and communication, using the suggested behaviors could bridge some of the perceived and real differences that exist between people with and without disabilities. As we attempt to eliminate barriers, we come to realize how critical the understanding and support of supervisors and co-workers is to this process. It is because of this fact that we have prepared this handbook.

Despite the variety of numbers and resources we have provided you in this handbook, always remember that when you are working with a person who has a disability, the most valuable asset you have in determining what accommodations to provide is the person themselves.

Information in this manual and references to the Americans with Disabilities Act and legal guidelines are generalized. This publication aims to provide an overview and direction, not a manual on legalities. For specific legal information, it is important that a copy of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) be read &/or information be sought from a legal expert in this field. There is much published material about the ADA and the ambivalence of some of its passages is frequently challenged. See the "Useful Phone Numbers" section for numbers to call for up-to-date information.