Sit/Stand accommodations serve a multitude of purposes across physical, mental, and emotional needs. As someone with both an autoimmune disease that affects my spine and ADHD, the ability to move around both alleviates my chronic pain and addresses my challenges with remaining still for extended periods.
This accommodation is not only for people with long-term issues. For many people recovering from operations or healing from minor injuries, the ability to sit and stand as needed is a temporary adjustment to their usual needs.
Test the accommodation out.
You do not have to wait for a doctor or disability services representative to “approve” your accommodation before you try it out. My back has been bothering me more than usual– probably because my study time has increased as finals approach. During a meeting in which I was struggling to get comfortable, Shana suggested casually, “Why don’t you stand up for a bit?”
For about a week since, I’ve been incorporating my own sit/stand accommodation and it has made a huge difference in my physical symptoms, as well as my productivity. Forcing myself to stay seated during meetings kept me in physical discomfort. As my physical discomfort increased, my ability to concentrate on the task at hand simultaneously plummeted until I was just left sitting, staring at what I needed to get done, yet unable to take action. As a result, I would take a break to clear my head and lose valuable time transitioning between the break and my work. It was not efficient.
By implementing the sit/stand accommodation, I’ve remained in the work-flow headspace longer, which means I’m able to utilize my time and energy more efficiently.
Get the accommodation implemented.
You can read about starting the accommodations process in a previous post, How to Get Started With Law School Accommodations. If you are seeking professional accommodations guidance, you can follow this link to book a free, 15 minute consultation with our legal team.
Follow your institution’s procedures for requesting a new accommodation or altering your existing accommodations.
Establish your need.
Most statements of need include the following elements:
What you are experiencing that makes the sit/stand accommodation reasonable for you.
The specifics of your accommodation implementation.
How this particular accommodation reasonably addresses your particular situation.
How this accommodation does not fundamentally alter the course or testing experience or unduly burden the institution implementing the accommodation.
A good starting place is considering what brought you to consider this accommodation. Do you need an opportunity to stand up and move around once an hour, does it vary, or do you mostly need to stand?
The process can be incredibly daunting, which is why I was eager to locate an education consultant who could help me understand and navigate the process over the summer before my first year in law school. Now, I've joined the Ginsburg team as a legal intern to provide you these pearls of wisdom I learned in my own process.
If you need accommodations assistance, contact Ginsburg's accommodations team today.