Several Boston University students claimed Disability and Access Services (DAS) — the office which evaluates and recommends academic accommodations to students with learning or psychiatric disabilities — is riddled with excessive, systemic obstacles for students seeking aid.
Students also described Lorre Wolf — DAS director and the University’s 504 coordinator — as someone who was suspicious, dismissive, derisive and rude in her relationship with students requesting accommodation or permission to bring an Emotional Support Animal to their BU residence.
Allegations also include reports that the DAS and Wolf denied what students argue were reasonable accommodations, asking some to be retested for disabilities personal medical professionals had already diagnosed.
“They’re not there to help. They’re there to fight me every step of the way. I don’t trust them,” one student said.
Some of the students who spoke to The Daily Free Press asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation from the DAS, adding negative interactions with the department have led to difficulties obtaining accommodations in the past.
Wolf is responsible for meeting with students with learning and psychiatric disabilities and reviewing their medical evaluations. She wrote the DAS is required to balance the interests of students with those of the University, and can not accept every student’s accommodation request.
“We sometimes have to dig deep to find the merit of some requests,” Wolf wrote in an email. “As director that role falls to me, so I am usually the target of student displeasure when we simply can’t approve something.”
Academic accommodations
The right to reasonable accommodations for students at privately funded institutions, such as BU, is guaranteed under Title III of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Zach Rossetti, an associate professor of special education at the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, said the term “reasonable accommodations” is anything that removes barriers preventing equal access to education without fundamentally altering the course or creating an undue financial or administrative burden.
According to a well-informed source who spoke to The Daily Free Press, for BU to deny requests for “reasonable accommodations” arguably constitutes a civil rights violation. Students who have issues with the DAS should first file a grievance with the office or, as a last resort, file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the source said.
Some students have brought lawyers into proceedings with BU following difficulties receiving accommodations. One filed a Section 504 grievance against the University for violating legal precedent.
“I truly felt that I was being discriminated against,” a student said.
Wolf wrote most students’ requests to DAS are met without issue, but added she understands “it’s very hard to ask for something” students feel they need, and “harder to hear” when the request isn’t met in the way they envision.
“I am always sensitive and supportive as we navigate this process with our students,” she wrote.
The student who filed a Section 504 grievance against Wolf said they requested an exemption from the foreign language requirement, a notetaker and priority scheduling. DAS denied all three requests.
“Why are things like priority scheduling denied for students with physical disabilities?” the student later wrote in an email. “It doesn’t matter to DAS whether or not it is actually fair or not. It matters whether it appears fair.”
The issue of campus accommodations dates back to a 1997 class-action lawsuit, Guckenberger v. Boston University, brought by BU students with ADHD, ADD and learning disabilities. Six students claimed BU discriminated against disabled students for reasons such as establishing “unreasonable, overly-burdensome” criteria for qualifying as a disabled student.
Former BU president John Westling testified in court proceedings at the time, admitting he fabricated anecdotal accounts of a student he dubbed “Somnolent Samantha” to demonstrate how lazy students often abused disability policy.
“I wanted notetakers but [DAS] wouldn’t give it to me because they said that would make me lazy,” said Marisa Dobbins, a senior at the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, adding she additionally applied to get time and a half on tests in the Fall of 2020.
It took the entire Fall semester for Dobbins to receive the accommodations she requested after being diagnosed with autism, she said.
The court ruled BU could not require students who had been evaluated by medical professions be retested in order to be eligible for reasonable accommodations.
One student said, despite having an ADHD diagnosis since second grade and getting reevaluated every five years, Wolf wanted them to get another psychological evaluation.
“I remember the gist being ‘Unless you have that test through BU, you’re not getting accommodations,’” the student said.
In an email, Wolf wrote doctors’ notes “may or may not be sufficient” depending on factors including the credential of the provider and whether it shows a connection between a disability and the accommodation, adding it is a “case by case, highly individualized process.”
“We do our best to work with whatever the student can provide and strategize with them to reduce the need for expensive testing,” Wolf wrote.
Ry Beloin, a second-year graduate student in the College of Fine Arts, said Wolf doubted the credentials of the psychologist’s letter she presented to the DAS in a Sept. 1 meeting, allegedly saying at the time, “I don’t even know that this is a real practitioner,” though allegedly declining to call the office’s number because she didn’t “have time for that.”
In an email, BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote it is “not uncommon” for DAS to request additional material before making a decision on students’ accommodation requests if the documentation is outdated, unclear or incomplete.
“They want you to get this very specific type of testing that costs thousands of dollars,” said Natalia Gonzalez, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. “It’s really hard to meet the conditions that they set forth to get accommodations a lot of the time because they want a lot of documentation that can be really hard to have if you don’t have a lot of money.”
One anonymous student said, even after a psychologist diagnosed her with ADHD and recommended they receive accommodations, Wolf denied their requests for time and a half and a reduced-distraction environment for exams.
“She said that I didn’t need accommodations,” the student said. “So basically, this woman told me that I wasn’t disabled enough to get accommodations.”
The student said they were eventually offered 25% additional time on exams and a quiet room to take exams in, but only temporarily until they could be evaluated by a therapist or psychologist to confirm their diagnosis.
Afterwards, they said they decided to have a meeting with dean of students Kenneth Elmore to explain their situation.
“Less than 24 hours later I received an email with accommodation letters for each of my classes with all of the original requests that I had made,” they said.
Elmore said he can work with students to solve their specific problems, but DAS is making appropriate decisions about accommodations based on student requests.
“I think the disagreements are going to be there,” Elmore said. “There are going to be disagreements about the outcome.”
Wolf’s behavior
Some students, all of whom met with Wolf in regards to their disabilities, claimed she was “brusque” and “dismissive” in her demeanor. One student recalled their experience asking for permission to bring an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to her BU residence “terrifying.”
“It was a day that I felt incredibly horrible by the time I got home,” Beloin said. “By definition, everyone [who visits] the office is someone who is of higher vulnerability for difficult things.”
Wolf declined to comment on individual student situations.
According to the DAS website, students requesting an ESA should meet with DAS and submit a “Provider Psychiatric Disability Verification Form” and a “Student Acceptance of Responsibilities for ESA In Housing Form” 60 days before the beginning of housing assignments in order to be granted permission.
Beloin said she submitted her request for housing accommodations, including her support animal, Aug. 26 and met with Wolf Sept. 1, which is after housing assignments for the semester were released.
In the presented letter, Beloin also said her psychologist outlined her need for a support animal due to depression and anxiety. Wolf allegedly called it a “generic ‘dear landlord’ letter” and did not accept it.
“She picked up the letter and she laughed, it was like a scoff, and she threw the letter back down toward me onto the desk and she said ‘I’m not taking this,’” Beloin said.
Beloin said Wolf went into detail describing how Beloin would likely be evicted from BU housing if she had her support animal without the correct paperwork.
“As she’s describing to me, in detail, about how terrified I should be of being imminently evicted, on her screen, and on the letter on the desk in front of her, is all this detailed information about my clinical diagnosis of depression and debilitating anxiety,” Beloin said.
Riley wrote that because BU is a “no-pet” campus, the DAS carefully considers all ESA requests, adding it is important for students to follow all the procedures laid out on the website.
“Any student who does not complete the entire process is violating the terms of their [Residence Life Agreement], and that can theoretically include losing their housing,” Riley wrote.
Gonzalez said Wolf would act like she “didn’t believe” she had the conditions outlined in the provided documentation, in conversations she had with her when trying to get ESA approval last year.
Because DAS requires students to apply for an ESA a semester ahead of time, and it was often difficult to find appointments, Gonzalez said they believe the office’s current system is “inherently inaccessible” to students, many of whom often have urgent needs.
“It’s pretty much impossible to do it the way that they laid out for you unless you can have someone else take care of the animal for you and the need isn’t urgent,” Gonzalez said.
After their negative experience with DAS and Wolf, Gonzalez said they did not feel safe in BU housing and decided to move off campus.
“I felt like at any moment they would just kick me out for not having one correct document or not updating things exactly on time because they were constantly very threatening,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez believes Wolf’s conduct is “actively harmful” to students with disabilities.
“I do think that Lorraine Wolf is abusive of her power over disabled students,” Gonzalez said.
I have run @BUParentsUnited for almost 2 years now and I can tell you point blank, this is exactly the feeling I have heard from many BU parents and families. In fact rather than remembering the federal laws that she has the honor of implementing to offer any student with any physical or mental health challenge, she has left parents and students feeling lost and frustrated with her ambivalence and condescending manner of communicating . Parents have overheard her on an “ open mike “ over Zoom complain about how they get on her nerves. It should be a privilege to help any student ease their burdens and offer them accommodations whenever possible, so they can fulfill their dreams of a stellar BU education. This article is long overdue especially as students have been resilient many unaware of their own rights when facing challenges under the Office of Civil Rights and American Disabilities Act. For example mental health challenges are real challenges and one can request accommodations. BU has s responsibility to hire employees who wish to help our terriers succeed and reach for the stars.
This pandemic has shown us all that BU as well as other colleges have a lot of work to do when it comes to meeting the mental health needs and rights of students. It’s time to be proactive and if Wolfe is burned out, it’s time to go.
As someone who attended BU for both undergrad and my masters, and is now a student at another U.S. university, my experience with BU Disability services was very different than my experiences with the disability services at my current university. Unfortunately, BU Disability does not shy away from making students feel they must defend their need of accommodations rather than coming from a place of positivity and support. The process of applying for accommodations at BU was much more stressful than the process at my current university.
I am an ADHD coach working with HS & college students. I am on a committee with ADDA (Adults with ADHD Assoc) that is working to create a framework to help colleges be more ADHD friendly. In my research, I am dumbfounded at how difficult schools make it for students with disabilities to apply for services. The paperwork is burdensome & confusing requiring high level executive function skills. Besides the application process, simply locating the disability services on most college is difficult to find. This article is deeply disturbing. To think that students who are trying so hard to get their accommodations are forced to jump through hoop after hoop. Why is this person in a role if she lacks compassion for the students she is hired to help? Shame on BU.
BU’s DAS and SHS are genuinely the worst I’ve ever experienced. Dr. Wolf openly supporting eugenics and Autism Speaks should’ve raised red flags for everyone (she has SEVERAL books about them in her office, not even hidden).
The gaslighting and dismissiveness I have received from Lorre Wolfe is obscene. Despite having multiple diagnosed disabilities which require daily treatment and having ample documentation from several doctors whom I see regularly, I have been fighting for YEARS to have my accommodations approved and still haven’t had success. The fact that disabled students have to BEG for the smallest inkling of support and be denied is disgusting, humiliating, and dehumanizing. I have had extremely negative experiences with both Lorre Wolfe and Stacey Harris. They have failed to take me seriously, have reneged on several promises to provide reasonable accommodations without providing a solid explanation why, despite me following all of their orders to properly request said accommodations, and behaved in hostile, unprofessional manners. With this current leadership, Boston University is failing to provide an equitable environment for students with disabilities. Instead, we must unreasonably contend with a highly inaccessible and hostile environment.
As the mother of a child with a neurological disability, I understand how crucial it is for students to obtain necessary support services. I also understand how much planning goes into educational accommodations on both ends, which is why supporting documentation must be submitted as early as possible. I can’t imagine requesting approval for an ESA, basically on move-in day. I’m hoping I read that wrong . . .
One thing the article fails to mention is that the responsibility of accommodating students with disabilities falls 100% on Professors with zero support from DAS after letters are approved. In a class of 100 students, I usually have about 10 students with letters, mostly for distraction-reduced or distraction-free environments and for time + ½. Distraction-free environment? We have to somehow find an empty room for each student as well as a someone to proctor each exam. Just not possible, real estate is too tight and TAs are too limited. Time +1/2? We have to both come early for those needing to start early and stay late for those needing to end late. Not always possible either. All to say, we can barely fulfill the disability requests that are getting approved in the way our students deserve.
Let me share how it’s done at other universities with working Disability Services offices. You receive a notice at the beginning of the semester that a student needs a quiet environment for testing. Are your tests on paper or on Canvas (the LMS)? Would you like to proctor the test yourself or would you like to provide the test to DSS, and they will proctor the test in the individual testing rooms they have available in the center & they schedule for students? It’s no extra work to faculty, unless you choose to make it so.
All the money it costs to attend BU and they can’t manage a functional DSS office when public universities do it with less money & more students?
I went to Dr. Wolfe both for an ESA and ADHD accommodations. During a meeting about my ESA she caused me to have a panic attack and didn’t care. She looked at me with annoyance and told me it wasn’t her problem that the conversation caused me anxiety. During the process she lied and manipulated the words of my roommates to find reasons to deny my ESA request. And for my ADHD accommodations it took two weeks to get the letter to send to my professors that was obviously just a template with info copy and pasted in. My roommate had an even worse interaction with her for their own accommodation request. The university is incredibly inaccessible and its so disheartening and frustrating.
I am a high school teacher.
Accommodations for students at times seem ridiculous. Case in Point: Restless Leg Syndrome. Student gets to leave class and ends up wandering around.
More than 40% of my school qualifies as disabled and gets accommodations. How can this be?
Perhaps Wolf just want to be scrupulous in separating the truly disabled from the grift?
this comment is hella sus
“Hilda Burg” really subtle, can’t think of a single disastrous blimp with a similar name
I find Dean Elmore’s responses interesting, because I also had a meeting with him after my interactions with Wolf. I conducted a survey of students who had been through the DAS office, and was sharing the results with them. Quite literally dozens of student testimonies about the harmful processes and behavior they were subjected to, and in many cases, naming Wolf directly, though I had not mentioned her anywhere when I posted the survey. Elmore dismissed me, yelled at me, then eventually half-heartedly told me he would look into it and follow up with me, which he never did. This was December of 2020. And now, he says it’s a matter of case by case disagreements, as if he does not know that its a systemic issue that has been brought up to him directly. But, of course, since it was a private one on one meeting, he can say what he wants with no repercussions, right?
This is the exact reason I have not reached out to get accommodations. It is 1. Extremely inaccessible to get tested AGAIN, failing to mention that getting tested as an adult has ridiculous wait lists, as well as, most insurances do not cover testing neurodevelopmental disorders. Secondly, most accommodations are plastered as the same for every student and fail to recognize how each individual is impacted differently and markets adhd as ‘distractibility’ when it is far more than that, and professors fail to recognize how this disorder impacts our executive functioning, in our every day life, not JUST in the classroom. Thus making it harder for us to work at the rate of our peers, or feel the need to work twice as hard and causing us to burn out faster.
We have to continuously fight to be believed at the hands of authority that no next to nothing about the disorders themselves and how they truly impact students. It is not just getting ‘distracted’ and notions that brush us off to seem ‘lazy’ and we just need to ‘try harder.’ ADHD, ASD, and more are neurodevelopmental disorders, there is no cure, they are differences in our brain functioning and processing.
I promise you, no student who isn’t actually disabled would go through the exhausting dehumanizing lengths to be believed if they didn’t ACTUALLY have the disorder. Given we had to get tested in the first place, and are forced to be tested AGAIN.
Amen! As a MOM who fought tooth and nail for my kid from K-12, and finally having to file a formal complaint through ACT Testing… I feel for the young adults having to advocate (FIGHT) for themselves in college. I was told by one school system that my child’s Psychologist was “not a real doctor” and that I would have to have her retested by a Psychiatrist or PCP before they were required by law to honor the 504 recommendations…
Knowing how demeaning it was to have a school 504 Officer tell me “they won’t have accommodations in the real world. Our job is to teach them to live without them.” to me as a MOM advocating for my child…I can only imagine what it is like for the college students.
BTW, my reply to that Counselor was: “A) said child will choose a profession for which they can work with (in spite of) their disabilities, not against them and B) it isnt possible to outgrow a neurological disability…, any more than someone in a wheelchair can “just get up and walk because there is no ramp. Just because you cannot see a mental disability does not mean it is not there.” People working in these positions of power need to learn to exercise compassion; and I pray they never have a close family member diagnosed.
Currently fighting DAS right now over a thankfully temporary mobility disability in which I need accommodations for. They are absolutely appalling in their conduct, Dr. Wolf in particular. She told me it was my fault I was in the accident and was injured, and rather than working out options with me, told me to take a leave of absence. She offered no other options despite my willingness to be flexible in what BU DAS could provide me, and when I told her taking a leave of absence wasn’t an option, she said it “wasn’t her problem.” Wasn’t her problem?? As if it’s not literally her job! When ai requested anothet phone or zoom call with her to discuss this, she told me she had no availability for the next two weeks, despite the fact that this is an urgent issue. I had to go to the the dean of my college to fight for myself, who wasn’t much better but at least was open to working with me. I’m lucky my disability is only temporary, and it’s absolutely ridiculous that DAS makes it this hard to receive accommodations.
For as much as this school costs, you would think BU would do a better job of accommodating its students. Do better, BU, and fire Dr. Wolf.
I am the parent of a student who graduated from BU. Dr. Wolf was unreasonable and difficult thought the process of my daughter requesting accommodations. She was told her condition wasn’t specific enough. My daughter was told by Dr. Wolf that depression wasn’t a valid disability as well as severe IBS.
I am glad people are coming forward. No one should be subject to such treatment.
Although I was requesting dining and housing accommodations from DAS, I was sent to Dr. Wolf. She told me my disorders are fictitious, that my doctors notes were invalid, and requested I come back with “more conclusive” results. I did actually get more testing paperwork but by the time I was able to get it done, she told me my case was closed with the department and I would have to start all over. She’s a sinister person who should never work with people again. BU has the responsibility to let her go as an apology to all of the students who were made to feel worthless and burdens after meeting with her.
Last year she basically told me there was no way I was depressed because my grades were still good…
i had my accommodations approved freshman year. the process was agonizing but my documentation wasn’t questioned. i think a big part of that is that i had already heard of people’s unpleasant experiences with lorraine and was very careful to play my cards right… which unfortunately involved sitting through lorraine’s weird culturally voyeuristic questions before we even got to discussing my accommodations. i also wonder whether it’s because my disability was of a physical nature and was thus treated with less skepticism. i was diagnosed with a few mental illnesses sophomore year but opted not to go to DAS this time, knowing that the process would feel even more inaccessible and discriminatory based on their history with non-physical disabilities. last semester, i contacted disability services (and lorraine) about one of my approved accommodations but their replies were delayed, extremely dismissive and didn’t actually address my issues, like an autoresponse based on the email’s subject line rather than the questions i posed. i was not taken seriously until one of my professors advocated for me, and even then i had to clarify myself several times because lorraine operated under the assumption that i was just confused and didn’t understand how the process worked, which she made condescendingly clear. by the time i got my accommodations (which were approved 2 year earlier) for that class, my health had already deteriorated too much.
I share the sentiments of many comments here regarding mistreatment by Wolf. I encourage any BU student who had a negative experience with Wolf that you feel may be a violation of ADA regulations and/or motivated by discrimination to submit a complaint to Boston University’s Equal Opportunity Office. EOO is required to open investigations of any reports of harassment, discrimination, etc. According to their website, “individuals who wish to file an anonymous complaint may do so by leaving this field blank, however, the anonymity may impact the ability of the University to respond or proceed.” I cannot personally speak to what the outcome would be, and I know that reporting can be a very personal decision, but I wanted to share this resource for anyone who may find it helpful.
You can access the reporting form here: https://bu-gme-advocate.symplicity.com/public_report/index.php/pid950781?rep_type=1004
Hilda Berg
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a serious neurological sleep disorder affecting up to 10% of the population. Research is ongoing, and researchers have identified genetics, low brain iron, and underlying dopamine abnormality as potential causes for the disorder. PubMed lists over 5300 peer-reviewed publications on RLS.
The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation is the leading patient service organization supporting the RLS community. Our volunteer network comprises physicians, researchers, and support group leaders who provide reliable, up-to-date, and non-biased information to individuals living with RLS.
As a former school nurse and mother of a child with RLS, I would like to send you a packet of information to better educate yourself about the disease and understand the challenges faced by children and their families who live with RLS on a daily basis.
Working collaboratively with school personnel, I am happy to report that we created a successful education plan for my daughter.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
My “Me Too” with Dr. Lorraine Wolf involved her questioning why I needed a weekly quiz, which was 20% of my grade, written on paper. The weekly quiz was put up on a screen and we had just a minute to absorb the question and answer it. Because of my slower processing disability due to my autism diagnosis, I had a letter from my speech & language therapist requesting that it be put on paper so that I could process it and take the test in a quiet room. Dr. Wolf and Professor Supa both agreed it was going to be allowed for me. This is against the law for people with my disability. As a result I failed the class by 3 points and had to re-take it.
This article is interesting timing, as I just received my accommodations this past week. My first interaction with DAS was with Ms. Harris. I am a new student at BU obtaining my Masters and seeking accommodations. I have auditory processing disorder, a learning disability, and was diagnosed at age 6 and reevaluated every 3 years. The Q & A portion of my disability conducted by Ms. Harris was appalling. I don’t know if she has ever heard of the disability before, because she was asking odd questions. I got diagnosed by my audiologist that I maintain contact with. I think she was confused that I got diagnosed from an audiologist and not a behavioral specialist, doctor, or psychologist, but whatever. She asked me if my behavior got diagnosed and I quote her “by playing with building blocks and getting examined”. I responded “when I was 6”, but besides the point, she didn’t think that paperwork from my audiologist was sufficient enough to receive accommodations. I even had my audiologist write a letter to DAS and my undergrad DAS write a letter to them. Nothing was enough. Ms. Harris said to me that I might need to be reevaluated, which shocked me. The paperwork and evidence was right before her eyes! I also asked for extended time on papers/assignments for 1-2 days because I get distracted easily by any noise. This accommodation is rarely used but very much needed around midterm/final season. She said that only students with physical accommodations get it and that if I can’t handle submitting things on time, I should take less classes and take longer to complete my graduate program.
On a side note, I learned that BU doesn’t have a testing center, or a proctored exam room. I’m pretty shocked to hear this because my undergrad and my community college both had it. It would solve so many issues of a quiet exam room, and for students who have to take tests for longer periods of time. With my 50% time extra on exams, I took advantage of these resources and they really helped. This school can definitely afford to convert a big room into a testing center, I just don’t understand why they haven’t.
My family does not have a culture of mental health care, and so I had never consistently explored professional help for my difficulties. Fortunately(?) ending up in a hospital in 2020 meant I was immediately connected with mental health professionals and I worked with my therapist to send in the needed forms to BU DAS. I was then was sent a link to another form to fill out with the same questions. Did they think our answers would be different? Why the double work? I was frustrated and clawing my way out of another depressive episode and didn’t get to the form until a couple days later. In TWO DAYS the link had expired and I needed to start the process over. At that point I just cried and ice creamed my way through the rest of the semester. What if someone comes without documentation because they weren’t well enough to go through the fifty million hoops to get the help? In undergrad when my difficulties first became abundantly apparent, I was immediately given free on campus support and accommodations. All I had to do was show up to my appointments, which were on campus and within easy walking distance.
Come semester 2, I finally finish all the redundant form filling out and snag an interview with DAS. Dr. Wolf was the most condescending human I have ever had the displeasure to meet with. It takes a lot for me to ask for help. I was struggling so much that I even wrote Dr. Wolf to remind her of the things she had said she would do/connect me with that she hadn’t. I felt that if I hadn’t gone through this process during an upswing in my mood and therefore had the capacity to remind her, that she would not have followed through on her end. Snide comments, invasive and uncomfortable questions, a demeanor that felt closed off. Just unpleasant.
I refuse to feel guilty or as if I’m somehow deceiving the powers that be by honoring my needs. I cared enough to put the effort in to apply to school, and I care enough to put the effort in to get through it with integrity and excellence. I would like to feel that BU cares enough about me to help me do that too, with my mental and physical health still intact.
I had such a hard time getting DAS to believe that I have my diagnosed illness, despite the fact that I have proven tests from my doctor, that I just ended up giving up on trying to get official accommodations and have just had to ask my professors for what I need myself, which I shouldn’t have to do as a student with a disability. Communicating with DAS is awful and things need to change. I genuinely do not know a single person that has had a good experience with them.