Campus Disability Working Groups & Departments

The Center for Transition & Career Innovation partners with local, state and national organizations to improve college and career readiness for students and youth with disabilities. The Center serves as a local, state and federal resource to improve college and career readiness for students and youth with disabilities.

The Committee on Disability Planning and Action (CDPA) leads and coordinates the University of Maryland’s efforts to provide access to members of the university community with disabilities. CDPA strategizes and develops long-term plans for access in areas of infrastructure and technology and monitors the institution's ADA compliance. CDPA works in partnership with various units across the university to ensure that disability services are available for students, employees, and campus visitors.

The university is developing five cultural centers, including one for students with disabilities. The cultural centers will be centrally located in renovated, accessible spaces in Cole Field House.

The Hearing and Speech Clinic at the University of Maryland provides speech, language, and hearing services for individuals of all ages with a wide variety of disorders and conditions. Located in LeFrak Hall in College Park, the Clinic is operated by the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences as both a training and research facility of speech-language pathology and audiology.

The new Maryland Initiative for Digital Accessibility (MIDA) combines the expertise and passion of researchers, designers, developers and educators from multiple disciplines at the University of Maryland with a united goal of making digital technologies accessible for all. MIDA aims to involve the disability community, private and public partners, and anyone interested in accessibility issues, in technology development projects, public outreach programs and advocacy.

Established in 1986, the President’s Commission on Disability Issues is responsible for advising the President on issues of concern to people with disabilities and bringing awareness to the campus community on disability and equal access issues.

The Commission investigates and studies these issues as part of the University’s commitment to the full participation of all members of its community in the educational, cultural, and social life of the campus. Its mission is to recommend steps and to provide programs, advocacy, and resources that will help the University create a respectful, inclusive, and universally accessible environment for people with disabilities.

SIGNA (the Social Interaction Group Network for All) is a skills training program developed for UMD college students that offers specialized training in social communication, executive functioning, and self-advocacy skills in individual and group settings.

SIGNA is part of the Neurodiversity and Autism Transition Services (NATS) program featured in Maryland Today in October 2023.

The SUCCEEDS Clinic is a resource dedicated to providing services to UMD students with ADHD struggling with academic or mental health difficulties.

TerpsEXCEED is an inclusive post-secondary education program at the University of Maryland, College Park that provides Maryland students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in a college experience for two years, culminating in a certificate. This program is part of the Maryland Hub for Inclusive Higher Education. Please contact ihehub@umd.edu with any questions about TerpsEXCEED.

The Trace Research & Development Center has been a pioneer in the field of technology and disability, known for high-impact research and development. Their mission is to capitalize on the potential that technologies hold for people experiencing barriers due to disability, aging, or digital literacy, and to prevent emerging technologies from creating new barriers for these individuals.

The University of Maryland Autism Research Consortium (UMARC) is an interdisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, and service providers in the Departments of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Psychology, Human Development, Linguistics, Kinesiology, Special Education, Career Center EmployABILITY program, and MAVRIC at the University of Maryland in College Park and, the University of Maryland Schools of Medicine and Social Work in Baltimore.