Support Services for People with Disabilities
The Lebanese American University (LAU) provides robust support services for individuals with disabilities, ensuring an inclusive environment that promotes academic and personal well-being:
Student Support Services:
- The Dean of Students Office (DOS) offers individualized services for students with physical and mental disabilities, collaborating with campus clinics and other departments.
- Ad hoc services include guides for visually impaired students, assistance from the Emergency Response Unit, and faculty training by the Center for Innovative Learning (CIL) to accommodate diverse needs.
Counseling Services:
- LAU provides confidential counseling through licensed professionals to support mental health and personal development for all students, including those with disabilities.
- Services include individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and workshops to address various psychological and emotional challenges.
- Accessible online counseling options are available to ensure inclusivity for students facing physical or logistical barriers.
(Details can be found on LAU’s Counseling Services page).
Faculty and Staff Support:
- Faculty and staff with disabilities receive assistance through HR, facilities, and protection services.
Accessibility Enhancements:
- The Writing Center provides specialized support to help individuals with disabilities enhance their academic writing skills, through tailored virtual and in-person sessions.
Commitment to DEI:
- LAU’s active recruitment of students with disabilities reflects its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
These comprehensive services ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities to thrive in LAU’s academic and community settings.
Health and Wellbeing
Your academic achievement is important, but it is not separate from your social, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
LAU Health Clinics: Prevention and Care
The first step to staying healthy is knowledge. That’s why awareness campaigns are carried out every year and handy information is always available to students.
In case of emergency, a registered nurse is always available on each campus. The nurse can provide first aid and advise on next steps. Learn more
All students at LAU are insured for medical emergencies and hospitalization. Insurance fees are paid once a year along with the tuition fees. Those who already have insurance are exempted from some of these fees. View details
Counseling: Obstacles Begone!
Making the transition from high school to university can be stressful. At LAU you’ll find experts dedicated to helping students manage difficulties such as social or emotional issues. Students can seek help at any time during regular university hours. This is a service offered by the LAU Dean of Students’ Offices to all enrolled students. Consultations are confidential, free of charge and include: Short-term individual counseling and psychotherapy Crisis and emergency interventions Referrals to off-campus professionals Academic skills tutoring Career counseling.Learn more
Secure Campuses: Peace of Mind
We keep our campuses safe and secure so that our students have peace of mind. Campus security guards are stationed at our gates 24/7. There are cameras monitoring activity in key spots, including circulation areas at the dorms (halls, entrances). Weapons, alcohol, and drugs are prohibited on campus.
Accessible Library Software
In line with the university’s Strategic Plan IV-Pillar III, Innovate to Inspire, the LAU Libraries have recently acquired software that makes their content accessible to the visually impaired community. Designated desktop computers on each campus have been improved with JAWS (Job Access for Speech), a software that enables screen reading, and OpenBook, which converts print materials and PDFs into speech.
Counseling Services
Counseling at LAU helps you power through your university years. Starting with the school-to-college transition and all its emotional baggage, to dealing with anxiety such as that associated with remote learning, university counselors equip you with essential tools to effectively manage current and future problems.
Sessions are strictly confidential and free of charge for all students. They are typically scheduled once a week and may expand over several weeks depending on the objectives identified by the counselor.
When Should I Seek Help from a Counselor?
If you are experiencing one or more of the following concerns:
- Test anxiety
- Sleeping problems
- Low self-esteem
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Concentration problems
- Decision making problems
- Dramatic mood swings
- Hopelessness or helplessness
- Exposure to sexual, physical, or emotional abuse
- Anxiety, fear, or anger that affects everyday life
- Eating disorders
- Suicidal thoughts
- Loneliness and/or homesickness
- Procrastination
- Relationship issues (family, friends, romantic)
- Loss of a family member or loved one
- Poor academic performance.
What Types of Counseling Services Are Offered at LAU?
- Short-term individual counseling
- General consultation
- Group counseling
- Academic skills guidance
- Career/vocational counseling
- Crisis interventions
- On/Off campus referrals
If the counselors believe that the student’s concerns are beyond the scope of the services provided at LAU, they will provide the student with a list of off-campus professionals (i.e., psychotherapists and/or psychiatrists) from which to choose.
How will a Counselor at LAU Help Me?
Counseling at LAU offers you the chance to:
- Disclose and discuss sensitive issues in a safe environment
- Confide in someone who can be trusted for their open-mindedness and professional help
- Receive support and aid in overcoming distress
While knowing that all the information discussed during counseling sessions:
- Will not go on your official record, nor on your transcripts
- Are strictly confidential – unless the counselor identifies that there is potential for self-harm, or harm to others.
Tips During these Challenging Time
Surviving and Thriving in War Time
In Response to the Recent Unrest
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Mindfulness Benefits
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Dealing with Anxiety
LAU Counseling Services
Counseling at LAU helps you power through your university years. Starting with the school-to-college transition and all its emotional baggage, to dealing with anxiety such as that associated with remote learning, university counselors equip you with essential tools to effectively manage current and future problems.
Writing Center
Welcome to the LAU Writing Center!
We are pleased you are visiting our website and we hope you find the information helpful.
We provide writing support for LAU undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and the external community. We will work with you through the stages of writing and advise you on issues such as structure, clarity and grammar, in a flexible and friendly environment. We also provide several tutoring services including one-on-one, either in person or virtually, group tutoring and library walk-ins.
Bring your assigned papers and reports, projects, grant proposals, dissertation chapters, unfinished articles and conference papers, and our professional and peer tutors will help you at any stage of the writing process to produce a polished final draft.
We hope to see you at the Writing Center soon!
LAU students, faculty and staff:
We’d love to assist! You can schedule your individual free writing appointments through the WCOnline platform.
Non-LAU members:
We provide various paid consultancy services. Click on the “Book a Meeting via Email” button to schedule an appointment to assess your needs, we will then provide you with a work plan.
Disabled Access (ADA)
LAU follows international standards from the earliest design stage of new projects in order to guarantee buildings and grounds accessibility, offering an equal learning opportunity for physically challenged people.
Campus Accessibility Plans
Facilities Management provides accessibility plans that give students, faculty and staff a clear idea of the location of accessible buildings and grounds on both campuses Beirut Campus (PDF - 6MB) and Byblos Campus (PDF - 4MB). The accessibility plans are also used for ease of identification of elevators, external elevators and ADA toilets.