| Summary: | The evolution of the intercollegiate student-athlete has made great-changes and progress towards becoming a whole student and complete athlete, not one or the other. The redefinition of intercollegiate athletics has taken on the primary focus of creating stronger academic and personal support services for student-athletes. Essentially, it is believed that the problems in athletics are not insurmountable, but in the future we must create new programs of support and assistance for student athletes as well as take full advantage of those already in place. Holistic support programs that address psychosocial issues in academics and athletics can provide necessary assistance to student-athletes, through intervention and strategies that view the athlete as an individual with changing needs and skills, rather than exclusively as an athletic participant. These concepts are even more important for the student-athlete with a learning disability. However, the progress that has been made to create more holistic programs of support for student-athletes often times does not or rather cannot accommodate the needs of those students with learning disabilities. The purpose of this article is to evaluate and revise the model for Support Services for Athletes and provide recommendations on how colleges and universities can design and develop academic and personal support programs for student-athletes with disabilities.
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