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June 2012 ALERT

Letter From the Editor

Congratulations! You made it through another year. Summer for many of us is a time to catch up on that stack of readings that are sitting on your desk; a time to start those big projects that we have not had time to do during the academic year; a time to regroup, evaluate your strategic plan, goals, and objectives. As we shift gears into this time of reflection of the past year in order to make changes for the upcoming academic year, it is a wonderful feeling to know that we have so many professionals at our fingertips to help us. The listservs are very busy right now discussing the hot topic of changing our documentation guidelines. It allows us to network all year long and learn from each other. What did we ever do without technology? Oh yeah, we had the AHEAD conference and we still have the AHEAD conference. I hope to see you all there in just a few more weeks and for those of you who are unable to make it, remember that all of the handouts are available online and so are we! Have a great summer everyone.

Emily (Singer) Lucio
lucio@cua.edu
ALERT Editor

Message From AHEAD President

For many, the formal school year has concluded and commencement ceremonies are over. Hopefully you’ll have time for a bit of rest and reflection before preparing for the next round of new and exciting students. In preparing for the next year, I am hopeful AHEAD members are reviewing and evaluating the information disseminated to students about documenting disability for accommodations. The new AHEAD guidance on documenting for accommodations has most likely caught your attention. The word guidance is used, not guidelines, because this new professional guidance is a framework for a process rather than a list of requirements. A compendium of questions (and answers of course) about the new guidance is being compiled and will be linked to the documentation guidance. Interest in this new guidance is very high with nearly 500 sites listening in to the webinar on May 24th. There will be a concurrent session on the updated documentation guidance during the upcoming New Orleans conference in case you were unable to tune in for the webinar and will be at conference. An audio recording of the presentation, scripts, and materials will soon be available for low-cost purchase as well.

Every year AHEAD is pleased to awarded scholarships to students. Thanks to the proceeds from last year’s silent auction in Seattle and sponsorship from TextHELP, scholarships were recently awarded to the following highly deserving recipients:

Undergraduate Students
Cynthia Smith, Monroe Community College
Carol Gilson, University of Texas at Austin

Graduate Student
Emily Townsend, Florida State University/University of Colorado

Professional
Rhiannon Morgret, Frostburg State University

TextHELP
Manako Yabe, University of Southern California

To continue this great practice of recognizing and supporting outstanding students, please contribute to this year’s silent auction in New Orleans. Even if you’re unable to attend the conference, the silent auction organizers welcome all contributions. If you’re at the conference, look for some interesting contributions from the AHEAD Affiliates. I understand the groups initiated a friendly competition to have high earning baskets representative of their areas! Every year there are more deserving students to which AHEAD would like to award scholarships. The auction proceeds determine how many can be given so your support of this fun and easy activity is vital. To make an auction contribution visit: http://www.ahead.org/conferences/2012/silent_auction
As I’ve mentioned in my ALERT columns before, AHEAD regularly considers support of different legislation, making public comment on disability specific issues, and direct advocacy on certain matters. One such vital disability matter presently being supported by AHEAD, along with disability rights organizations around the country, is ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). The AHEAD Board fully supports ratification of the CRPD, the first human rights treaty of this century. We are providing members with information on how to express their opinions on ratification as part of our continuing commitment to raising members’ awareness of all-things-disability in the US as well as globally. For more information about the CRPD visit: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml.

In addition to engagement on emerging or urgent disability issues, AHEAD has long-standing affiliations with other collaborative groups to address particular issues having direct connection with our association’s mission. An example of such a group is the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). CAS develops standards for student affairs services in colleges and universities. Formerly called Disability Support Services under CAS, the newly renamed (at AHEAD’s recommendation) Disability Resources and Services Standards and Guidelines are currently being revised. A team of board members is closely studying the standards and proposing revisions to ensure they reflect recommended best practices in our field. We expect the revised CAS DRS Standards and Guidelines to be available for schools in the spring of 2013.

The end of the school year signals the advent of summer and, for me, the upcoming AHEAD conference. I am excited about the AHEAD Conference in New Orleans the week of July 9th. From an impressive line-up of preconference workshops to incredible plenary sessions, a new strand of sessions designed by the Standing Committee on Professional Development called OUT OF THE BOX!, a very full exhibit hall, it adds up to plenty of opportunities to expand your knowledge and recharge yourself about the fantastic work that is disability services. Add to that the wonderful eateries and culture of New Orleans, I’m certain the conference will be fantastic. Hope you are able to be there. For more information go to http://www.ahead.org/conferences/2012

Our annual conference is a time of transition for the AHEAD Board of Directors as board terms coincide with it. As Tom Thompson, Scott Bay and I conclude our terms with the board, I welcome our new President-Elect Dr. Bea Awoniyi from Florida State University and Melanie Thompson from Northern Illinois University who will be a Director-at-Large. An appointment to the board will be made by Scott Lissner, incoming President. Thanks to everyone who cast a vote in the recent AHEAD elections.

During these last two years as President of the Board, I have been very fortunate to have come to know Dr. Devva Kasnitz, President of the Society for Disability Studies, whose wisdom has been much appreciated. One of our many conversations focused on the use of the phrase “students with disabilities.” Scholarship in the field of Disability Studies challenges this phrase despite its intent to put people first. As Dr. Kasnitz, who does have a disability, tells me she is not “with” disability but a person who experiences disability. AHEAD’s Board, respectful of this shift, is examining the use of the language of disability across association resources. When scholars such as Kasnitz, Linton and others advise using disability terms including “disabled or disabled people” (referring to a group), “person who experiences disability” (referring to an individual), disability service professionals need to recognize and acknowledge these shifts in their own practices.

Writing my last ALERT column has given me an opportunity to reflect on the two years I’ve been privileged to serve as President of the AHEAD Board of Directors. I have had the good fortune to work with fantastic people in shaping new directions for our association. The Standing Committees are doing fantastic work with much more planned; the new documentation guidance is the beginning of a series of professional guidance resources under development; new tools for international engagement are being offered this year; the association’s reputational growth and influence is evident in calls for contributions and new alliances where AHEAD’s expertise is sought; and most importantly, AHEAD is fiscally solid with an increasing membership. Thank you one and all for your shared commitment to our professional association and for your support of my service during these past two years.

Jean Ashmore, President

AHEAD Standing Committee on Professional Development

AHEAD’s Standing Committee on Professional Development worked closely with the Board and drafters on the new guidance on documentation. The Committee is now engaged in designing resources to support DS professionals in implementing the new guidance and reframing their work in response. The OUT OF THE BOX! strand of conference sessions will provide foundational information for both new and continuing professionals as they refine current practice relative to changing standards. Please check your conference schedule for information on that professional development certificate program.

Thoughts on AHEAD’s New Guidance on Documentation
Sharon Downs, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Director, Disability Resource Center

The new guidance from AHEAD on documentation practices is a welcome change. Many of us have been moving in this direction for the last several years, and it is going to be quite helpful to have our national professional organization provide this level of support and credibility. For some, though, this could be a scary time. The old way of doing things was familiar and comfortable. Change and moving ahead are never as easy as sitting still - but they’re a lot more rewarding!

In my mind, DS personnel now have a couple of issues to address: (1) what to post on our Web sites about documentation, and (2) defining our own internal procedures.

Policy for Web Sites
Under the new guidance the purpose for posting documentation requirements seems to have shifted. In the past it was so that students would come in with the paperwork we needed to satisfy our institutional protocol. Now, however, it should be to convey to students a welcoming message - an invitation to begin dialogue with the DS staff about what barriers the student may be facing or anticipating. Part of that discussion may involve third-party documentation, but to publish that as a requirement runs counter to the ADAAA, and it reinforces ‘old thinking’ that is no longer applicable.

Still, our inclination might be to post our documentation requirements in very specific terms on our departmental Web sites. I know that has been the case for many schools for years. However, the AHEAD guidelines make clear that a deliberative and collaborative process is the path to establishing accommodations. This makes it all but impossible to say that we definitely need any particular form of documentation. It wouldn’t make sense to try to describe something that is so variable and nuanced in concrete and absolute terms.

There is no need for third-party documentation in cases where primarily and/or secondary forms of documentation suffice. So why not simply post on your Web site that the process for determining accommodations is a collaborative one that may or may not require third-party documentation. Encourage students to contact you to engage in a discussion to identify and remove barriers in their academic experience, and leave it at that. If documentation is needed, it will be an informed decision based on real information, and not hypotheticals or blanket statements.

The welcoming tone of this language can help students avoid putting themselves through extensive (and expensive) tests unnecessarily, or becoming so discouraged that they don’t make that first appointment to meet with you about accommodations.

As you redesign your published documentation policy, imagine how it might be read from a new student’s perspective. Is it going to be seen as an open invitation to contact the DS office? Will students with no documentation who are experiencing barriers feel encouraged to begin a dialogue with you? Will they feel discouraged? Use the answers to these questions to guide you in designing the most welcoming policy possible.

Internal Procedures
If nothing else, the old hard-and-fast rules for documentation (i.e. must be dated within three years, etc.) gave us consistency. The need for consistency and credibility as a department is just as prevalent today. Departmental procedures for determining what external documentation is needed (if any) will help to ensure that students are getting a consistent response from you and your staff. Again, the consistency is no longer in requiring the same information from each student. Rather, it is by applying a consistent process for all students with whom we meet. This ensures that we are being fair to students, and at the same time protecting our institutions.

My guess is that at the AHEAD conference in New Orleans, many of us will be engaging in conversations to start to figure out what those internal procedures need to look like. Some of us have such processes in place already and will be sharing them in the Out of the Box strand of concurrent sessions. At my university, we developed a decision tree to guide us. Others have created different ways to ensure they are engaged in a consistent process with students. We can all learn from each other’s' experiences as we go down this road together.

Conclusion
What we do as DS professionals in postsecondary institutions is varied, complicated, and fascinating. But for too long we have been reduced to being the ‘documentation police’ in the eyes of some. In my opinion, the focus on documentation has taken up far too much of our psychic energy for far too long. This shift away from requiring extensive external documentation before we’ve determined what’s actually necessary in each situation will help us focus on where the real problems lie - the environments in which students interact. When there are barriers in those environments, whether they be programmatic, physical, attitudinal, or technological, we must work together as a team to remove those barriers. The new guidance regarding documentation helps free us up to put our energies into identifying and removing barriers. And isn’t that why we’re here in the first place?

Affiliate’s Corner

AHEAD 2012 - Affiliate representatives will meet Thursday, July 12, 2012 from 8 am -10 am for a networking and professional development breakfast during the AHEAD 2012 conference. Please stop by and visit the affiliate booth in the exhibition hall. We will be having a door prize drawing and a cool giveaway! Hope to see everyone in New Orleans!

Terra Beethe – AHEAD Board Liaison to the Affiliates
Margaret Camp – Lead Affiliate Representative

Ark-AHEAD
Ark-AHEAD Spring conference was held at Mt. Magazine on April 11-13, 2012. It was titled Renew: Your Spirit, Your Skills and Your Connections.

Workshops offered/Presenter(s) held:

  • Effective Faculty Communication/Julie Brown; Hendrix College
  • Quality Indicators for AT in Postsecondary Education Project: An Open source Set of Tools for Self-Assessment by Disability Services Departments/ Bryan Ayres and Dawn Wilkinson; Easter Seals
  • Current Issues in Sickle Cell Disease/ Tockie B. Hemphill; Arkansas Baptist College
  • University of Arkansas Division of Student Affairs Strengths Based Initiative/Katy Evans; University of Arkansas
  • Safeguarding Your Adapted Testing Program/Beverly Quillin and Erin Poe; Henderson State University
  • Exploring How the iPad 2 Affects Note-taking, Time Management and Exam Preparation with College Students/Corlisha S. Presley and Jenifer Rice-Mason
  • AT-Alternatives/Heidi Scher; University of Arkansas
  • Ripple Effects of Collaboration/Karen Russ; University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • I Think I am Feeling a Little Anxiety/Beverly Quillin; Henderson State University
  • Let Me Tell You What I Can Do: Exploring Disclosure/ Doris Pierce and Beverly Quillin; Pulaski Technical College/ Henderson State University
  • Round Table Issues/ Heidi Scher; University of Arkansas

Az-PAC
On May 14th and 15th The Arizona Post-Secondary Access Coalition sponsored Dr. Rhonda Rapp from St. Mary’s University to speak on “Learning Disabilities and Psychoeducational Assessment: From Theory to Understanding, to Practice”. This event was hosted by Arizona State University Disability Resources. It was information packed two days with high reviews from all participants.

Indiana AHEAD
IN AHEAD held their Spring Conference on April 19th & 20th at Ball State University. A total of 50 participants attended to hear presentations from Richard Harris, Dr. David Parker, and Dan Altschul. Richard spoke about working with faculty, David spoke about the future for ADHD services, and Dan provided an update from OCR. We had wonderful group discussions and knowledge sharing. We are also having a follow-up discussion with David and his colleagues at CRG on June 6th via a Go To Meeting about current documentation practices amongst our member institutions.

Professional Development Opportunities

The 2011-2012 AHEADtoYOU! Audio/Web Program line-up:

  • June 7, 2012: Postsecondary Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: The Role for Disability Services

Advance registration is required. Please visit http://ahead.org/events-and-workshops/audio-conference to review complete logistic and program descriptions, package pricing details, and to download the registration form.

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