Lectures Create Barriers
Academic content that is delivered only through spoken lecture presents a host of barriers: from the need to maintain concentration for an extended period of time, to the need to capture content for later review, to the need to see material written on the board. We’ll take a closer look at the barriers that exist and consider solutions for each, including technologies that support independent note-taking, approaches to note-taking as an accommodation, acquisition and management of access services such as interpreting and CART, and approaches to making visual aspects of the lecture accessible.
Inflexible attendance Policies & Possible Responses
Although many people maintain that attendance is an important part of learning in the traditional classroom, strict attendance policies that are not well-considered can negatively impact students with unpredictable health conditions or who have any unexpected disability-related issues arise. How do we work with faculty and students to determine what is reasonable in terms of regular attendance, evaluate whether a request for attendance flexibility or extended assignment due dates may be a fundamental alteration, and preserve the integrity of course objectives while allowing the flexibility that permits students with disabilities to meaningfully participate?
Inaccessible Student Assessments & Accommodations
The most common request from disabled students is for testing accommodations. Factors such as working under a time pressure, decreased reading fluency speed, and the need to decipher what is being asked and recall relevant information all make traditional tests unlikely to accurately represent what students with a variety of disabilities have learned. Additional considerations include demands of high stakes testing, distractibility due to internal and/or external stimuli, access to medical devices , and handling balancing academic integrity. How can we partner with faculty members to encourage better test design and establish procedures that support them and our offices in delivering effective tests? Effective test center procedures will also be discussed.
Inaccessible academic materials
Printed textbooks, inaccessible digital files, and uncaptioned audio and video content all create barriers. This session will focus on resources for providing accessible academic materials, including sources for acquiring accessible materials, technologies for converting print and digital materials, captioning resources and considerations, and institutional expectations for accessible materials from case law.
Housing and Dining Requirements
There are many ways in which institutional requirements for on-campus living or dining plans may present barriers for students. For example, students with allergies or other dietary restrictions may find that standard meal plans do not provide the nutritional options available to other students. The same may be said about availability of accessible or flexible spaces in residence halls. Ensuring that students have equitable access in these areas requires collaboration and an understanding of the student’s request and the options available.
Animals and Access
When a student is using an animal to enhance access or remove a barrier, disability resource staff sometimes forget what they already know about determining reasonable accommodations and facilitating access. The landscape can cause some confusion since different laws apply in different circumstances, and those different laws require a different response from the college or university. We’ll sort out the differences between service animals and emotional support animals. We’ll also explore how to determine when an ESA is a reasonable accommodation.
Student Development
College is a time of identity development for all students. Developing one’s disability identity is complex, and further challenging this process is the lack of opportunity to explore or celebrate disability identity, as most college or university campuses respond to disability only with accommodations and services rather than with community or pride. This session will explore disability identity and culture and how disability resource professionals can support identity development. We will grapple with concepts of “self-advocacy” as a necessary component of student development and how it might impact disabled students. We will discuss campus programming and community building, as well as the role of disability cultural centers.
Branding the Disability Resource Office
If you are in a managerial position, whether as a single-staff member in the service office or as a leader of a team of staff, the structure of the office (its mission, vision, practices and procedures, website content, and organization) is an important component of your work. We will explore strategies for moving yourself, your team, and your campus forward with the messages the office sends.
Reading Psycho-educational Tests
While reports from psychoeducational testing can vary widely, they have basic similarities and can help to clarify the barriers a student is likely to experience. We’ll review the general structure of reports and the information that can be found in subtests, background information, behavioral observations, and the conclusion and explore how they inform accommodation decision-making.
Field Placements
Many academic programs at the community college, university, and graduate level include off-site educational requirements. Whether a student is in a student teaching experience, on a clinical rotation, or in an office environment, creating an accessible experience in non-didactic settings requires understanding the demands of the site and the learning objectives, as well as creative thinking and close collaboration with the student, academic department, and off-campus site.
Considering Parents
Parents of college students have never been so involved with their students as they are today. This level of engagement is understandable and often a key part of the student’s academic success thus far. In college, however, overly involved parents can challenge disability service personnel and faculty and can negatively impact students’ personal development and maturity. We’ll discuss ways to set boundaries for parents while supporting student independence.