2022 Poster Sessions

This year’s conference will include two poster presentation times: Thursday, July 21st from 9:00-11:00am (breakfast provided) and Friday, July 22nd from 10:30 -11:30am (coffee/tea/soda provided). Poster sessions for both days will be held in Exhibit Hall C. Posters will be open to all registrants give you the opportunity to learn more about recent research and innovative programs through informal conversation with the presenters.

Access to Accommodations Depends on College Socioeconomic Factors: A Case for Social Justice in Disability Determination and Accommodation Granting

Robert Weis, Denison University
Sophie Bittner, Denison University

The purpose of our study was to determine if students’ access to accommodations might vary as a function of socioeconomic factors. We analyzed data from the US Department of Education to examine differences in the percent of undergraduates classified with disabilities and receiving accommodations as a function of institutional type (i.e., public, private, 4-year, 2-year), selectivity (i.e., median ACT/SAT scores), and student economic status (i.e., percent of students receiving Pell grants), over the past 12 years, since the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. Results showed significant institutional characteristics by time interactions. Twelve years ago, there were no differences in accommodation access across institutions. Over time, accommodations have been increasingly and disproportionately awarded to students attending America’s most selective private colleges with the fewest percentage of low-income students.



20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course

Lyla Crawford, DO-IT, University of Washington

In this poster we share 20 tips—distilled from reports of students with disabilities, researchers and practitioners—that provide a good place for instructors and designers to start as they begin to work toward making their courses more inclusive of all students.



32 Heads Are Better Than One: How Grassroots Efforts Can Contribute to Our Professional Knowledge Base

Members of the Independent Long COVID Task Force

A group of 32 professionals from institutions across the country came together to create a resource for disability service providers to use in supporting students with Long COVID. This poster outlines the process we used in creating this resource, which we believe has practical potential for other grassroots efforts by disability service providers to support their colleagues in responding to issues of concern within the field. We started with a show of interest and a topic or concern that was not being addressed in any direct way by others. Through an open discussion of what we knew of the topic, what we worried about, what we thought might help, and what we were in a position to provide, we eventually settled on the format of a “work product” that we believed would be useful. We then followed a series of steps to move from concept to completion, with active participation from service providers with widely diverse experience and student focus.


Disability Resources Career Services… Best practices to help students with disabilities.

Allison Frees-Williams, University of Illinois

The University of Illinois is one of the only Disability Resources that has its own Career Services Specialist in the country. This poster describes what the U of I DRES Career Services offers students with disabilities, as well as the campus as a whole, in teaching best practices when it comes to working with students with disabilities.


Addressing the Nuance in Accommodations Processes among Disability Service Offices at 4-Year Postsecondary Institutions

Sarah Young, Trinity Washington University

Because beginning professionals may not have the experience or understanding of how to approach accommodations processes in DSOs, it's important to have frank conversations about what similarities and differences exist between DSOs at different institutions. How is the accommodations process engaged and implemented in different settings? This poster will dive into some of these nuances in difference based on results from a recent qualitative study in which directors were interviewed to understand how their offices function and specifics of their accommodations processes.

The Lived Experience: Student Perceptions of Inclusivity and Accessibility on Campus

Alisha Bailey, Western New England University
Ileana Alfonso, Western New England University


The purpose of our mixed-methods study was to understand the lived experiences of students on campus as it relates to perceptions of inclusivity and accessibility. 110 graduate and undergraduate students from a small private institution participated in an anonymous online survey titled Student Mental Health and the Impact of Inclusivity comprised of Likert-scale and open-ended questions. Results showed that students with disabilities consistently rated campus accessibility and inclusivity lower than those without a disability. This poster will further outline relevant themes from qualitative data derived from student experiences.

Equal Access: Making STEM Departments More Accessible to and Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities

Lyla Crawford, DO-IT, University of Washington

In this poster we share a framework campus leaders and advocates can use when systematically reviewing and improving campus communications, worksites, meetings, technology, events, and services to make them more accessible and inclusive to faculty members with disabilities.


A Qualitative Analysis of Disability-Related Statements From Historically Women's Colleges

Emily Rasch, Southern Methodist University

Historically women’s colleges were initially founded to create opportunities for women (Langdon, 2001). While there has been significant research that has focused on the campus cultures of historically women’s colleges, scant research has explored how these institutions have excluded students with disabilities from diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations at historically women’s colleges. Results suggest that it is a combination of geography, religious affiliation, and institutional size that influence both the way that an institution conveys its statements related to disability and the accessibility of the resources on campus. Using the Diverse Learning Environments model illuminates how historically women’s colleges convey disability-related messages, and why language is used as a tool to both reinforce and dismantle existing structures related to disability services specifically.

Creating strategic alliances on campus that foster opportunities to create allies and crowdsource big projects

Kimberley Bassi-Cook, Seton Hill University

Creating alliances on campus can allow you to take on and tackle projects you may not otherwise be able to consider. Are you a single staffed or small office? Is your campus spread across multiple locations? Do you feel like your office is going it alone? Does the College community know you and the work your office does? Explore the value of doing a campus Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results (SOAR) analysis as a way to help you identify untapped resources and allies. This poster will share examples of this, including the crowdsourcing of creating an audio described/read graphic novel on campus (twice), and how projects like these have helped to develop Disability allies/associates across campus and disciplines.

Regional Consortium Groups: A Model for Office Support and Collaboration

Ashley Erickson, Florida Atlantic University

Whether you’re a Disability Services office of one or twenty, it is important to keep up with best practices and receive feedback from others outside of your university or college. The state of Florida has multiple regional Consortium groups which include disability service providers from community colleges and universities, both public and private. The Southeast Consortium group meets monthly to discuss trending disability topics, student or professor concerns, and accommodation questions. This poster will include how to start a Consortium group, benefits of this type of group, and ideas for how to include professor development within the group.