Disability Services for Students

A statement placed on course syllabi indicating a faculty member's willingness to provide reasonable accommodations to a student with a disability normalizes the accommodation process. An example of a disability statement that can be used/adapted for course syllabi:

If you are a student with a documented disability who will require accommodations in this course, please register with Disability Services for Students in the Memorial Union Building, Room 118 (862-2607) for assistance in developing a plan to address your academic needs.

Rationale:
The statement should be an invitation to students who have disabilities to meet with the faculty member, in a confidential environment, to review course requirements and to discuss their need for accommodations. Establishing reasonable accommodations should be considered on a case-by-case basis because the functional limitations of each individual and the specific demands of a course will vary.

Principles:

The accommodation process should be one of collaboration between student and instructor with support from Disability Services for Students.
Students already working with Disability Services for Students have provided that office with documentation of their disability. Faculty should not ask the student for documentation, however, they can request that a letter from Disability Services for Students be sent to verify the disability.
A statement on the syllabus and an announcement in class normalizes the accommodation process by treating it as just another part of the course.
The statement can be altered to meet the specific needs of your department/courses.
It is recommended that instructors for multiple section courses and labs come to an agreement on the syllabus statement used.

* Excerpt adapted from the publication funded by the US Department of Education under project #738322, Ohio State University Partnership Grant.

When Faculty Are TOO Accommodating!

By Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D.

Most faculty members in higher education today understand the legal and educational imperatives that mandate equal access to students with disabilities through academic accommodation. Sometimes, though, problems arise from faculty who are readily prepared to provide appropriate accommodation — it is their accommodating nature that can get them, the institution, and (sometimes) the student into trouble!

Most institutions have established a clearly articulated policy as to who holds the documentation of disability, what steps a student must take to declare their need for disability-related accommodations, and how that information is communicated to faculty. But what of the student who says, “I don’t want to go through the disability services office. I want to advocate for myself and work directly with faculty and negotiate my own accommodations.” Regardless of why students choose to go this independent route (and there are both good and bad reasons for taking such a stance), the faculty member who agrees to disregard institutional policy and honor accommodation requests directly from the student may not be doing anyone a favor!

Personal Jeopardy Faculty members who work directly with students, discuss the disability, (possibly) look over the documentation, and agree to accommodation may be establishing themselves as the “gatekeepers” without meaning to do so. If the faculty member agrees to provide accommodation “x” and not accommodation “y” and later the student maintains that he/she was not appropriately accommodated, it is the faculty member’s decision that is subject to question and the faculty member who could conceivably be held responsible for violating this student’s civil rights. The faculty member who agrees to provide accommodations without institutional authorization for a student with one disability (for example, LD) but is less familiar and comfortable with another disability (for example, ADD) and sends that student back through channels for official documentation could be opening himself/herself up for charges of discrimination, intimidation, or harassment. Faculty members who conscientiously try to make life easier for the student by allowing the student to bring the documentation directly to them may gain access to confidential information to which they should not be privy. For all these reasons, it would be best for faculty not to be drawn into the collection of disability documentation or the decision-making regarding accommodation.

Institutional Jeopardy The student who provides documentation to a single faculty member (who accepts and acts on that documentation) may be able to make a legitimate case for saying the he/she informed the institution of the disability and the need for accommodation. The faculty member should not be discussing the information that has been shared (because of issues of privacy and confidentiality), and yet the student may be expecting to receive similar consideration and accommodation from other faculty on the basis of having provided the documentation to someone in authority at the institution. If it is not made clear that the institution has not been “notified” until the documentation is provided and requests are made from such-and-such an office, the institution may not be in a position to defend itself from charges of discrimination by neglect for a student who does not receive accommodation by others within the institution. Or consider this scenario — Professor A accepts the documentation and provides accommodation without going through channels, as do Professors B and C, and then Professor D says, “I will provide accommodations when I receive proper notification from the disability services office that this is appropriate.” Professor D looks like the villain for following the rules! More distressing, however, is the possibility that the institution may be facing some very real difficulties if the disability services office determines that some of the accommodations that Professors A, B, and C provided were not warranted by the documentation and does not prescribe those same accommodations for Professor D to provide.

Student Jeopardy Students with disabilities will still have those disabilities after they leave the postsecondary environment. Whether they choose to go on to graduate or professional school or seek a place in the world of work, chances are that if they needed accommodations to successfully function in higher education, they may need accommodation in their future endeavors as well. More and more often, those settings beyond the postsecondary experience are ready and willing to provide accommodations on the basis of verification from the higher education institution that those same accommodations have been provided during the student’s postsecondary career. If the student has no record of having been served by the institution — if the student was never on file in the disability services office and received all of his/her accommodations through individual discussion with faculty — that student will have no official history of being regarded or served as a person with a disability and may have a much more difficult time establishing the claim to accommodations in the future.

Bottom line: The policies and procedures were established
for everyone's protection. Everyone needs to play by the rules!

* Excerpted from the DAIS Newsletter, February, 1997 (Volume I, No. 2).
Reprinted with permission. Also reprinted with permission from Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D.

Accessibility in Distance Education (ADE) /
Making Your Website Accessible To Everyone (How-To)

University of Maryland University College's (UMUC) new Accessibility in Distance Education (ADE) Web site has been designed to meet the needs of faculty who are teaching students with disabilities in the online environment. The ADE site explains accessibility problems that students with disabilities are likely to encounter in navigating Web-based resources, and shows faculty members how they can address and resolve these problems. The site also seeks to provide faculty with information about different types of disabilities, relevant laws, and best accessibility practices.

After viewing the ADE site faculty members will have a comprehensive understanding of how the online environment impacts people with disabilities and how they can address accessibility issues in online courses. The site provides numerous accessibility scenarios and shows ways that faculty can work with the available support services to resolve problems. There are wise words of advice from faculty members and students who participated in this project, and a special section on "Best Practices" shows how learning components ranging from websites to multimedia lectures can be made accessible.

* For UNH on-campus help, please contact John Pietlicki at 862-4325.

Access E-Learning: New Online Tutorial Makes Distance Education More Accessible

Making distance learning accessible for students with disabilities just got easier with a new website that explains their technological needs and provides tools to meet them.

Access E-Learning is a free, 10-module tutorial created by the Georgia Tech Research on Accessible Distance Education project. It's associated with the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access at the Georgia Institute of Technology. To log onto the site, visit www.accesselearning.net and create a user identification and a password.

Access E-Learning's 10 modules include:

Module 1: Issues for Accessibility in Distance Learning.
Module 2: Planning for Accessibility in Distance Learning.
Module 3: Making Microsoft PowerPoint Slides Accessible.
Module 4: Making Animation Files Accessible.
Module 5: Making Online Video Files Accessible.
Module 6: Making Microsoft Word Documents Accessible.
Module 7: Making Microsoft Excel Documents Accessible.
Module 8: Making Adobe PDF Documents Accessible.
Module 9: Making Common HTML Elements Accessible.
Module 10: Making Scripts and Java Accessible.

* Adapted from Disability Compliance For Higher Education, March 2004 (Volume 9, Issue 8).

Bloom's Taxonomy

Areas	Definition	Key Verbs	Classroom Products
Knowledge	Knowing and remembering facts	Match, recognize, list, describe, name, define, show, record, select, identify	Report, map, worksheet, chart
Comprehension	Understanding	Explain, locate, inquire, demonstrate, discover	Diagram, model, game, picture, teach a lesson, dioramas, time line
Application	Doing, making use of what is known	Model, apply, survey, collect, organize, construct, report, experiment, sketch, paint, draw, group, put in order	Diary, mobile, scrapbook, photographs, stitchery, cartoon, learning center, contruction
Analysis	Explaining what is known	Categorize, take apart, analyze, separate, dissect, compare, contrast	Graph, survey, report, time line, family tree, commercial, fact file
Synthesis	Putting together the known into something new	Create, imagine, suppose, predict, change, hypothesize, design, invent, infer, adapt	Story, poem, play, song, news article, invention, radio show, comic strip
Evaluation	Judging the outcome	Justify, debate, recommend, judge, criticize, prove, dispute	Editorial, survey, panel, self-evaluation, letter, conclusion, court trial

57 Ways To Teach

Instructional Methods and Techniques
Lecture Directed Discussion Demonstration Illustration (Example) Recitation Oral Report Written Report	Laboratory Method Project Method Supervised Study Field Trip Drill and Practice Review Testing (as a Method of Teaching)	Making Assignments Homework Textbook Workbook Current Affairs Resource People Peer Tutoring
Group Methods and Techniques
Committee Panel Discussion Debate	Brainstorming Buzz Session	Case Study Cooperative Learning
Dramatic Methods and Techniques
Role Playing	Sociodrama	Story Telling
Newer Instructional Methods and Techniques
Questioning Problem Solving Inquiry Team Teaching Large and Small Group - Independent Study	Individualized Instruction Learning Package Simulation Game Programmed Instruction Language Laboratory (Electronic Study Center)	Computer-Assisted Instruction Television Radio
Material-Oriented Methods and Techniques
Chalkboard Flannel Board Picture Cartoon Graphs	Film Strips Exhibit Poster Charts Maps	Films Photographic Slides Bulletin Board Overhead Transparencies Recordings

* Source: Zenger, S. & Zenger, W. (1977). 57 Ways to Teach. Los Angeles, CA: Crescent Publications.

Getting Help
Consultation/Intervention Decision Tree

The Troubled Student

The Disruptive Student

Student is troubled, confused, very sad, highly anxious, irritable, lacks motivation and/or concentration, demonstrates bizarre behavior or is thinking about suicide

Student's conduct is disruptive or dangerous, uses verbal or physical threats, is actively threatening suicide and is resisting help.

Consultation
Resources

Consultation/Intervention Resources
Rule out possibility of harm to self or others

Questions about emotional and behavioral issues and getting help, call:

Counseling Center
David Cross, PhD Director
862-2090

Health Services
Clinical Services,
Dr. Gladi Porsche
862-1530
Women's Health
862-1806
Health Education
862-3823
Nutrition Counseling
862-3823
Alcohol & Drug Assistance, Brian Miller
862-3823

After Office Hours:
Behavioral Health, Dover, NH
742-0630
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital
742-6956

And/Or

Administrative/Judicial procedural concerns call:
Esther Tardy-Wolfe
862-3284

If physical safety of student or others is of immediate concern and student on campus, call:

University Police Department
862-1427

If student is off campus, call:

County Sheriff or Durham police
911

Then

Administrative/Judicial procedural concerns, call:

Esther Tardy-Wolfe
862-3284

And/Or

Consultation with or referral to campus emergency counseling or health resources, call:

Counseling Center
862-2090
Health Services
862-1530

For a student off campus at the time, call:

Behavioral Health, Dover, NH
742-0630

Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities in Clinical Affiliations

Obstacles	Interventions
Time Constraints – Clinical affiliations are frequently in high paced settings that are extremely demanding and often overwhelming. Students with learning disabilities often progress at a different rate than their peers and require extra time in order to become acclimated to the environment and to learn the wealth of information presented to them.	Many of the interventions used to compensate for learning at a different rate occur prior to the affiliation. Not only will these interventions be useful for compensating for time issues, but they will also compensate for many of the other obstacles faced by the student. Students can prepare for the affiliation by visiting the site early. During this time, they should meet with the clinical instructor to get to know her/him. If students choose to disclose their disability, the meeting should also include the clinical coordinator and the disability services coordinator. The clinical instructor can also identify typical cases found in that setting in order to give the student an opportunity to review relevant content such as class notes and textbooks. An observation period will also help the student to adjust to the pace and the treatment protocols in that setting. During this time, the student should examine different protocols before the clinical affiliation begins in order to become familiar with how to write protocols and to become familiar with the type of patient clientele. Students can also develop protocols before they begin their affiliation in order to practice writing protocols and to begin developing strategies if needed. In addition to visiting the site prior to the affiliation, the affiliation could be extended by adding an extra week or two. This will give the student extra time to process the information.

Self-concept and Confidence – Some students with learning disabilities are unaware of how their disability affects their performance and what strategies can be used to compensate for their disability. Also, self-confidence is an issue for students with learning disabilities. Some students have internalized an expectation that they need to be correct all the time and lose sight of the fact that they are in training. They become intimidated by experts and when asked questions, they are unable to answer the question.	Before the affiliation begins, it is critical that students have an understanding about their disability and how it will impact performance. This entails understanding strengths and weaknesses. Meeting with the disability services coordinator can be helpful for understanding and compensating for learning disabilities. Also, in conjunction with self-awareness, the student must have a repertoire of strategies to help them to compensate for the disability. This will allow students to focus their energies on the affiliation and not on learning how to compensate for difficulties that may arise. Students must also be aware that the strategies used in the classroom may not work in the affiliation. The strategies must then be adjusted. Regular self-assessment is essential. This can be accomplished through a daily journal and through feedback from the clinical instructor and disability services coordinator. Clinical instructors can enhance a student’s confidence level by practicing asking and answering questions. The clinical instructor needs to let the student know that the answers given will not be penalized. This will help to reduce anxiety and increase confidence.

Written Communication – Students with learning disabilities often have significant difficulties with written communication. For students in clinical affiliations, this problem can manifest itself when students are required to write treatment notes and fill in patient charts. Students are required to write concisely and include information that is pertinent and appropriate. Also, accurate spelling is expected and can be a source of great difficulty for students with learning disabilities.	Examine current clinical notes of the clinical instructor to learn what information should be included in the clinical notes and how it should be written. Study other clinicians’ patient charts and use their charts as a guide to what information needs to be included in the charts and how is should be written. Develop a template or chart for information that is critical for clinical notes and patient charts. After the student has determined what information is relevant and how to write notes and fill in patient charts, the student can write a simulated set of notes and then give the notes to the clinical instructor for constructive feedback. Assign practice patients for the students to write notes on and provide feedback. For spelling difficulties, a student with a learning disability can use a handheld Franklin speller or carry a list of commonly used medical terms or a list of words often misspelled for quick reference.

Oral Communication – Communication is critical in clinical settings. Students must be able to speak and conduct themselves as a professional. During clinical affiliations, some students may have difficulty with articulating thoughts and needs.	Clinical instructors can assign practice patients for the student to work on and then the student can communicate the information to the clinical instructor. Before the student meets with the patient, the student can discuss the protocol with the clinical instructor. Feedback and practice will enhance effective and appropriate communication. It is imperative to have routine feedback between the clinical instructor and the student. Feedback should be a balance of compliments and constructive feedback. Daily feedback is recommended but also feedback needs to be given at particular intervals such as midterm and at the end of the affiliation. At these times, the meeting should include the disability services coordinator. This will reassure the student that they are being supported.

Memory – During clinical affiliations, students are required to remember a wealth of information (e.g., patient information, treatments, types of drugs, etc). Not only are students expected to recall the information but they are expected to communicate this information rapidly. For a student with a learning disability, this can cause significant challenges.	The student can carry protocol cards with an outline of the information that needs to be included in each protocol (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, limitations, goals). The student can also use drug cards in order to have a quick reference of the vast amount of prescription products available. The student can practice treatment protocols on fellow students when appropriate. This will help reinforce the information learned.

Disclosure – Students with learning disabilities often struggle with deciding whether or not to disclose their disability to the clinical instructor. Students are concerned that if they choose to disclose their disability, they will be treated and evaluated differently from their peers.	Student must evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of disclosing their disability. If a student chooses to disclose, it is important for the student to do so prior to the affiliation. The student should discuss their disability and the type of accommodations that are needed and how they can be implemented in the setting.

Lack of clinical instructor knowledge about learning disabilities – Clinical instructors are often under pressure to maintain business and see numerous patients in a short amount of time. Clinical instructors may be concerned that a student with a learning disability may interfere with her/his productivity rate. Clinical instructors may not be well versed in the field of learning disabilities and may not understand that with proper intervention the student will be able to succeed in the affiliation. Without proper training, the situation can be frustrating to the student and the clinical instructor.	Clinical placement staff select clinical instructors who are knowledgeable about learning disabilities and are willing to work with students with learning disabilities. Clinical instructors should receive training. With proper training, the clinical instructor will learn about the characteristics of learning disabilities and appropriate accommodations and interventions. The clinical coordinator and the disability services coordinator need to have regular contact with the clinical instructor in order for the clinical instructor to have an additional resource and a source of support.

Virtual Pamphlet Collection

The Student Counseling Virtual Pamphlet Collection was originally developed by Dr. Robert Hsiung. SCRS clinicians reviewed the Collection in August 2003 and selected the information most salient to University of Chicago students for this website.

IDEA Notebook:
a Partnership between PACER Center and the EP Foundation for Education

It’s the “Person First,” Then the Disability.

What do you see first?
The wheelchair?
The physical problem?
The person?

If you saw a person in a wheelchair unable to get up the stairs into a building, would you say “There is a handicapped person unable to find a ramp?” Or would you say “There is a person with a disability who is handicapped by an inaccessible building.”

What is the proper way to speak about someone who has a disability? Consider how you would introduce someone -- Jane Doe -- who doesn’t have a disability.

You would give her name, where she lives, what she does or what she is interested in: she likes swimming, or eating Mexican food, or watching movies.

Why is it different for a person with a disability? Every person is made up of many characteristics--mental as well as physical. Few people want to be identified only by their ability to play tennis or by their love for fried onions.

In speaking or writing, remember that children or adults with disabilities are like everyone else--except they happen to have a disability. Therefore, here are a few tips for improving your language related to people with disabilities.

Speak of the person first, then the disability.
Emphasize abilities, not limitations.
Do not label people as part of a disability group. Don’t say “the disabled,” say “people with disabilities.”
Don’t give excessive praise or attention to a person with a disability; don’t patronize them.
Choice and independence are important. Let the person do or speak for him or herself as much as possible.
A disability is a functional limitation that interferes with a person’s ability to walk, hear, talk, learn, etc. Use “handicap” to describe a situation or barrier imposed by society, the environment or oneself.

Say...

Instead of...

child with a disability
person with cerebral palsy
person who is deaf or hard of hearing
person with a mental impairment or
mental retardation
person with epilepsy or person with a
seizure disorder
person who has
person without speech, nonverbal
person with developmental delay
person with emotional disorder or person
with mental illness
person uses a wheelchair
person with Down syndrome
person has a learning disability
person who is nondisabled
person has a physical disability
person has a congenital disability
person has a condition
person has seizures
person has a cleft lip
person is mobility impaired
person is medically involved or person
has a chronic illness
person is paralyzed
person has hemiplegia (paralysis of one
side of the body)
person has quadriplegia (paralysis of
both arms and legs)
person has paraplegia (loss of function
in lower body only)
person is of short stature
accessible parking

disabled or handicapped child
CP or spastic
deaf and dumb
retarded or retard

epileptic

afflicted, suffers from, victim
mute or dumb
slow
crazy, insane or mentally ill

confined to a wheelchair
mongoloid, retard
is learning disabled
normal, healthy
crippled
birth defect
disease (unless it is a disease)
fits or spells
hare lip
lame
sickly

invalid or paralytic
hemiplegic

quadriplegic

paraplegic

dwarf or midget
handicapped parking

* Reprinted with permission from PACER Center. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved. PACER Center is a national training and information center for families of children and youth with disabilities. Its resources include handouts, books, videos and other materials. Families can contact PACER at 8161 Normandale Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55437, or they can call 888-248-0822 (toll free). PACER’s website is www.pacer.org and its email address is pacer@pacer.org. Other PACER websites are www.taalliance.org for the National Technical Assistance Alliance for Parents Centers and www.fape.org.

Disability Services for Students
118 Memorial Union Building
Durham, NH 03824
Voice/TTY: 603-862-2607
Fax: 603-862-4043