Diversity and Engagement: Effectively Serving Students with Disabilities

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Diversity and Engagement Effectively Serving
Students with Disabilities

• Richard Allegra, M.S., AHEAD
• Bea Awoniyi, Ph.D., Florida State University
• Melanie Thompson, Ed.S., LMHC, Southeast Missouri
  State University

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Objectives

• Students with disabilities Who are they?
• Campus response to students and their needs
• Compliance considerations
• Campus wide engagement to respond and support
  access and inclusion
• Faculty and staff training
• Creating accessible and welcoming environment
• Assessment considerations
• Disability as a tenet of diversity

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Disability in Higher Education

• Percentage of US population 18 (www.aapd.com)
• Unemployment rates of persons with disabilities
  16.2 cf. non-disabled 9.2 (www.bls.gov/cps/cpsd
  isability.htm/)
• Percentage of college students reporting a
  disability 11 (nces.ed.gov)
• Types of disabilities represented in college
  (highest numbers) LD, Psychiatric, Chronic
  Health, AD/HD. (nces.ed.gov)

Association on Higher Education and Disability
(AHEAD) 2009
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Dont forget the person
wheelchair
Katrina Aid worker carrying prosthetic legs
Photo of diverse students without obviously
disabled person in group
Guide dog in harness
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Views of Disability
feared, evil, to be shunned (medieval image of
exorcism)
at best mysterious (Romantic art era image of
blind Teresias the Greek seer)
Diseased, weak, in need of cure (medieval image
of ill man and doctor)
object of pity (lithograph of woman giving alms
to blind beggar)
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Views of Disability
Photo of Helen Keller touching Pres. Eisenhowers
face
feared, evil, to be shunned (poster for Elephant
Man movie)
Remarkable or SUPER
Diseased, weak, in need of cure (1940s polio
poster showing two girls)
object of pity or charity (image of Dickens Tiny
Tim)
Photo of disabled mountain climber
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Views of Disability - Media
Peter, confined to a wheelchair, attended his
first day of college. There but for the grace
of God, go I That crippled girl is an
inspiration. Id rather be dead than be
wheelchair-bound for the rest of my
life! Youre one of Gods special
angels. Thats so retarded!
Photo of Gov. Paterson of NJ
Photo of actress Marlee Matlin
Photo of Barbara Jordan
Photo of Stephen Hawking
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Disability as an Aspect of Diversity

• Shared history/experience of oppression
• Finding a voice
• Community leaders
• Social Justice/Civil Rights Movement
• Legislation/Enforcement
• Zames, F.D., Zames, F. (2001). The disability
  rights movement From charity to confrontation.
  Philadelphia Temple University Press.
• Shapiro, J. (1994). No pity People with
  disabilities forging a new civil rights movement.
  New York Three Rivers Press.

Image of diverse group of people incl. man in a
wheelchair
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Tools for Social Justice Legislation

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• "No otherwise qualified individual with a
  disability in the United States . . . shall,
  solely by reason of her or his disability, be
  excluded from the participation in, be denied the
  benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
  under any program or activity receiving Federal
  financial assistance . . . . http//www.ed.gov/a
  bout/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990,
  amended 2008) www.ada.gov
• State disability laws

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Tools for Social Justice New Framework
Medical Model (Pathological, Individual Model) Interactional Model (Social, Cultural Model)
Disability is a deficiency or abnormality. Disability is a difference.
Being disabled is negative. Being disabled, in itself, is neutral.
Disability resides in the individual. The remedy for disability-related problems is a change in the interaction between the individual and society.
The agent of remedy is the professional. The agent of remedy can be the individual, an advocate, or anyone who affects the arrangement between the individual and society.

• By Carol J. Gill, University of
  Illinois-Chicago, Chicago Center of Disability
  Research. As quoted on page 17 of Accessing
  Student Life Steps to Improve the Campus Climate
  for Disabled Students. By Gene Chelberg, Wendy
  Harbour and Roberta Juarez. (1998). Minneapolis,
  MN Disability Services, University of Minnesota.

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Attitudes Towards Differences Applying the
Riddle Scale to Disability
Attitude Characteristics
Repulsion People who are different are strange, sick, crazy, and aversive. Anything which will change them to be more normal or a part of the mainstream is justifiable.
Pity People who are different are somehow born that way and that is pitiful. Being different is definitely immature and les-preferred. To help these poor individuals, one should reinforce normal behavior.
Tolerance Being different is just a phase of development that ... most people 'grow out of.' Thus, they should be protected and tolerated as one does a child who is still learning.
Acceptance Implies that one needs to make accommodations for anothers differences does not acknowledge that another's identity may be of the same value as his/her own.
Support Works to safeguard the rights of those who are different. Such people may be uncomfortable themselves, but they are aware of the climate and the irrational unfairness in our society.
Admiration Acknowledges that being different in our society takes strength. Such people are willing to truly look at themselves and work on their own personal biases.
Appreciation Values the diversity of people and is willing to confront insensitive attitudes.
Nurturance Assumes the differences in people are indispensable in society. They view differences with genuine affection and delight, and are willing to be advocates of those differences.

• Adapted by University of Illinois Springfield
  Safe Zone, from Riddle, D. (1985). "Homophobia
  Scale." In Opening Doors to Understanding and
  Acceptance. ed. K. Obear and A. Reynolds. Boston
  Unpublished essay.

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Compliance considerations

• What is required?
• Letter of the law
• What is ideal?
• Spirit of the law
• Visual example of two surfboarders riding a
  wave to demonstrate the balance between
  letter of law and spirit of law

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Transitional challenges

• What is challenging about transition?
• Transitional challenges for all students
• Transitional challenges unique to students with
  disabilities

Cartoon depicting a worm unable to move
demonstrating taking life too seriously
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Campus wide engagement to respond and support
access and inclusion

• Policy considerations
• How do you define access?
• How do you define inclusion?
• Who is eligible, how is it determined, and why?
• Who is responsible for these students after
  all?
• Pragmatic considerations
• Who is responsible for ensuring access?
• What types of support do they have/enjoy?
• What budgetary considerations are being made?
• Image of group discussion necessary for
  campus
• engagement and support

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Campus wide engagement Contd

• Academic Considerations
• Inclusionary practices (e.g. statement on
  syllabus)
• Universal design principles of teaching and
  assessment
• Policies on academic/programmatic courses
• Programming
• Example 1 Recreation Center
• Example 2 Student Government
• Image of diverse group of students engaged in
  campus
• sponsored activity and learning and
  disabilities

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Faculty and staff training

• Curricular Engagement
• Access is a three-legged stool, which leg is
  missing?
• How intentional are we to inform and engage?
• What trainings do we have in place for our
  faculty and how often are those trainings?
• Co-Curricular Engagement
• How informed are our campus wide staff and what
  types of training opportunities exist for them?
• How inclusive is our student organization and
  what types of training do we have for them?
• Image of books and glasses, as
  reflective of faculty

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Creating accessible and welcoming environment

• Information Dissemination
• Five Ws
• Diversity Exemplified
• Use of Universal Design
• Programming
• Visual example of different ways to
  accomplish goal (reaching the top) as an
  example of the concept of Universal Design

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Cartoon depicting janitor shoveling snow off of
steps for students without disabilities, telling
student using wheelchair that hell have to wait
for the ramp to be cleared. Example of concept of
Universal Design.
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Assessment considerations

• Why are you doing what you are doing?
• Informal options
• Formal options
• Qualitative and Quantitative

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Cartoon example of miscommunication play on the
childhood song, If youre happy and you know it
clap your hands
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Effective communication with students with
disabilities

• Part of creating welcoming and accessible
  environment
• Information dissemination
• Traditional modes
• Technology based modes
• Connecting to community resources

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Disability as a tenet of diversity

• Assess campus climate
• Civil Rights focus
• Socio-political focus
• Institutional diversity initiatives
• Student first focus
• Campus collaborations

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Practical Questions for Consideration

• How engaged are students with disabilities on my
  campus?
• What are the philosophies of access on my campus?
• What policies do we have that may unintentionally
  discriminate? How do we address the issues?

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Progress in Engagement


Work to Date
Work Remaining
Picture of sun shining on a small iceberg with a
reflection in the sea acknowledging efforts of
campus engagement to date and how much more work
we have left to do
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The Time is Right to . . .
Picture of clock illustrating that it is time to
engage the entire campus to effectively serve the
needs of students with disabilities and to
embrace disability as a part of diversity
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Questions?
THANK YOU
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Resources

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• http//www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
• Association on Higher Education And Disability
  (AHEAD)
• http//www.ahead.org
• Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and
  Technology (DO-IT)
• http//www.washington.edu/doit/

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Resources

• Disability-Related Resources on the Internet
• http//www.disabilityresources.org/index.html
• HEATH Resource Center student family
• askheath_at_heath.gwu.edu
• http//www.heath-resource-center.org

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Presenters Contact Information

• Richard Allegra, M.S.
• Association on Higher Education and Disability
• richard_at_ahead.org
• www.ahead.org
• Bea Awoniyi, Ph.D.
• Florida State University
• [phone]
• bawoniyi_at_fsu.edu
• www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu
• Melanie Thompson, Ed.S., LMHC
• Southeast Missouri State University
• [phone]
• mvthompson_at_semo.edu
• www.semo.edu/lapdss