Working Together:

Faculty and Students with Disabilities

Increase in Number of Students with Disabilities

Factors:

• Survival Rate
• Technology
• K-12 Special Education
• Awareness

Presentation Outline

• Videotape
• Legal Responsibilities
• Strategies
• Campus Resurces
• Local Solutions

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity.

Otherwise Qualified =

...meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation...

with or without

• reasonable modifications to rules, policies or practices;
• removal of architectural, communication or transportation barriers;
• or provision of auxiliary aids and services.

Person with a disability = any person who

• has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities including walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working;
• has a record of such an impairment; or
• is regarded as having such an impairment.

Examples of Disabilities

• Spinal cord injuries
• Loss of limbs
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Cerebral Palsy
• Hearing impairments
• Visual impairments
• Speech impairments
• Specific learning disabilities
• Head injuries
• Psychiatric disorders
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• AIDS

• Low Vision
• Blindness
• Hearing Impairments
• Specific Learning Disabilities
• Mobility Impairments
• Health Impairments

Low Vision

• Large print handouts, signs, equipment labels
• TV monitor connected to microscope to enlarge images
• Class assignments in electronic format
• Computer with enlarged screen images
• Seating where the lighting is best

Blindness

• Audio-tape, Braille, or electronic lecture notes, handouts, texts
• Describe visual aids
• Raised-line drawings and tactile models of graphic materials
• Adaptive lab equipment (e. g., tactile timers, talking thermometers, calculators, light probes)
• Computers with optical char- acter readers, voice output, Braille screen displays, printers

Hearing Impairments

• Interpreters, real-time captions, FM systems, note takers
• Face student when speaking
• Written assignments, lab instructions, demonstration summaries
• Visual aids, visual warning systems for lab emergencies
• Repeat questions and statements from other students
• Electronic mail

Specific Learning Disabilities

• Note takers and/or audiotaped class sessions
• Extra exam time; alternative testing arrangements
• Visual, aural, and tactile demonstrations incorporated into instruction
• Course and lecture outlines
• Computers with voice output, spelling checkers, grammar checkers

Mobility Impairments

• Group assignments, note takers/scribes, lab assistants
• Extra exam time, alternative testing arrangements
• Classrooms, labs, field trips in accessible locations
• Adjustable tables, lab equipment located within reach
• Class materials in electronic formats
• Computers with special input devices (e. g., voice, Morse code, alternative keyboards)

Health Impairments

• Note takers, audio-taped class sessions
• Flexible attendance requirements
• Extra exam time, alternative testing arrangements
• Assignments in electronic formats
• Electronic mail

General Suggestions

• Syllabus statement
• Talk with student
• Select materials early
• Materials in electronic formats
• Alternative testing arrangements
• Use campus services

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