“A Voice for the Disabled”
February 2009 Vol. 16 No. 1

The Disability Support Services Department welcomes 130 students with disabilities this spring semester. The department is staffed with four interpreters, Grayce Fleet, Kim Fluker, Vera Edwards and Frankie Rowley. If you have been contacted on your respective campus that a student with a disability is taking a class under you, you (instructor) and the student must engage in an interactive process (meeting) to discuss his or her needs to determine the appropriate modifications. If you meet with the student, please submit a copy to your campus coordinator for their file.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 mandate that no otherwise qualified person with a disability shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in public programs. This means that courses, student services, information resources, and project activities should be accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities. This is true for activities funded by federal, state, corporate, or private grants, gifts, cooperative agreements, or contacts.

Universal Design
An approach to making facilities, information, and activities accessible to and usable by everyone is called universal design. Universal design means that rather than designing for the average user, you design for people with differing native languages, genders, racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, and disabilities. Make sure that project staff and volunteers are trained to support people with disabilities, respond to specific requests for accommodations in a timely manner, and know who to contact regarding disability-related issues. The universal design of your project offering will make everyone feel welcome and minimize the need for special accommodations for individual participants.
Helpful Hints with Relating to People with Disabilities:

● Ask a person with a disability if he or she needs help before providing assistance.
●Talk directly to the person with a disability, not through the person’s companion or interpreter.
●Provide information in alternate means (written, spoken, diagrams)
●Avoid negative descriptions of a person’s disability. EX. “a person who uses a wheelchair” is more appropriate than “a person confined to a wheelchair”. A wheelchair is not confining—it’s liberating!
●Give information in a clear, calm, respectful tones.
●Face people with hearing impairments so they can see your lips. Avoid talking while chewing gum or eating.

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger than your current situation.”
Brian Tracy

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