10th Annual Conference

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability:
"Future History"
April 27 & 28, 2010
Preconference: ADAAA: Update for 2010: Enforcement & Rule Making
April 26, 2010

The Multiple Perspectives conference continues a decade of community exploration of disability as an individual experience and social reality that cuts across typical divisions of education & employment, scholarship & service, business & government, race, gender & ethnicity. This year the conference is celebrating its tenth anniversary while the second decade of the ADA is coming to a close refreshed by amendments. Such milestones are an opportunity to consider where we are, how we got here and where we are going; an opportunity to step back from the immediate demands of access and reflect on how access, inclusion and disability fit with our goals of social justice, diversity and excellence. “Future History” was chosen as this year’s theme to encourage this reflection by celebrating the themes of past conferences listed below.

2001 - The Next Ten years
2002 - Disability in Context
2003 - Access by Design
2004 - Education, Citizenship, & Disability
2005 - Reflecting On Sameness & Difference
2006 - Personal Perspectives and Social Impact: The Stories We Tell
2007 - Rights, Responsibilities, and Social Change
2008 - Looking Back & Thinking Ahead
2009 - Change, Challenge, & Collaboration
2010 - Future History

Sponsors of the 2010 Multiple Perspectives Conference include:

The Ohio State University
The Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability
Ability Magazine
Ohio SILC
Ohio ADA Coordinators’ Network
Ohio AHEAD
PEPNet - Midwest
AccessText

Monday, April 26, 2010 -- Preconference Sessions

The Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended: Update for 2010
Enforcement & Rule Making

Three in-depth preconference workshops designed to keep professionals abreast of how changes in the law and regulations will influence practice. Both sessions are presented by L. Scott Lissner, Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator for Ohio State University, who will share resources that support an approach to compliance that is both proactive and practical, emphasizing the civil rights basis for the ADA as well as the broad benefits access brings to individuals, organizations & society.

8:45am–11:30am - Session 1: The ADA Title I: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Rule Making & Enforcement Trends

In October the EEOC released its draft regulations implementing the recent amendments to the American’s with Disabilities Act for public comment. This work shop will provide a review of the amendments, a sense of the public comments submitted and a status update followed by a practical discussion of six critical policy and practice implications.
Approved for 2.75 PHR, SPHR & GPHR CEU's HRCI Approval Symbol The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

The ADA Amendments In a nutshell:

Enforcement Update: EEOC, Federal Court & State Enforcement Trends
Proposed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Regulations
- What Does It Say?
- Status Update
- Implications for Practice
  - Non-Discrimination Statements & Effective Notice
  - Interviews, Essential Job Functions & Medical Screenings
  - Evaluation of Accommodation Requests
  - When to say "Yes" & when to say "No"
  - Implementing Accommodations
  - Promotion, Performance Improvement Plans & Corrective Action
A Word about interactions with GINA & FMLA

12:30–2:45pm - Session 2: The ADA Titles II & III: Existing Facilities, Renovation & New Construction Department of Justice Rule Making & Enforcement Trends

AIA CEUs Pending

In January of 2009 the Department of Justice withdrew the proposed changes in the regulations enforcing the ADA including changes to the Standards for Accessible Design for review by the new administration. This workshop will review the status of the proposed changes to the Standards for Accessible Design and discuss how they are influencing litigation and practice.

The "New ADAAG" & the DOJ’s Proposed Rule from 2008

Changes in a Nutshell
Status Update
Recent Litigation & Dept. of Justice and Settlements
Facilities: Existing, Renovation & New Construction
- Planning for Access
- Managing Projects
- Maintaining Access

3:15–5:30pm - Session 3: The ADA Titles II & III: Beyond Buildings
Department of Justice Rule Making & Enforcement Trends

In January of 2009 the Department of Justice withdrew the proposed changes in the regulations enforcing the ADA for review by the new administration. This workshop will review the status of the proposed changes and discuss how they are influencing litigation and practice.

Beyond Buildings DOJ’s Proposed Rule from 2008

Changes in a Nutshell
Status Update
Recent Litigation & Dept. of Justice and Settlements
- Emergency Evacuation
- Communications Access
  - Captioning at Public Venues
  - The Web
  - E-Books
- Service Animals

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

8:30am-10:00am - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: ADA Transition Plans -- It's Not Too Late to Have One

Scott Swiderski, Senior Construction Manager, P.E., H.R. Gray

Transition plans describe structural modifications that will be made to meet the self-evaluation commitments of and to ensure that programs and services are accessible to persons with disabilities in your community. Using case study details, this presentation will highlight the importance of a transition plan, key elements of a transition plan, and best practices when using your transition plan.

Session B: An Analysis of Major Trends Driving Accessibility in the Virtual World

Paul Schroeder, Vice President, Programs and Policy, American Foundation for the Blind

The Internet, and particularly the World Wide Web, grew to prominence in the years after enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While the statutory language of the ADA, as well as the accompanying regulations, did not specifically address access to the Internet or the web, the law has been interpreted to require web accessibility. This lecture presentation will provide information about current efforts to make the web and other Internet-based technologies accessible. The principle focus will be to examine three distinct trends that foster web accessibility for people with disabilities: Legal requirements for institutions to make their products, services and web sites accessible to people with disabilities; Legal action to enforce laws requiring web sites and certain services to be accessible to people with disabilities; And increased use of social computing technologies to link together active and engaged communities of interest without regard to geography, ethnicity, race, disability, etc. .

Session C: Is Everyone Really Crazy? The Future of Understanding & Treating Mental Disorder

Scott Warrick, JD, MLHR, CEQC, SPHR, Human Resource Consulting and Employment Law Services

Of all the disabilities humans experience, mental disabilities are not only the most stigmatized but they are also the most common. We have learned more in the last 5 to 10 years about how the human brain works, how it becomes damaged and how it can actually "rewire" and repair itself than we could have ever imagined. In this session, you will see brain scans of common mental impairments, hear firsthand experiences in using modern day neuroscience to directly combat Autism, and learn how you can protect your own mental health. This session has been described as a "Life Changing" experience. In other words, you will never look at yourself or others in the same way again.

Session D: Universal Design: Ensuring Access to All Learners

Glorimar Velazquez, JD, Project Director; Maria Morin, Project Enhance - Training Coordinator; The University of Texas Pan American

The use of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning ensures that all students have equal access to quality education. Universal Design benefits students of all ages and ability levels. This presentation will help participants understand the underlying concept of Universal Design, the benefits of Universal Design, & also the need to implement Universal Design & Universal Design for Learning on their campus.

10:15am-11:45am - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Access by Design: Design Professionals “Lessons Learned”

Todd Cunningham, PE, Associate & Senior Project Manager; Russell Henestofel, LEED, PE, Associate & Project Manager; Chris Mann, PE, Associate & Project Manager; EMH&T

Accessibility design has evolved since our clients began understanding the requirements and necessity of good designs. Standards of design have been affected by ten years of evolution by design professionals. The presenters will discuss the impacts of the established rules and guidelines on site development, how one set of standards for a particular client can change how a project is designed, and how design professionals have evolved and changed governmental standards.

Session B: Federal Money for Access Tech: A Partnership between Rehab Services and the University System of Ohio

Peter Murray, Assistant Director, New Service Development, OhioLINK; Ken Petri, Program Director, Web Accessibility Center, The Ohio State University; Carl W. Sabo, Manager, Vocational Rehabilitation Program Development, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Jeff Vernooy, Director, Office of Disability Services, Wright State University; Zach Waymer, Program Manager, Student Advocacy & Support Services, Ohio Board of Regents - University System of Ohio

Panelists from the Ohio Board of Regents, Rehabilitation Services Commission of Ohio, OhioLink, Wright State, Ohio State, and eTech Ohio discuss a unique, on-going partnership program providing money for access technologies. The panel will discuss details of the program and the partnerships that allowed Rehab Services to leverage University System money at the Federal level and create $1.6 million in grants for technology research, development, and implementation projects designed to benefit students with disabilities at state higher education institutions. In addition, the panel will talk about the technology selection criteria and process and about the individual projects that are part of this year's round of funding.

Session C: An Introduction to Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

Kerry Leibig, Senior Attorney Advisor, Office of Legal Counsel, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Michelle Crew, Outreach and Training Coordinator, Cleveland Ohio Regional Office, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (EEOC)

On May 21, 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) was signed into law, giving the EEOC authority to enforce a new prohibition on employment discrimination – discrimination on the basis of genetic information. Title II of GINA, which became effective on November 21, 2009, prohibits employers from using the genetic information of applicants or employees to make employment decisions, restricts the acquisition of genetic information by employers, and strictly limits disclosure of genetic information by employers. The statute defines genetic information to include not only genetic tests of individuals and their family members, but also the manifestation of disease or disorder in family members, i.e., family medical history. This presentation provides an introduction to this new EEO law with a particular focus on the rule preventing employers from acquiring genetic information and the exceptions to that rule.

Session D: An Ingenious Way to Live: How Mother Finally Made the Screaming Stop

Pamela Beth Whitt, PhD, Assistant Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies, Indiana University East

This session is presented as a monologue; a storytelling performance about the screaming in my mother's head and what she did to shut it off. The monologue will take place in three parts. The first presents relevant information about the history of female issues surrounding disability in recent history. The second part tells the story of my mother's life through my childhood eyes and how issues of disability are family issues, cultural issues and systemic issues that affect social outcomes. The third part of the monologue talks about my mother's death, removing her from the life support and the long road to realization I've had to travel to recognize and share the worth of her life.

11:00am-5:00pm - Student Perspectives: Student Posters and Vendors

12:00pm-1:15 - Lunch & Information Exchange

1:30pm-2:15pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Seeing Eye to Eye: Sustainability and Universal Design

Martha Wisbey, Associate Director of Disability Services, Emory University

This program will discuss the increased efforts on all college campuses to improve their facilities to save energy and create energy savings. The key is to show a commitment to health and wellness while improving outdated buildings. The efforts made go hand in hand with ADA codes; however, the principles of Universal Design present some additional caveats for creating a space for access, inclusion and space for all persons in a community to live, work and learn. This program intends to compare the two philosophical commitments and help find common ground to bring about a Universal Sustainable environment.

Session B: Real People, Real Success Stories, Real Talk – Hiring People with Disabilities

Disability Resource Alliance of Central Ohio (DRACO) Members including: Kathy Streblo, Executive Director, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central Ohio; Marty Gaudiose, Chief Executive Officer, Vision & Vocational Services; Jennifer Smith-Dudash, Employment Specialist, Columbus Speech and Hearing; Sandy Turner, Executive Director, VOICEcorp reading service; Betsy Nofziger, Senior Program Consultant, COVA; Nancy Brantner, Executive Director, Downs Syndrome Association of Central Ohio and a Panel of Employers and Successfully Placed Consumers

A panel comprised of service providers, employers and consumers successfully placed in competitive employment will present best practice information from their three perspectives and how this collaboration can lead to improved services. Demonstration of a successful collaboration of local disability service providers and the characteristics required for successful job placement will show how no one approach or method works in placement because each individual with a disability and their employer’s needs are unique. The presenters will share their personal experiences in overcoming barriers to employment & their employers’ challenges and benefits.

Session C: Accessible PowerPoint Handouts That Are Actually Usable – No More Images

Joe Wheaton, Associate Professor, Special Education, The Ohio State University

PowerPoint (PPT) handouts created from the “Handout” choice from the print menu in PPT are images of the slides and inaccessible. This presentation shows how to create handouts readable by all assistive technology.

The typical PowerPoint (PPT) handout is created from the “Handout” choice from the print menu in PPT. These handouts are images of the slides, which are inaccessible by persons with disabilities and many times unreadable by even persons with vision because the font is too small. This presentation shows a way to create handouts that are readable by all assistive technology using the Outline feature in PPT. Using Outline, the slides can be made so that they can be saved as a rich text format (RTF) file. These RTF files can then be styled in any word processor to take on any look. Because they are text files and utilize the heading structure in a word processing document, they are accessible by all text readers and the heading structure allows quick and easy navigation, no matter the length and complexity of the document. Moreover, because the document is text, the font size, color, and background can quickly and easily be changed to suit the reader’s preference using the already existing formatting tools in the word processor. Techniques for hiding text and creating guided notes will also be included. Caveats regarding complex tables, figures, and graphics will be discussed.

Session D: Recruiting and Supporting Students with Disabilities in STEM programs

Margo Izzo, Program Director, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Chris Andersen, Program Director, Office of Reserach, The Ohio State University; Bianca McArrell, Research Associate, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Ayden Ables, Student Staff Member, Nisonger Center Transition Services Office, The Ohio State University

The Ohio STEM Ability Alliance (OSAA) funded by the National Science Foundation is recruiting STEM students with disabilities in the Dayton-Columbus area to participate in student centered interventions focused on increasing the number of SwD graduating with STEM degrees. The presenters will: Share an overview of Ohio’s STEM Ability Alliance (OSAA); Explain strategies to recruit, retain and graduate STEM students with disabilities; And inform faculty of the customized services they have available for STEM students with disabilities.

2:30pm-3:00pm - Proclamation Signing Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the ADA

Free and open to the public

Join Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, State Attorney General Richard Cordray, Ohio Civil Rights Commission Chair Eddie Harrell, Jr., Columbus State Community College President Valeriana Moeller, The City of Columbus and others for a proclamation signing ceremony recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the ADA. This will provide an opportunity for organizations to join them in affirming their public commitment to equity, social justice, and the spirit of the ADA. The initiative encouraging businesses, government agencies, cities and other organizations or groups across Ohio to sign proclamations affirming their commitment is a collaborative effort of the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues and ADA-OHIO and will continue through June in recognition of the July 26th 2010 anniversary of the ADA. This event is free and open to the public. For more details, please go to: http://ada.osu.edu/conferences/2010Conf/adaproclamation.html

3:00pm-4:30 - Ken Campbell Memorial Lecture on Disability Policy: "Leveraging the ADA 20th Anniversary to Transform Our Approach to Social Welfare Policy: Rethinking Education, Workforce Investment, Disability Benefits, and Health Care"

Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). Prior to joining AAPD, Imparato was general counsel and director of policy for the National Council on Disability, an attorney advisor with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy, and a staff attorney/Skadden Fellow with the Disability Law Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Free and open to the public

Initiated by the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues and highlight of the annual conference, the Ken Campbell Memorial Lecture on Disability Policy honors Campbell’s life’s work as an advocate, including over twenty years guiding the City of Columbus’ disability policies.

4:30pm-6:30pm - Poster Presentations and Reception

Please join us for disability related poster presentations from students and community participants as well as a reception immediately following the Ken Campbell Memorial Lecture. Free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

9:00am-10:30am - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Two 45-minute Sessions

Higher Education and Disability: Education Needs a Coordinated Approach to Improve Its Assistance to Schools in Supporting Students - 2009 GAO Report

Linda L Siegel & George Scott, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Implications for Policy & Practice

L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University

Session B: Rhetorical Approaches to Disability & Disability Studies – 3 Parts

Read My Lips: A Rhetorical Analysis of Mabel Bell’s 1895 ‘Subtle Art of Speechreading’

Brenda Brueggemann, Professor, English & Disability Studies; Ohio State University.

In an image-enhanced (slide show) presentation, I will examine the rhetorical appeals (logical, ethical, pathetical) in Mabel Hubbard Bell’s famous article on the “art of speechreading” printed in an 1895 issue of Atlantic Monthly. (Mabel Bell was the [deaf] wife of Alexander Graham Bell.)

Positionality, Rationality, Credibility: Reliable Ethos of Mental Disability and the Icarus Project

Elizabeth Brewer Ph.D. Student and Graduate Administrative Assistant, Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies Program, The Ohio State University

The presenter will use a PowerPoint presentation to explore mental illness tropes on the National Eating Disorder Association’s (NEDA) website. She will analyze the advantages and dangers of presenting eating disorders as biology-based mental illnesses.

“Crazy Hungry”: Mental Illness Rhetoric in Eating Disorder Research and Advocacy

Lauren Clark, Writing Coordinator, The Honors Collegium, The Ohio State University

Session C: Families Facing the Impact of Mental Illness: Resiliency – The Antidote to Stigma

Richard Shepler, Ph.D., Center for Innovative Practices, Kent State University, Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence; Dr. Steven Jewell, Medical Director, Child Guidance and Family Solutions; Marjorie Cook, BA, Family Member, Ohio Federation for Children’s Mental Health; Terrie Casenhiser, Parent Advocate, Mental Health America

Extensive research on the negative impact that stigma has on adults with mental illness has documented the sense of shame, feelings of blame, the need to keep the diagnosis secret, and the isolation, social exclusion, and hopelessness that are the common deleterious effects of stigma. The vast majority of the research on stigma relates to adults with mental illness, and thus its relevance to children and families is unclear. Nonetheless, children and families have been facing the impact of stigma for as long as we have been diagnosing children with psychiatric disorders. They have no doubt about the damaging effects stigma can have on them, and their ability or even willingness to pursue effective treatment. On the other hand, there is an increasing amount written in the literature about the concept of resiliency in children and families. In recent years this has included more and more about strategies for building resiliency in the families of children with mental illness. In fact, resiliency can be seen as a protective factor against, or even an antidote for the negative effects of stigma.

This presentation will explore the complementary issues of coping with stigma and building resiliency in families of children with mental illness from the perspective of both the existing research base and the families themselves. Presentations will review first the results of the first large-scale, nationally representative survey of public knowledge, attitudes and beliefs on children’s mental health, and second, recent writings on resiliency and recent efforts in Ohio to operationalize those for the purpose of creating a road map for building resiliency in families of children with mental illness. More importantly, each academic presentation will be followed by the responses of family members and advocates, sharing their own personal stories of struggling with stigma and trying to build resiliency within their own families and communities. Their responses, and the opportunity for discussion with the audience at the end of the presentation, will bring home the reality of both the damaging effects of stigma and the protective effects of resiliency in a manner that a simple academic discussion could not.

Session D: Human Rights: Level Playing Fields for All

Shirley Confino-Rehder, The Rehder Group

Future history will be full of livable communities with affordable, accessible housing which utilizes sustainable/Universal Design (UD) principles and assistive technology. This will meet the needs of housing and public access, enabling richer and easier aging in place. The presentation will help to forecast the future livable community. It will explain what these tools really mean, eliminating the mystery and removing the stigma. UD, sustainability, livable communities, and assistive technology will be on every agenda for community development. Public participation in the planning will make everyone a stakeholder. The Americans with Disabilities Act will be accepted just as we accept freedom of speech. Complete accessibility will be the norm.

10:45am-12:15pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Access & Postsecondary Education

Karla Ussery, Attorney-Team Leader; Kelly McHargh, Attorney; Catherine Criswell, Acting Director-Chief Attorney, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

During this presentation, OCR Cleveland legal staff will present on a variety of issues affecting students with disabilities at the postsecondary level, including the process for requesting academic adjustments and auxiliary aids, documentation, facility and program access, grievance procedures, and access to technology. Time will be allotted for a question and answer session.

Session B: First-Class Autistics, Second-Class Citizens: Employment, Education, and Autistic Self-Advocacy

Melanie Yergeau, Director, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network - Central Ohio/Ohio State; PhD Candidate in English, Ohio State University; Justin Rooney, Autistic Self-Advocate, ASAN-Central Ohio/OSU; Noranne Cochran, Autistic Self-Advocate, ASAN-Central Ohio/OSU; Blogger, Prism Song

The panel will explore the various employment and education access issues that autistic individuals face. The presentation approaches these issues from a variety of perspectives: historical, social, cultural, and personal, and centers around important workplace and education issues that autistic people encounter. They will discuss some ways in which we—autistic people and non—can foster more inclusive professional environments.

Session C: Reflections on Teaching Disability Studies: Challenging Students’ Frameworks, Positions and Images

Kathleen M. Hulgin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Mount St. Joseph; Peg Gutsell, Ed.D., LPCC, Principal, Inclusive Quality

As the field of Disability Studies develops, it is important for those involved in incorporating it into higher education curriculum to share successful experiences and challenges. This is the overall goal of this presentation. More specifically, we will provide information about our experience in offering an introductory undergraduate course in terms of three major components as described below.

Foundations of Disability Studies. This course was developed as an elective within the interdisciplinary studies program at a small liberal arts college. Students represented a variety of majors including nursing, business, communication and education. Across majors, disability is typically represented as an individual pathology and grounded in a positivist theoretical orientation. Consistent with the disability studies approach, our course represents disability in a fundamentally different way - as socially constructed through forces of knowledge and power which create oppression and exclusion. We ground disability in cultural studies and critical theory. A primary goal of this presentation is to describe the theoretical foundations, course materials and strategies that were used to share this alternative and critical perspective with students.
Student Responses. As students examined disability from a constructivist and critical framework, their level of openness varied depending upon their assumptions, experiences, and identities – including images of their future careers. In the attempt to develop a supportive and impactful learning process, we examined students’ responses and will share three categories for understanding their encounters with Disability Studies. They are: moving from criticism to criticality, adherence to individualism and authenticity of personal experience, and defending identity referenced norms.
Implications. This introductory course provided a framework for deconstructing disability and understanding and engaging in social transformation. Contemplation of students’ responses brings to light the power of disability discourse and the challenges involved in deconstructing it. It demands living with complexity and uncertainty. It challenges a sense of personal truth and identity. It requires new roles and involvement in social change. With a heightened awareness of the possible challenges students encounter with disability studies, we hope to strengthen the opportunity for transformation and short circuit, to some extent, dissonance and resistance.

Session D: OSU’s Integrated Disability Department Keeping People Well and Working: Looking Back and Thinking Ahead

Jennifer Hertzfeld, Team Lead for Transitional Work; Jamie Beadle, Onsite Physical Therapist; Cortney Silva, Disability Program Manager; Office of Human Resources, The Ohio State University

Absenteeism as a result of Injuries and illnesses cost employers millions of dollars each year. It also severely impacts the injured or ill employee. As a result, Ohio State created the Integrated Disability department to assist the employee with obtaining appropriate benefits as well as transitioning back to work.

The outcomes of these services at Ohio State have been tremendous. The presenters will share how the services of Integrated Disability have decreased the number of injuries each year, helped employees to return to work sooner, and impacted the bottom-line cost savings at the university. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the future initiatives for Integrated Disability including pre-employment testing and a physician education series.

12:30pm-1:45 - Lunch & Information Exchange

2:00pm-3:30pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Veterans with Disabilities: Access to Postsecondary Education

Ann Millette, Attorney; Terri Whynter, Equal Opportunity Specialist; Paul Brown, Equal Oppportunity Specialist; Deborah Kamat, Attorney; Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education

OCR staff will provide information on the rights of students with disabilities who are veterans. Many veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are “individuals with disabilities” who intend to pursue higher education. Many of these “wounded warriors” have acquired disabilities during their service, making them eligible for protection under the ADA and Section 504. Unlike the vast majority of students with disabilities who attend college, warriors with disabilities often have no history of receiving disability-based accommodations in high school. Accordingly, they are less familiar with their disability-related rights and responsibilities. Most colleges and universities have not had a lot of experience in accommodating students with the types of disabilities common among wounded warriors, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, late acquired blindness or deafness, significantly disfiguring burns, and multiple amputations, among others.

Session B: Two 45-Minute Presentations on Asperger's and Education

The Transition of ASD Students and Parents to College and Beyond

Stephanie Adams, Coordinator of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, Disability Resource Center, Office the Dean of Students, Purdue University; Emily Tyson, M.S., CCC-SLP, Clinical Assistant Professor, Dept of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences; Purdue University

This workshop will explore transition considerations for college-bound students with ASD through interactive discussion of past and present practices, the law, and necessary life skills.

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure: Addressing the Unique Needs of Students with Asperger's Disorder

Lisa Meeks, Director of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities & Director of the JCU/Cleveland Clinic Program for Students with Asperger's; Tracy Masterson, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Clinical Director of the JCU/Cleveland Clinic Program for Students with Asperger's

This presentation will address how to combat the most challenging issues disability service providers face when working with students with AS/HFA, and provide several alternative, pro-active approaches to supporting this population.

Session C: Turning the Educability Narrative: Samuel A. Kirk at the Intersection of Learning Disability and Mental Retardation

Scot Danforth, Associate Professor, School of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University

Sam Kirk, the father of American special education, was a vocal advocate for the learning potential inherent in all children. Yet, in 1967, when faced with the need to define learning disability, he contrasted the potential of children with learning disabilities with the lack of potential of children with mental retardation. This presentation explores Kirk’s thinking in light of implications today for how we understand human potential across different disability types.

Session D: MapQuesting the Past/Charting Future Turns in Disability Studies

Marian E. Lupo, J.D., Ph.D.; Wendy L. Chrisman, Ph.D., The Ohio State University, Adjunct, Columbus College of Art & Design; Michael J. Sasso, Doctoral Student, Disability Studies, The Ohio State University

Long-time conference presenters approach their past presentations as Disability Studies MapQuests with the goal of charting strategies for negotiating unknown terrain. In this presentation, they reflect upon the changes in Disability Awareness, Rights, and Responsibilities over the last ten years in two ways: how these changes have shaped their presentations at this conference, and how these changes have shaped their own lives as Disability Studies scholars, teachers, and activists. Through these brief, reflective, and retrospective presentations, they hope to engage the audience in thinking about how surprising and unexpected the future of Disability Studies has proven itself to be.

3:45pm-5:15pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: What’s Wrong with this Picture? A Photographic Journey through an Inaccessible World

Doug Goeppner, MSW, LSW; ADA Coordinator, University of Southern Indiana

This presentation provides an overview of the history of architectural accessibility standards and gives participants an opportunity to practice their skill at recognizing real-world examples of inaccessibility in our society.

Participants will first be provided with an overview of the history of accessibility, which will include a short review of accessibility standards and related U.S. federal laws dating from the 1960’s to the present. This overview will include the following items (listed in the order of presentation): ANSI A 117.1; Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design (MGRAD), Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), the concept of Universal Design, Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines (FHAG), Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG); and the International Building Code.

The remainder of the session will be a group exercise that consists of the presentation of approximately two dozen photographs that represent examples of inaccessibility found in commonly used settings such as parking lots, sidewalks, restrooms, temporary public events, and other venues that are open for the use of the general public. The pictures used for this exercise will demonstrate accessibility issues that can be identified by participants without the need for the taking of measurements or the need for prior expertise with specific accessibility standards. For each photograph, participants will be asked to identify and discuss any accessibility issues presented by that photograph. Where appropriate, the presenter will reference specific accessibility standards during the discussion for each photograph, with ADAAG being the primary standard referenced. The inventory of photographs also includes some examples of best practices or solutions to accessibility issues, and includes at least one photograph that presents a disability etiquette/accessibility issue rather than a typical accessibility issue.

Session B: Two 45 Minute Presentations on Alternate Text Production and Assistive Technology

Alternate Text Production, Inclusion, Segregation and the Natural Student Experience

Joshua Kaufman, Services Coordinator, Student Support Services, Western Carolina University; Dr. Lance Alexis, Director, Office of Disability Services, Western Carolina University

Providing alternative texts is a staple of Disability Services Offices. The presenters will examine how trends and willingness to evaluate, professional, and institutional cultures can impact this process and the departments' greater missions.

Access by Design: Building Capacity for Diversity with Assistive Technology

Laura Cherry Akgerman, M.A., C.R.C., Disability Services Coordinator, Ohio Dominican University; Erin Salva, Coordinator of Disability Services, Kenyon College; Sean Whalen, Computer Information Sciences Student, Ohio Dominican University

This session will discuss various ways that disability services can stay up to date, as well as suggest ways to collaborate with the students who use AT and have unique insights into the usability of particular technologies, and the latest and great tech out there!

Session C: Self-evident Truths: "Natural" Ideas of Disability Rights and the Declaration of Independence

Dr. Glenn P. Lauzon, Assistant Professor, Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies, The University of Akron; Dr. Timothy H. Lillie, Associate Professor, Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies, The University of Akron

This session examines moral principles asserted within the disability rights movement of the 1970s, connecting them to natural law philosophy via the Declaration of Independence. It does so through an exploration of selected concepts, namely, the “self-evident” truths of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Examined first are ideas of the disability rights movement (e.g., dignity, rights, autonomy), as expressed in speeches and documents produced by some pivotal figures. Direct invocations of, and parallel constructions to, the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence will be traced. Following that will be clarification and elaboration of the meanings of those concepts within the intellectual heritage of the natural law tradition. The presentation will conclude by examining the state of natural law thinking in the field of disability studies today.

Session D: Improving Workplace Socialization for Employees with Disabilities: A Training Demonstration

Zachary P. Hart, Ph.D., Department of Communication; Northern Kentucky University

Through a U.S. Department of Education grant, the Employment Service Systems Research and Training Center (ESSRTC) is currently conducting five research projects designed to develop, enhance, and utilize partnerships to improve the quality of employment services, opportunities, and outcomes for people with disabilities. Drawing upon the extensive organizational socialization research, Project Two has been training vocational counselors on Long Island and Bronx, New York over the past four years how to more effectively socialize employees with disabilities to their workplace and promote their successful integration into the workplace culture. Several modules of the training specifically focus on the important role communication plays in this process. This proposed session will present an interactive demonstration of one module of this training program, specifically showing how employers can help employees with disabilities more effectively use information seeking strategies as a way to improve their socialization experience. Participation and feedback from all panel attendees will be strongly encouraged.

5:30pm-6:30pm - AccessText Update and Discussion

Bob Martinengo, AccessText

AccessText members and non-members are invited to hear a short update on the AccessText Network followed by discussion and an opportunity to provide feedback which will be brought back to the publishers.