Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability
"Education, Citizenship, and Disability"
April 20 & 21, 2004
The Ohio State University Campus, Columbus Ohio
Continuing the tradition of the past three years, the Fourth Annual Multiple Perspectives conference will bring together a diverse audience to explore the many dimensions of disability. What are the experiences of disability? Where does society place disability and where does disability place itself? This year's conference will provide an opportunity to explore questions, to share information and encourage collaborations within and across traditional dimensions (research-practice, private-public, employee-employer, agency-consumer, etc.).
2004 Themes
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Brown vs. The Board of Education decision, the fortieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and the thirtieth anniversary of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These three decennial anniversaries serve to remind us of the rich history of the disability rights movement. Along with the ADA, these events speak to the goals of full access and participation in education, employment and public life; in short the American dream for the good life. In addition to invited presentations (Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, The EEOC, the Access Board, and more), this year’s conference includes presentations that connect disability rights to the larger context of difference, diversity and participation in the good life.
We would like to thank our sponsors and supporters:
- The Great Lakes ADA & IT Center http://www.adagreatlakes.org/
- Ability Magazine http://www.abilitymagazine.com
- ADA-Ohio http://www.ada-ohio.org/
- Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME) http://ada.osu.edu/resources/fastfacts/index.htm
- Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) http://www.morpc.org
- Ohio Statewide Independent Living Council
- The Ohio State University http://www.osu.edu/
- Office of Academic Affairs http://oaa.osu.edu/
- Disability Studies Program http://disabilitystudies.osu.edu
- ASL Program http://asl.osu.edu
- Rehabilitation Services Program
- Web Accessibility Center http://www.wac.ohio-state.edu/
- Office of the ADA Coordinator http://ada.osu
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
9:00am-12:30pm - Session #1
1A: Before The Bar: Three Faces of Equity
Marilyn Bartlett, PhD, JD, Coordinator, Professional Diploma in Education Leadership and Technology, New York Institute of Technology; Jo Anne Simon, JD, Law Offices of Jo Anne Simon; Noel Gregg, PhD, University of Georgia
Before the Bar will present an inside look at Marilyn J. Bartlett v. New York State Board o Law Examiners. The presenters include Marilyn Bartlett, the plaintiff, Jo Anne Simon, her attorney, and Noel Gregg,an expert witness who successfully pursued accommodations for the New York State Bar Exam. Marilyn Bartlett compensated for severe Dyslexia until she approached the completion of her Doctorate in Education. After formal diagnosis, she completed a law degree with appropriate accommodations but was denied accommodations by the Board of Law Examiners.
1B: Accessible Web Design: For Web Designers
Jon Gunderson, PhD, Division of Rehabilitation, Education Services, College of Applied Life Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
Hands-on session designed for web developers who have a working knowledge of HTML. Participants will learn about creating universally accessible web resources based on the W3C WCAG and the Section 508 web accessibility requirements to make web resources more usable to everyone, especially people with disabilities. The session will emphasize functional access to web resources and how this contrasts with the information generated by automated accessibility evaluation and repair tools. Participants will learn how simple changes in HTML can dramatically improve accessibility, and how CSS techniques can be used to not only improve accessibility, but also make it easier for webmasters to manage their resources. Participants will understand the difference between web resources being "technically" and "functionally" accessible to people with disabilities.
12:45pm-2:00pm - LUNCH
2:15pm–3:45pm - Session #2
2A: In Order to Form a More Perfect Union
Michael Bérubé, Paterno Family Professor in Literature, English Department, Pennsylvania State University
Focusing primarily on PK-12 schools, Bérubé will address the question of educational inclusion for students with significant cognitive disabilities, arguing that the principles of democracy should lead us to support inclusion not only on behalf of students with disabilities, who should be prepared for citizenship to the greatest extent possible, but also on behalf of non-disabled students, who should be prepared for citizenship in a nation that treats people with disabilities as fully human.
2B: Accommodating Employees with Psychological Disabilities
Cynthia Stankiewicz, Outreach/Technical Assistance Manager, Cleveland Office, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
This session will identify who is a qualified individual with a psychological disability under Title I of the ADA, including under the "record of" and "regarded as" definitions. Methods to accommodate persons with different psychological disabilities and resources for assistance will be provided, including a discussion of how courts are interpreting ADA guidance with regard to psychological disabilities.
2C: Implementing Accessible Design with Interactive Student Learning Agents: WebCT and embedded MS PowerPoint
Jason Tomlinson, Disability Specialist, University of Akron; Evangeline Varonis, Multimedia Specialist, University of Akron
Higher Education is preparing for the "Net Generation*" with the implementation of online learning environments. These environments, like buildings, have structural barriers that impede a student with disabilities from entering. Avocation for new communities continues; however, changes come slow. This session will discuss how accessibility advocates and classroom instructors can build online communities with fewer barriers, and help transport students around non-negotiable ones with the combined knowledge of Design and Development Services (office of the VPCIO) and the Office of Accessibility (office of the VP for student affairs) at the University of Akron. WebCT will be our primary focus. There will also be discussion on the use and limitations of PowerPoint, HTML, Flash, and PDF files, applicable to WebCT as well as other settings. Programs used will also include JAWS, ZoomText, and ReadPlease so that we may look at access for visual disabilities as well as reading disabilities.
2D: High Stakes Testing
Jane Jarrow
From Fourth Grade Proficiency tests to professional licensure tests have become both the gateways and gatekeepers of educational and career advancement. What are the implications for access? How should accommodations be addressed?
4:00pm–5:30pm - Session #3
3A: Elements of a K-12 History of Disability: Some Reflections on 'Meaningful' Integration
David Mitchell, Department of Disability & Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago; Sharon Snyder
This session will combine information from the National Endowment of the Humanities Summer Institute for teachers “Integrating Disability Studies into The Humanities” (http://www.ahs.uic.edu/ahs/php/?sitename=neh) with current research developed by Mitchell and Snyder. The Institute introduced teachers in secondary education to humanities-based disability studies.
3B: Rights & Responsibilities in the Interview & Hiring Process
Cynthia Stankiewicz, Outreach/Technical Assistance Manager, Cleveland Office, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
This session will chronologically address issues encountered during the application, interview and hiring process under Title I of the ADA, including when a person self-identifies as a person with a disability; when the employer is an affirmative action employer for hiring persons with a disability; medical inquiries and exams; and reasonable accommodations. Rights and responsibilities from both the perspectives of the employee and employer under the ADA will be presented.
3C: When an Office Becomes a Classroom: Faculty Training in the 21st Century
Margo Izzo, Project Director, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Skip Stahl, M.S., Senior Associate, The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), Wakefield, MA; Christy Willis, Director, Disability Support Services, George Washington University; Dr. Anne Herzog, Assistant Director, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, West Chester University, West Chester, PA; Alexa Murray, Project Coordinator, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Jennifer Aaron, Program Assistant, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University
In this age of emergent technologies, the Information Highway has touched all aspects of society, including the way we deliver professional development. Technology offers a dimension of flexibility and interactivity to training that pushes the envelope of knowledge dissemination. In the spirit of developing state-of-the-art training mediums, OSU and nationwide collaborators have come together to produce and validate a training curriculum on the accommodations process and good instructional practice called FAME (Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education). Made possible through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education, FAME builds upon a history of professional development research conducted at OSU and addresses key topics such as coordinating accommodations, instructing students with Universal Design for Learning principles, and creating accessible web content. By training faculty on key disability issues, we hope to promote greater educational access for college students with disabilities.
The presenters will provide an overview of the FAME project, its history, purpose, objectives, and unique design features that distinguish it from other web-based products. The product development process will be described in-depth, including successes and barriers to implementation. The modules that have been developed will be demonstrated in order to generate roundtable discussion and feedback on its content and form. The developers of FAME hope to engage audience members in a dialogue of FAME’s usefulness and appropriateness for its target population of faculty and administrators nationwide. In sum, the presenters will explain the FAME project, demonstrate the product, and facilitate a question-and-answer panel discussion on its salience and usability.
3D: Para-Transit: Problem Solving Exchange
Ken Campbell, ATC General Manager, COTA Project Mainstream
This session is an opportunity to discuss the issues around the delivery of Para-transit services. Users and providers will be invited to exchange creative solutions to the problems faced daily by system riders. Topics will include legal implications of the ADA, accessible drop-off points, service timeliness and disability awareness issues, among others.
5:45-7:00pm - Reception
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
9:00am-10:30am - Session #4
4A: High Heels, Feminism and Disability
Patricia A. Murphy, PhD, CRC, Director and Visiting Professor, Disability Studies Program, University of Toledo
An exploration of how high heels create disability in the able-bodied woman, how they function as a narrative prosthesis for the able-bodied woman, and how the wearing of high heels erases the disabled woman's experience of her own body.
4B: A Perspective on Reasonable Accommodation in All Phases (Didactic, Laboratory, and Clinical) of the Education of the Health Care Professional
Cheryl DeVore, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University; Freddie Jordan, Director, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University
This session will focus on addressing the requests for accommodations in a professional educational program and most specifically the program of dentistry. While a case-based model involving accommodations in a curriculum of dental study will be used by way of example, there should be relevence for any health care program which includes didactic, preclinical and clinical coursework. The session will involve faculty, staff and a student participant and will examine how these requests are addressed for a student as he/she progresses through the professional curriculum.
4C: The Adapted Recreational Sports Community Initiative
Heidi Keller, ARS Program Coordinator, Adapted Recreational Sports, The Ohio State University; Mary Beth Moore, CTRS, Therapeutic Recreation Manager, Columbus Recreation and Parks
In October 2003, The Adapted Recreational Sports Community Initiative was formed by Columbus area sport, recreation, and leisure organizations to build a citywide model for collaboration and quality programming for individuals with disabilities. The initiative focuses on better networking amongst agencies and organizations providing accessible and adaptive recreation. This session will describe the initial strategies for coordination, sharing resources, generating awareness, using the web to improve networking and communications about opportunities. Participants are invited to provide feedback on strategies, to suggest alternatives and to join this collaborative effort.
4d: Access To Higher Education: Students Speak Out
This session will consist of two 45-minute panels of students with disabilities discussing their experience of access to higher education and their recommendations for improvement. The two panels are described below.
Panel 1. Access To Higher Education: Students With Disabilities Speak Out
Rebecca Cory, Doctoral Student, Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University
The Access To Higher Education: Students With Disabilities Speak Out took place in November in Syracuse, NY. This open forum brought students, student allies, faculty and administrators from around New York State together to discuss advocacy and networking. Through grass-roots organizing and advocacy a group of Syracuse University students who make up the Beyond Compliance advocacy group in collaboration with the Office of Disability Services and the Advocacy Board of The Center on Human Policy worked to create a public forum for the discussion of access to higher education. The goal of the forum was for students to share stories—“the good the bad and the typical”—and work together on solving common advocacy issues.
After a brief overview of the logistics of the program, the session will discuss the major themes of the Speak Out. Individual student stories will be used to contextualize the big picture of the issues that students confront in negotiating their experiences. The themes of the conference include interactions with faculty and classroom experiences, student activities, residential life, friendships, dating and peers and physical campus access. There will be opportunity for discussion of the issues as presented through the student stories.
The session will conclude with a reflection on lessons learned, by the students, faculty and administrators present from the issues raised at the forum.
Panel 2. Rights, Respect, and Responsibilities: The Disabled Students Service Office and Access to Higher Education. Angela Wolf, President, National Association of Blind Students; Tai Tomasi, National Association of Blind Students; Jim Marks, Director of Disabilities Services at the University of Montana-Missoula and Chairman of the Special Interest Group on Blindness and Visual Impairments for AHEAD
Often, the biggest obstacles for people with disabilities are the attitudes, misconceptions, and stereotypes that society holds about disabilities. Sometimes this manifests itself in the form of blatant discrimination, but even more frequently, it is present in the low expectations and standards that are placed on people with disabilities. In the National Association of Blind Students (NABS), we strive to ensure that blind students across the country understand their rights and responsibilities in their pursuit of post-secondary education, so that they can compete with their peers on terms of equality, and we strive to educate the public, including the professionals in the field of disabilities, in order to instill more positive and productive philosophies about the capabilities of the blind. The Disabled Student Services Offices at colleges and universities, for example, can play a key role in the success of blind students, but all too often, they lower the standards for the students who are blind, calling it "reasonable accommodations."
For most people who attend college, it is a time for them to explore their independence, establish professional goals, and in general, prepare themselves for success in the workforce. Unfortunately, many blind students are not afforded the opportunity of such experiences, because of the custodial way they are treated by Disabled Student Services Offices, who are supposed to provide accommodations and access, but rather offer low expectations and standards. For example, many Disabled Students Services Offices enforce a policy that allows blind students to waive Math and Science courses, required for graduation by the university, rather than supporting the students and aiding them in developing skills and techniques that would enable them to successfully complete such course work. Such an "accommodation" (as it is called by the DSS office) does not help prepare the blind student for entering the work place, and it also sends a message to the blind students that says that they do not have to take responsibility in their education.
This proposed presentation will address these issues in detail, relevant to Disabled Student Services and their policies affecting blind students, as well as discuss and recommend strategies for best practice to ensure quality services and accommodations for blind students, while simultaneously aiding blind students in understanding their rights and responsibilities. In addition, the presentation will emphasize the importance of collaboration between Disabled Student Services Offices and consumer organizations of and for the blind, which can serve as excellent resources for both the colleges and universities, as well as the blind students.
10:45am-12:15pm - Session #5
5A: A Monstrous Emergence: Disability Studies in the Humanities
Rita Rich; Mike Sasso; Wendy Chrisman; Marian Lupo, PhD student, English Department, The Ohio State University
This panel presents emerging scholarship in Disability Studies at the intersection of theory and practice. By studying current practices of community-building and resistance, this panel demonstrates the emancipatory potential of Disability Studies and models the monstrous (emer-)agency of the disabled subject. The panelists are doctoral students in the humanities at The Ohio State University guided by the principle that the purpose of scholarship is not simply to interpret the world, but to change it.
- Rita Rich, "Bionic Ears and Deaf Culture in Cyberspace: Theorizing Deaf Bloggers"
- Mike Sasso, "Disfolks Cripping the Mainstream: Theorizing Being Disabled in a Culture of Ableism"
- Marian Lupo and Wendy Chrisman, "The Hauntological: The Rhetoric of Mental Ward TV"
5B: From "Separate But Equal" to "The Most Integrated Setting": The Influence of Brown v. The Board of Education on Current Enforcement"
5C: Aesthetics & Universal Design, A Case in Point: The Knowlton School of Architecture
Robert Livesey, Director, Architecture, The Ohio State University; L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University
After a brief overview of considerations in the design & construction process, participants will be divided into two groups. Each group will alternatively tour the new Knowlton School of Architecture with Robert Livesey, the School’s Director, and review the process of providing access in working with the Architects, Contractors, and Developers with L. Scott Lissner, the University’s ADA Coordinator.
5D: "I Want to Go HOME!” Strategies for Nursing Facility Transition
Julie Alexander, Lead Coordinator - Independent Living Skills Program, Independence First, Inc.; Jennifer Staab Boyle, Nursing Facility Transition Coordinator, Independent Living Resources, Inc.
This workshop is targeted toward consumers and staff working with people to transition from institutional settings (nursing homes, ICF-MRs, state centers). Experienced transition specialists will share practical tools and techniques they have used to identify and assist people who want to go home. Strategies for successful collaboration with Federal, State and local resources will be presented. Case studies will be utilized to give participants hands-on experience developing options to overcome barriers to transition. Time will be available for group brainstorming on participant’s cases and questions.
The objective of this session is to develop participant’s problem solving skills and reinforce the attitude that EVERYONE has a right to live in the community regardless of the barriers their community might present. The purpose of this session is to give participants an opportunity to brainstorm on some case studies as well as their own cases. Trainers are from both rural and urban centers. Some of the barriers will include: housing, emotional factors, attendant care, medical issues, funding and self-advocacy skills. Each trainer will briefly describe the development of transition work at their center and present a consumer story. Participants will split into small groups and be given their own case study and questions. Groups will present on their case followed by large group discussion. Time will be available for group brainstorming on participants' questions and cases.
Julie Alexander is a person with multiple severe disabilities that has been doing transition work for over 12 years at Independence First in Milwaukee. She has extensive experience advocating with consumers through some really tough situations. She is well respected in her community by both professional and consumer groups. She also has much experience presenting about this topic and has worked with Jennifer Staab Boyle as a co-presenter several times.
Jennifer Staab Boyle has been coordinating the CMS Nursing Facility Transition, IL Partnership grant in Wisconsin for the last two years and has been involved in both statewide and national training on the topic. She is currently providing technical assistance to all eight Independent Living Centers in Wisconsin. She also provides transition support to consumers in her Center’s rural counties.
12:30pm–1:45pm - LUNCH
2:00pm-3:30pm - Session #6
6A: Why Disability Studies? Why Now?
Brenda Brueggemann, Associate Professor, English, The Ohio State University
Powerpoint-aided discussion that maps nearly two dozen of the current sites
of inquiry for "the new disability studies."
6B: OCR Year in Review
Catherine Anderle, Chief Attorney, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education; Karla Ussery, Attorney, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
A discussion of current trends and issues and informative letters of finding from the past year.
6C: A Vocational Support Program for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Ashleigh, Hillier, PhD, Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University; Karen Mastriani, Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University; David Q. Beversdorf, MD, Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University
This session presents the outcomes of a specialized vocational support program for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This pilot program, conducted through the Department of Neurology at The Ohio State University, places individuals into meaningful, satisfying paid employment in the local community, thus enabling them to move toward financial independence and develop an array of meaningful skills.
3:00pm–5:00pm - Special Session: Statewide Independent Living Council Public Hearing
3:45pm-5:15pm - Session #7
7A: The Disability Studies "Science" Fair: A Student Poster/Performance Session
Facilitated by Brenda Brueggemann, Associate Professor, English, The Ohio State University & Stephen Kuusisto, Assistant Professor, English, The Ohio State University. Graduate students from Gender and Disability (Women's Studies 620) and undergraduate students from Introduction to Disability Studies (English 277).
Browse and engage with Ohio State undergraduate and graduate students who have been taking "disability studies" classes and learn about some of their diverse and innovative projects created and ongoing in this area.
Selected students from Professor Stephen Kuusisto's course "English 277 "Introduction to Disability Studies" will discuss their understanding of disability studies as an inter-disciplinary field of inquiry, with particular attention to how multiple modes of inquiry have deepened their understanding of disability as a social condition.
7B: Transitions: From College Recruitment to Job Placement
David Cover, Cincinnati State Technical & Community College; Debra Mato, Project Coordinator, Cincinnati State Technical & Community College; Philip Rumrill, Kent State University; Margo Izzo, Program Director, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Sakui Malapka, University of Toledo
Four of twenty-seven grants from the Offices of Postsecondary Education at the Federal Dept. of Education were awarded to Ohio colleges (Cincinnati State Technical & Community College, Kent State, The Ohio State University, and The University of Toledo). The grants are aimed at improving the quality of higher education for students with disabilities in Ohio and modeling best practices to colleges and universities nationally. This panel will describe the wide range of approaches and share the what they have learned in the past two years. Further information on the funding program can be found at http://ed.gov/programs/disabilities/awards.html.
7C: Disability and Innovation
Griff Hogan. Corporate disability consultant, president of Griff Hogan and Associates (www.griffhogan.com) and author of The Inclusive Corporation: a disability handbook for business professionals, published by Swallow Press, a division of Ohio University Press
Success or failure at inclusion is partly a function of how we and others perceive the significance of disabilities. This presentation explores one perspective on disability deserving of much greater consideration.
It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention and that all technology is adaptive. Explore the many and varied connections between disability and significant human adaptations. Numerous inventions and innovations in the sciences and the arts are reviewed and the role disability often plays in human progress will be explored.
Consider the impact of artists from Van Gogh to Pollack, writers from Homer to Christy Brown, musicians from Beethoven to Stevie Wonder, political leaders from Julius Caesar to John McCain, scientists from Sir Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking. This presentation offers an opportunity to examine the significance of a wide range of innovations and to explore their relationship to human limitations and the perception of those limitations.
7D: ADA Networking Session: There Is Knowledge in Numbers
Sponsored by Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). Panel: David Cameron, ADA Coordinator, Rehabilitation Services Commission; L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University
Your jurisdiction has received ADA questions or complaints and various people have handled them on an as-needed basis but there has been no coordination and there is no assistance for you when you are the one asked to respond!
As the EEO/AA officer and when an employee accommodation question comes up everyone turns to you but no one told you you were the ADA Coordinator!
Congratulations! Your employer has assigned you to be the ADA Coordinator. Now your the organization's expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act.
You have been the ADA Coordinator for the past few years and have just gotten a call about web access; you can barely spell "HTML." Do any of these situations sound familiar?
If you're scratching your head over these kinds of questions look no further. Attend this networking session. The format is designed to allow you to ask your questions and get answers straight from the experts in Access, Inclusion and Disability. Join us, meet the experts and mingle with other ADA Coordinators across the region to discuss common concerns and lessons on ADA issues.
