5th Annual Conference

Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability
"Reflecting on Sameness and Difference"
April 11 - 13, 2005
Pfahl Executive Education & Conference Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

The Fifth Annual Multiple Perspectives conference will encourage reflection on sameness, difference and equity while providing an opportunity to share practical information, explore current research and develop collaborations. The conference will continue its tradition of bringing together a diverse audience (individuals and employers, students and educators, advocates and policy makers, consumers and service agencies) to reflect on the many dimensions of disability.

Before reading the program below, please meet the sponsors.

ABILITY Magazine

Distributed by Time-Warner, ABILITY Magazine is the contemporary magazine of Health, Disability and Human Potential. ABILITY features the latest information on health, new technologies, the "Americans with Disabilities Act," employment opportunities, human interest stories, travel, leisure, and more.

ADA-OHIO

ADA-OHIO is a statewide non-profit organization that provides information, technical assistance, and training about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to individuals, businesses, state and local government agencies and municipalities. Anyone who has a question about the ADA is encouraged to call their office at 1-800-ADA-OHIO or 614-844-5410.

The American Bar Association Commission on Mental & Physical Disability Law

The Commission's mission is "to promote the ABA's commitment to justice and the rule of law for persons with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession." The Commission consists of 15 members appointed by the ABA President. It meets twice yearly at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. to map out future plans and to direct its current activities. Scott LaBarre currently sits as Chair of the Commission. John Parry is the Director and Editor in Chief of the Commission's Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter and Law Digest, as well as various other publications.

FAME Project

The Ohio State University is collaborating with national partners and select urban, suburban, and rural colleges and universities to develop, pilot and disseminate Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME) that are designed to improve the quality of education for students with disabilities. National organizations such as AHEAD, HEATH, CAST and NCSPS have agreed to partner with Ohio State to develop universally-designed training modules that reflect state-of-the-art technologies and content for faculty and administrators in order to improve student education.

Ohio ADA Coordinators’ Network

The Ohio ADA Coordinator's Network was created to provide networking, information and resource sharing opportunities for individuals serving as ADA Coordinators, 504 Compliance Officers or in similar roles in government (municipal, county, state or federal) or business settings across the state of Ohio. The Network's initial goals are to hold a meeting once a year, to sponsor a discussion list, and generate an index of commonly useful resources.
The Ohio ADA Coordinator's Network was initiated by the collaborative efforts of ADA-OHIO, The ADA Coordinator's Office at The Ohio State University, and the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission in the hope that others will join our effort to share information to expand opportunities in Ohio.
This group is intended to serve as the discussion list and will be open to members to post questions in the expectation that the synergy of virtual brainstorming and discussion will improve our efforts. Additionally, once every six to eight weeks an expert will be invited to present a case study or emerging issue to the list and lead a discussion on that topic.
Membership: Limited to professionals responsible for compliance with the ADA, Section 504 and other laws focused on disability in Government and Business settings within the state of Ohio.

The Ohio State University

Monday, April 11

1:00pm-4:30pm - ADA-OHIO Preconference:
"Demystifying the Interplay of the ADA with FMLA and Workers' Compensation."

Kimberly Shumate, Associate Legal Counsel for The Ohio State University and President, Columbus Bar Association; Mike Travis, Litigation Manager for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation; Larry Watson, Regional Attorney in the Cleveland, Ohio, Office of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); MODERATOR: David Kessler, Attorney, Blaugrund, Herbert and Martin, Inc.

Approved for 3.25 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR Recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).

Approved by the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 3.00 total CLE credit hours, with 0.00 of ethics, 0.00 hours of professionalism, and 0.00 of substance abuse instruction.

The ADA, FMLA, and Workers' Compensation laws have been in existence for some time. Determining how these laws interact to protect the rights of both employees and employers can seem overwhelming because some of the regulations are technical, complex, and subject to interpretation. Attorneys from EEOC, private practice, and Workers' Compensation will help participants to understand how these laws complement one another and how to assure the requirements of all are met. Each of the three attorneys will present content related to one of the three laws and explain the interaction with the other two laws. Practical problems drawn from the participants will also be discussed. This kind of forum provides information equivalent to hundreds of hours of reading!

4:45 pm-6:00pm - ADA-OHIO Preconference Wine and Cheese Reception

MC: John Marshall, Attorney and Restaurant Critic for Columbus Monthly
Cost: $15 for those not attending the ADA/FMLA/Workers' Comp Seminar

A barrister by trade, a foodie by birth, John Marshall has been reviewing the hottest and newest restaurants for 10 years for Columbus's own Columbus Monthly magazine. John also has been named a Certified Barbecue Judge by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, the largest international organization of barbecue enthusiasts. John frequently judges the "traditional" ribs at the Columbus Jazz and Rib Fest and other "non-traditional" items such as "Mock Apple Pie" and "Spam Casserole" at the Ohio State Fair each year. Join us for a "Wine and Cheese Reception" immediately following the seminar, with the vino and queso especially selected by John.

9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm - Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME) Presentations: "On The Edge of a New Frontier: Moving Faculty Training Forward"

Workshops will take place in the Digital Union on The Ohio State University Campus. The afternoon workshop is a repeat of the morning workshop.

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 Faculty and Administrator Modules in Higher Education (FAME). Made possible through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education, FAME builds upon existing 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.

We as professionals are standing at the intersection of research, practice, and technology. As service providers become more overworked and the need to deliver information grows deeper, traditional methods of training must allow for other alternatives. Learn how web-based materials based on three years of research can be used to enhance instructional practice and ultimately improve students’ learning outcomes.

9:00am-12:30pm - ADAAG Reborn: What Changed and What Does It Mean?

William R. Botten, Accessibility Specialist, Office of Technical and Information Services, U.S. Access Board; Bruce Growick, Associate Professor, Counselor Education and Rehabilitation Services and School Psychology, The Ohio State University and Public Member of the U.S. Access Board

Learn from the "horse's" mouth -- the U.S. Access Board -- about the ABA/ADA Accessibility Guidelines published on July 23, 2004. Make sure you are aware of the major changes made to these guidelines and how they will affect your future design work. Even without the adoption by the Department of Justice, the revised guidelines can offer you important guidance on elements not previously addressed and provide a glimpse of what is in store for the future. You'll learn to:

Identify significant format and provision changes in the 2004 ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines
Understand the status of these revised accessibility guidelines
Understand how to, and how not to, use the revised guidelines for important guidance prior to their adoption.

12:45pm-2:00pm - Lunch & Information Exchange with the 2nd Annual ADA Award presentation by ADA-OHIO

The Ohio State University would like to congratulate Nancy and Cameron James and Mills-James Productions as the recipients of the second annual ADA Award presented by ADA-OHIO and sponsored by the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council. The award is presented to individuals and/or organizations who have made significant contributions in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. James and Mills-James Productions have supported many causes. They have been particularly instrumental in promoting an awareness of dyslexia and the rights under the ADA of individuals with dyslexia. The ADA Award will be presented at this luncheon.

2:15pm-3:45pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Equity in Planning & Community Participation

Peg Gutsell, PhD, & Sandy Kerlin, Co-Directors, The Inclusion Network

Growing communities are always involved in an improvement process that includes planning, research, and facility enhancement. Though these efforts are ongoing, the contributions, talents and access needs of people with disabilities are regularly overlooked, leading to ultimate inequity. Barriers to inclusion of people with disabilities include perceived cost, myths about individuals who have disabilities, and/or lack of knowledge about how to implement inclusive practices. This presentation explores strategies to affirm the full participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life.

Session B: Digital Diaspora: New Assistive Technologies in the Performing Arts

Lizbeth Goodman, Director, The SMARTlab Centre: Connecting SMARTsystems, Spaces, & People, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, The University of the Arts (London); James Brosnan, Author, Artist, Teacher at Central Remedial Clinic in Dublin; Bobby Byrne, Community Dance Facilitator, Institute of Choreography & Dance; Brian Duffy, Inventor of the Haptic Chair & other robotic interfaces; Colm O'Snodaigh, Manager & Performer, KILA, Musical Collaborator for SMART/lab/SPIRITlevel Projects; Jana Riedel, Filmmaker, Videographer, Keyworx Operator, & Content Manager for SMARTlab

The "Digital Diaspora" panel will be a unique opportunity for conference attendees to witness and discuss the innovative assistive technologies that have been pioneered at the SMARTlab Centre, which is based at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design, The University of the Arts (London). Under the leadership of Dr. Lizbeth Goodman, the SMARTlab has worked in collaboration with engineers, robotics and affective computing experts at the BBC and at Media Lab Europe and UCD (Dublin), and has invented a scaleable modular PLAYbox toolkit for interaction, of special relevance to people with disabilities. The PLAYbox includes motion triggers and also a unique Haptic Chair (created by collaborator Dr. Brian Duffy) for use in performance. The chair empowers users (with any level of voluntary or involuntary muscle movement) to interact with and control a 3d screen environment. The toolkit is anticipated to have a major impact for artists and citizens with all manner of physical needs who are often unseen and unheard in society. In this presentation, the SMARTlab team will include long-term collaborating artists: Mr. James Brosnan (a Dublin-based author and artist who performs poetry and dances despite cerebral palsy, and who is pioneering original uses of his text-to-speech synthesizer as well as of the Haptic Chair ), Mr Bobby Byrne (a dancer and martial art/ movement practitioner who is one of the key members of Counterbalance Arts & Disability Ireland), and Irish speaking/singing musician Colm O'Snodaigh of cult band KILA (performing original poetry and music around the theme of the Gaelic language and its effective removal from some parts of the Irish landscape and thereby its culture). The team will introduce and demonstrate the technological components of the PLAYbox and also perform a version of an a original dance/poem entitled "Guinevere's Globe," operated and filmed by SMARTlab's videographer Ms Jana Riedel. In the future we anticipate that this technology could be implemented in Ohio and put to use in performances, locally and -- by telematic link through the PLAYbox -- also globally.

Session C: People with Disability: Lost in the Maze of Politics

Cherilyn Bloodworth, Deaf, Community Resources Advocate/ADA Specialist, Deaf Services Center, Inc.

This presentation will probe into how some people with disabilities are able to accomplish in the political arena and why some do not. One of the advantages that someone with a disability may have is a grasp on the English language and their mental capacity to process the language. Those who do not succeed in this arena may have difficulty with the English language or may have neurological damage. Even for those who succeed, their ability to process the language is overshadowed by the fact that they still need to rely on other people without disabilities to succeed in politics.

Session D: Access to Higher Education: The Year in Review

4:00pm-5:30pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Technology Access for All

Timothy Creagan, Director of Consumer Training, Information Technology Technical Assistance & Training Center (ITTATC), Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access (CATEA), Georgia Institute of Technology

Information technology plays an increasingly important part in daily life—whether someone calls a friend or a fire dispatcher on their digital wireless telephone, checks email messages at work or home, or accesses the website of a government agency. All of these are examples of how electronic information technology and telecommunications affect our lives. Consumers with disabilities need to be aware of the federal laws that protect their rights in order to obtain and use accessible electronic and information technology (E&IT) and telecommunications. This presentation will educate and empower attendees about the laws governing accessible E&IT and telecommunications. After attending this presentation, attendees will be able to:

Identify barriers to Electronic & Information Technology (E&IT)
Identify laws about the rights of people with disabilities to use technology
Identify equipment and services that are required to be accessible
Learn strategies for effecting change
Review the procedure for filing a complaint.

Session B: Same World, Different Difference: Life of People with Disabilities in Appalachian America

William Bauer, Director-Master's in Education, Hartel Fellow, Marietta College

This presentation will discuss the unique characteristics of Appalachian America, and the concerns that consumers with disabilities have in gaining access to services. Americans who live in Appalachia experience unique and different ways of life than most Americans. The Appalachian Culture runs from the bottom half of the State of New York through the mountains of West Virginia and Southeast Ohio to the flatlands of Alabama. This area of the country offers different perspectives and challenges to life. Because of the geographical vastness and uniqueness of the Appalachian culture, many people with disabilities who live in Appalachia are unable to access services and agencies due to physical and attitudinal barriers. The combination of being a person with a disability and belonging to a minority group, such as living in rural Appalachia, produces a double bias in adjusting to every day activities. Living in rural Appalachia has its minority features by virtue of geography, unemployment rates, lack of medical services and limited economic growth.

Session C: NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) on Campus: Life for College Students

Catie Mauro, Campus Affiliate Program, NAMI Ohio; James Mauro, President, NAMI Ohio

The presentation will include general information about NAMI. The importance of education, and awareness of mental health for college students, and information on NAMI Ohio's campus efforts will be discussed. This session would be beneficial to students, faculty, family members, and professionals within the mental health field.

Session D: The ADA Universe: You’re Not Alone Out There

Co-facilitators: Dave Cameron, ADA Coordinator, Customer Service & Resource Development Team, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University

Panel members: Victoria Frye, Compliance Officer, Legal Services, Columbus Public Schools; Paula Pickett, EEO Administrator, Office of Human Resources/Diversity Affairs Section, Ohio Department of Natural Resources; J. Andrew Zeisler, Disability Resources, Office of Equity & Equal Opportunity, Miami University

Just when you think you’re hopelessly lost and will never encounter another sentient creature—at least a knowledgeable one—along comes a whole panel of them. Being an ADA Coordinator can be lonely. You not only have to make sense of federal law and keep up with recent developments, you have to persuade your colleagues that you know what you’re talking about. All that, and some of them don’t even want to hear it. Enough. You’re not alone. In fact, you’re part of a whole galaxy of practitioners who know exactly what you’re experiencing. At this session, you’ll have the opportunity to hear and interact with a constellation of bright stars, ADA coordinators from a public school, a state agency, a state university, and a city. They will share their experiences, good and bad, what works and doesn’t work. And before you leave you can provide your e-mail address and become a part of the Ohio Network of ADA Coordinators.

5:30pm-7:00pm - Student Perspectives – A Poster Reception

Undergraduate and graduate students will present their posters and research on the broad interdisciplinary aspects of disability. The posters will relate to this year's conference themes of "reflecting on sameness & difference" and "equity in law, policy and practice." Awards and recognition will be given at the undergraduate and graduate level in four categories:

Class Projects & Papers
Independent student research (independent study, thesis, grant sponsored or dissertation)
Community Service, Outreach, and Applied Problem Solving
Art & Performance

Wednesday, April 13

8:45am-10:15am - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Exploring Notions of Sameness & Difference Across National Boundaries: A Global Perspective on Disability Rights Laws

Arlene S. Kanter, Professor of Law, Co-Director of Center on Disability Studies, Law & Human Policy, Director of Clinical Legal Education, College of Law, Syracuse University

This presentation will discuss notions of sameness, difference, and equality from an international perspective by focusing on recent international and regional legal developments which address the rights of people with disabilities, including the potential impact of the proposed United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities on the ADA and other countries’ laws and policies.

Session B: Words Unseen: How Do I Read Thee?

Deborah Kendrick, Senior Features Editor, AccessWorld, American Foundation for the Blind and Writer/Columnist, Columbus Dispatch

This presentation will be twofold: First, to discuss the ways in which people who are blind or otherwise unable to read print process written information -- visually, auditorily, and some hybrid combinations; and, secondly, to look at the myriad ways in which written materials can now be accessed: phone services, internet approaches for both novice and sophisticated computer users, tapes, CD's, various digital formats and players, newspapers in Braille, and more. Little known and/or overlooked sources of books, periodicals, and other written materials will be provided.

The session should be of value to anyone interested in reading approaches and materials available to people unable to read conventional print, as well as to anyone simply seeking a broader understanding of reading as a multi-faceted experience.

Session C: Designing a Learning Environment for Preschoolers with Disabilities

Hatice Zeynep Inan, Graduate Student, Integrated Teaching & Learning, Early Childhood Education, The Ohio State University

"The environment is viewed as a teacher" in the Reggio Emilia approach, Donovan states. In this presentation, based on the literature review, I propose an environment which is designed to encourage choices, discoveries, and communication, and to support the learning processes of children with special needs as the environment is the teacher. This presentation will focus on considerations for designing a learning environment discussing the issues related to the physical environment. Specifically, a learning environment for preschoolers with disabilities will be examined including the following components:

Curriculum philosophy which is based on play and the whole child principle
modifications to meet the needs of preschooler with special needs
safety/security
a general schedule of activities
some rules for teachers and preschoolers in the classroom
material arrangements to accommodate the needs of preschoolers with special needs
areas, placement of different areas, outdoor area.

The environment and the curriculum together enhance and support the child's ability to do something himself, taking care of himself, initiating and completing activities, taking control of his own actions and responsibilities, communicating with others, interacting easily and having better perceptual and motor skills.

Session D: Social & Political Dimensions of Access

Mark Sherry, Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Endowed Chair in Disability Studies, The University of Toledo

Many of us understand that everyone, regardless of what sort of mind or body they have, has a right to access, inclusion, community involvement, and the same rights, freedoms, opportunities and responsibilities that every other member of the community shares. So why are some groups of disabled people less successful than others at having their access needs recognized? It seems to me that we don’t discuss the “hierarchy of access” enough – and yet I think there are social and political issues that include race, gender, class, sexuality, and so on which affect how well society responds to particular disabilities. The presentation will use some examples from groups whose access issues are well known – for instance, Deaf people, blind people and wheelchair users – and will then consider some groups whose access issues are less well known – such as people with mental retardation, people with psychiatric disabilities and students labeled as having “emotional difficulties.”

10:30am-12:00pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Prospects for Success: How Effective is the Proposed UK Disability Act (2006) in Enhancing the Working Lives of Disabled People: An International Perspective?

Alan Roulstone, Reader in Disability Policy, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom

This presentation will provide a critical appraisal of the proposed UK Disability Act (2006) which aims to introduce much more active legislation and employment monitoring to increase disabled peoples’ representation in the world of employment. What are the likely facilitators and limitations to the Act? What can International comparisons tell us about the likely success of the Disability Discrimination Act?

Session B: Using Technology to Improve Instruction for Students with Disabilities: Faculty Development in the Digital Age

Margo Izzo, Program Manager, Special Education & Transition Services, The Nisonger Center for Disabilities, The Ohio State University; L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University; Alexa Murray, Project Coordinator, The Nisonger Center for Disabilities, The Ohio State University; Jennifer Aaron, Training Specialist, The Nisonger Center for Disabilities, The Ohio State University; Judah Axe, Graduate Assistant, The Nisonger Center for Disabilities, 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 explain the FAME project, demonstrate the product, and facilitate a question-and-answer panel discussion on its salience and usability.

Session C: A Timely Human Interface: Notes on the Ecology of Negotiating Accommodations

Mark Willis, Research Coordinator, Office of Research Affairs, School of Medicine, Wright State University

This presentation explores my lived experience with negotiating accommodations as a blind man moving through the world. I use narrative techniques from creative nonfiction and oral performance to convey how it feels to negotiate accommodations on a daily, even an hourly, basis. I draw metaphors from the science of ecology –- adaptation, niche, interface, and energy economy –- to frame accommodation as a social process enacted through give-and-take relationships among individuals in specific shared environments.

Session D: Counteracting the Perception/Fears of Institutional Racism: Strategies to Help Higher Education Students of Color Disclose Disabilities & Receive Services

Pamela King, Director, Adaptive Educational Services; Regina Turner, Associate Professor; Timothy Anno, Associate Director, Adaptive Educational Services; Nicole Oglesby, Director, Campus and Community Programs; Mark Volpatti, Faculty/Student Liaison, Adaptive Educational Services; Andre Flake, Student; Leslie House, Student, Indiana University, Purdue University - Indianapolis

Minority students typically disclose disabilities and request services in notably smaller proportions than their majority counterparts. This interactive program, featuring students of color with disabilities and university faculty and staff, will suggest approaches to help students overcome their fears of exacerbating racism by adding the "label" of disability, how to involve the community at large, and ways to demystify the "stigma" of disability.

12:15pm-1:30pm - Information Exchange & Lunch

1:45pm-3:15pm - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: Comparison of the Disability Right Models of the United States & the Czech Republic: Factors Shaping Anti-discriminatory Theory & Reality

Jitka Sinecka, PhD Student of Disability Studies, Syracuse University

After a brief comparison of theoretical concepts of the US and Czech law, the session will discuss the historical, political and societal factors shaping the emergence of the legislature and societal attitudes. This introduction will be followed by a presentation of examples and practices that demonstrate the gap between the theory (law and political concepts) and existing practice (experiences of individuals with disabilities, examples of the daily routine). The session will conclude with a wrap allowing for broadening and deepening the disability rights understanding of the Czech, respectively the Central European society.

Session B: [Dis]rupting Institutions: Beyond Reason in Universals

Wendy Chrisman; Marian Lupo, JD; Jason Palmeri; Rita Rich; Michael Sasso, PhD Students, The Ohio State University

This panel, presented by surviving graduate students at The Ohio State University, focuses on the failure to accommodate within the institution known as the “university,” and advocates for equitable solutions that are neither reasonable nor universal. In an interview with SchwabLearning.org, Paul D. Grossman addresses legal rights for college students: “It always disturbs me that so few people know how much individuals with disabilities … had to organize, engage in civil disobedience, and risk their health to get our disability rights laws into effect.” Our panel will address some disturbing realities of accommodation, legal practices, and implementing a curriculum for Universal Design and Learning in the university environment.

Session C: Accessible Textbooks in Higher Education: Building a Partnership With Publishers

Robert Martinengo, Supervisor, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)

In 1999, California passed a law requiring publishers of college textbooks to provide electronic files for use by students with print disabilities. The California Community College system established the Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC) to act as a clearinghouse for requests to publishers. The response from publishers has ranged from enthusiastic participation to indignant refusal. This session will examine some of the attitudes and perceptions we have encountered along the way, and explore the potential for improving access to accessible materials for students with disabilities.

Session D: The Development of an Accessible Web Course on Aging Awareness for Designers

Joseph Koncelik, Professor Emeritus, Industrial, Interior & Visual Communication Design, College of the Arts, The Ohio State University & Professor & Director (Retired), Center for Assistive Technology & Environmental Access (CATEA), College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

A demonstration project was undertaken to develop a web-based course on Aging Awareness for Designers that would be fully accessible to individuals with the broadest range of disabilities. The course, intended for distance education distribution, was designed to be a stand-alone educational experience or a supplement to other coursework in human factors or ergonomics for designers. The course, in the spirit of universal design, covered subject matter about the importance of universal design issues as they are represented through designing for aging adults.

3:30-5:00 - Concurrent Sessions

Session A: People with Disabilities and the Nazi T-4 Program (or, what I learned on my summer vacation)

Brenda Brueggemann, Associate Professor, English, Associate Faculty, Comparative Studies and Women's Studies, Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Minor, Co-Coordinator, American Sign Language Program, The Ohio State University

A PowerPoint facilitated presentation about the Nazi's "T-4 Program" during 1941-42. This "program," signed by Hitler, developed gas chambers and crematoria (that would later be used for "the Final Solution") in the basements of seven psychiatric institutions throughout the Reich in order to carry out the systematic "euthanasia" of over 270,000 people with disabilities whose lives were deemed "lives unworthy of living" (lebensunwerten Lebens). Much of this horrifying history still remains unknown and unstudied in American scholarship.

Session B: Direct Threat Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Wilma Javey, Director; Deborah Curtis, Enforcement Supervisor; Sandra Bohart, Information Technology Specialist; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Cincinnati Area Office

This workshop is designed to demonstrate how EEOC investigates a charge of discrimination under the ADA where the employer has raised the direct threat defense. This session will look at the factors to consider in assessing whether or not the defense is valid.

Session C: Embracing Universal Design: Short-term & Long-term Goals for Web Accessibility

Becky Hoover, ADA Coordinator; Eric Kreider, Applications Services Tech Lead; Jason Maseberg-Tomlinson, Disability Specialist; Patrick Tabatcher, Senior Multimedia Producer; Evangeline Varonis, Multimedia Specialist; The University of Akron

As web accessibility becomes more commonplace in commerce and education, there is a moral as well as legal need for institutions of higher learning to keep pace. The University of Akron (UA) has established a university-wide work group, including the UA ADA coordinator, the UA webmaster, and representatives from UA’s instructional design group, the Office of Accessibility, and university libraries to meet these challenges. First, we have adopted a real-time text-only solution to ensure that while our site is visually pleasing, it is also accessible in a variety of ways. By providing two versions of every web page, UA allows users to make the decision about which environment they prefer. We will discuss legal and economic issues surrounding such a practice: giving access while struggling with not wanting to segregate users. Second, in lieu of traditional web design, which uses tables and straight html for formatting, we are adopting cascading style sheets (CSS) for new and small sites. CSS decreases the memory needed to open pages as well as allows for screen readers to “read” html without getting caught up in visual formatting. Before-and-after versions of various websites will demonstrate the difference CSS makes. Finally, we will discuss how we are transitioning from short term to long term solutions: using a real-time text-only translator in the short term to create an accessible campus web environment while we move toward the long-term goal of educating administrators, faculty, and staff to embrace universal design in the creation and maintenance of all web pages.

Session D: Mobility Management: Transportation for Employment

A panel identifying current and potential collaborations to connect employees with employers.