Multiple Perspectives Conference on Access, Inclusion & Disability, April 28 & 29, 2009
Pfahl Executive Education & Conference Center,The Ohio State University Campus, Columbus Ohio
This year’s theme “Change, Challenge & Collaboration” reflects the critical place in history we occupy. Since the last conference the United Nations has adopted the Convention on Disability; Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act, provided new support for disabled veterans, and approved the Higher Education Opportunity Act with significant provisions on disability; the Access Board is proposing changes in Section 508; and the Department of Justice is in the final stages of a comprehensive review and update of the regulations for the ADA’s Titles II and III.
This year's conference will feature the Ken Campbell Memorial Lecture on Disability Policy, which is free and open to the public. Presentations at the first annual lecture will include: A Perfect Storm, presented by Paul D. Grossman, JD, Adjunct Instructor, Hastings College of Law, presenting in his private capacity; and Serving Wounded Warriors: Current & Best Practices presented by Mary Lee Vance, PhD, University of Wisconsin Superior and Paul D. Grossman, JD. The lecture will also include short remarks from David M. Booth, Trial Attorney, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice & L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University.
A highlight of the annual conference, this lecture is free, open to the public, and will be followed by a community reception at the Urban Arts Space featuring accessible tours of the MFA Thesis Exhibition.
“It’s Our Story” is an inside view of the reality of life with a disability. It speaks directly from the voices of those who know what it’s like, and directly to those who want to know how it is. The content contained within the archives has the power to change the way the world sees disability, and the way the disability community sees itself. The Story Flag will be on display in the Blackwell Hotel Ballroom Lobby on April 28th and 29, 2009 at the Multiple Perspectives Conference. Exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information on the Story Flag, please visit their website at: http://dmi-us.blogspot.com.
Sponsors of the 2009 Multiple Perspectives Conference include:
- Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission
- The Ohio State University
- The Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability
- VSA arts of Ohio
- Wexner Center for the Arts
- Columbus Museum of Art
- Ohio SILC
- Ohio ADA Coordinators’ Network
- The Ohio Department of Aging
8:30am-10:00am - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: The AccessText Information Network: An Association of American Publishers Digital Text Portal
Todd Runkle, Information Technology Manager, University System of Georgia’s Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC); Robert Martinengo, AccessText
This session will present the mission, goals, and structure of the AccessText Information Network. Presenters from AccessText and the publishing industry will discuss and demonstrate the AccessText portal, a one-stop-shop for disability services providers to place requests for electronic files from multiple publishers. Session participants will learn how postsecondary institutions can access the portal and how this first-of-its-kind initiative will facilitate the provision of digital texts to students whose disabilities negatively influence reading performance.
Session B: Public Policy Update: National Council on Disability and World Institute on Disability
Kathleen Martinez, Executive Director, World Institute on Disability, and Member, National Council on Disability; Linda Wetters, President, Consultant, Wetters and Associates, and Member, National Council on Disability
The National Council on Disability (NCD) and the World Institute on Disability have significant roles in the development of the United Nation’s Treaty on Persons with Disabilities. In addition, NCD has a legislative role with the Department of Homeland Security for the implementation of emergency preparedness for persons with disabilities. Presenters will share information on recent accomplishments and recommendations for emergency preparedness and the United Nations (UN) Treaty on Disability. They will seek formal feedback from participants as part of the outreach for public comment.
Session C: Two 45-Minute Presentations
Part I: Ethical Touch: Disability, Assistance, and Personal Space
Kelly M. Munger, PhD Candidate in Disability Studies, University of Illinois of Chicago; Ryan C. Parrey, PhD Student in Disability Studies, University of Illinois of Chicago
Requesting or receiving assistance from others is often an everyday experience for many people with disabilities. Perhaps they need help dressing, bathing, opening a door or simply orienting themselves to an environment. Frequently help comes in the form of physical contact. There is nothing wrong with personal contact when help is requested; however, people with disabilities often receive physical assistance without asking for it. Even in the best circumstances, this unwelcome touch may be interpreted as a form of control over disabled individuals and their bodies. The presenters will explore how such interactions can amount to more than daily nuisances, how they can be disempowering, and how they can actually constitute unethical treatment. Specifically, they will discuss the ethics of touch that emerges in encounters between persons with disabilities and those who seek to assist them. The focus of their analysis will be how the content of the touch (point of contact, action performed, duration and force involved) along with other aspects of the interaction (body language, eye contact, tone of voice) influence how the touch is perceived. They will conclude by examining the psychological impact of uninvited touch.
Part II. Accessible Housing Issues
Session D: Diversity, Disability Culture, and Collaborations – Driving Careers and Organizational Success
Kathy McCreedy, DiverseAbility LLC; Cathy McAdam, Consultant, DiverseAbility LLC; Jeff Lichon, The Dow Chemical Company
Unemployment/under-employment remain critical challenges. In a single year which included both the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Disability and a collapsing global economy, there is no single, simple solution to increasing the meaningful employment of people with disabilities. There are, however, innovative efforts that provide great opportunities for future collaborative efforts.
In this presentation, two collaborations which provide career growth opportunities for people with disabilities will be described:
Global corporations who have embraced the inclusion of people with disabilities as a key element of their diversity efforts, with The Dow Chemical Company as the collaborative partner;
Service opportunities as a critical element of a career development plan, with Michigan’s AmeriCorps as the collaborative partner.
Both of these collaborations are based on a belief in the inherent value of diversity in any organization and the recognition that disability must be an integral part of diversity efforts. The work of Dr. Carol Gill (U-IL- Chicago) will be referenced and will be discussed as it relates to creating meaningful diversity and inclusion in employment and service settings. The presenters will include two individuals who have been involved with the collaborations with Dow Chemical and Michigan’s AmeriCorps and an employee with a disability from Dow Chemical who will share a perspective as an individual involved from the corporate side of the collaboration.
10:15am-11:45am - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: Assistive Technology, Web Access, Text Access. Staff, Office for Civil Rights
Session B: Perceptions of the First Year Living at the Friendship House
Jane E. Finn, Assistant Professor, Special Education Department, Hope College
The Ralph and Cheryl Schregardus Friendship House at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, is a unique establishment in which students without disabilities live side by side with people with cognitive impairments/mental retardation. The Friendship House was established in September, 2007, when 11 roommates without disabilities from Western Theological Seminary or Hope College moved in with four roommates with cognitive impairments/mental retardation. After this arrangement had lasted for a complete school year, a qualitative study was conducted by interviewing the (a) roommates without disabilities, (b) roommates with disabilities, and (c) parents of the roommates with disabilities. The goal was to glean information about the perceptions of various stakeholder groups and to gather ideas for what could be improved upon for the upcoming year. The presentation will: (1) Discuss how this house was established; (2) Discuss the collaboration between a college, seminary, agencies, education school personnel, people with disabilities, and advocates for the disabled; (3) Discuss lessons learned from the first year of living at this special house; and (4) Share a wonderful idea about independent living arrangements.
Session C: Two 45-Minute Presentations
Part I: Disability Studies: Town-Gown Collaborations in Toledo
Jim Ferris, Ability Center of Greater Toledo Endowed Chair in Disability Studies, University of Toledo
The Disability Studies Program at the University of Toledo was launched by a major donation from the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, the nationally recognized independent living center serving northwest Ohio. The partnership with the Ability Center has proven to be a vital asset as the program develops. This session will consider the collaboration between the Ability Center and the Disability Studies Program, then offer participants the opportunity to brainstorm ways to facilitate effective town-gown collaborations in their own communities.
Part II: STEM Degrees and Careers for Ohioans with Disabilities
Margo Izzo, PhD, Program Director, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Chris Andersen, Director, Project GRO, Office of Research, The Ohio State University; Steve Rissing, Professor, College of Biological Science, The Ohio State University; Bianca McArrell, Research Associate, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Jennifer Earley, Program Coordinator, Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University; Chris Gerbetz, Intern, Nisonger Center Transition Services Office, The Ohio State University
Ohio’s leaders recently invested $200 million in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development including five STEM 6-12 schools, scholarship programs and a series of summer academies. The presenters will discuss the Ohio STEM Ability Alliance (OSAA), a collaboration between Wright State and Ohio State Universities, which proposes to leverage and extend these efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate STEM students with disabilities in the Dayton-Columbus transect regions of Ohio and beyond.
Session D: Vote: State, County & College Collaboration to Ensure Polling Place Access
Brett Harbage, ADA Coordinator, Secretary of State's Office, State of Ohio; Dennis Cleary, MS, OTR/L, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Occupational Therapy Division, The Ohio State University; Florence Angelo, Graduate Student, Occupational Therapy Department, Allied Medicine, The Ohio State University; Anne Deringer, Graduate Student, Occupational Therapy Department, Allied Medicine, The Ohio State University
Ohio State University Occupational Therapy Students conducted a comprehensive study of voter accessibility in Franklin County. Working under the supervision of faculty and in collaboration with the Ohio Secretary of State's office and the Franklin County board of Elections students surveyed 217 of the 533 polling sites on 63 separate items related to accessibility. This presentation will share their methodology and results and highlight lessons learned for future survey efforts.
11:00am-5:00pm - Student Perspectives – A Poster Reception and Vendors
Student posters & vendors will be located in the 2nd floor lobby of the Blackwell Hotel outisde the ballroom.
Undergraduate and graduate students will present their research on the broad interdisciplinary aspects of disability. Recognition will be given at the undergraduate and graduate level in four categories:
Class Projects & Papers
Independent Student Research (independent study, thesis, grant sponsored research or dissertation)
Community Service, Outreach, and Applied Problem Solving
Art & Performance
12:00pm-1:15pm - Lunch & Information Exchange
1:30pm-2:15pm - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: Reflections of Erin: The Importance of Belonging, Relationships, and Learning with Each Other
Barbara McKenzie, advocate, presenter, and organizer of gatherings about the importance of creating inclusive communities.
The dominant microculture of the United States typically values the individualistic perspective. This has profoundly affected our educational communities from preschool through college.
When we began the “inclusive education movement” several years ago, in order to get our feet in the door, many of us used the argument that it was purely for social benefits and that curriculum was not that important. This resulted in children with disabilities being placed in general education classrooms, but usually being instructed something totally different from the other students without disabilities.
Since No Child Left Behind, we have been primarily focused on academics, which has often led to more pull-out and remediation for a variety of students, including those with disabilities, rather than inclusive classrooms and schools. We seem to have lost site of the importance of relationships and learning together for ALL learners from preschool years through college.
The presenter hopes to re-focus us to that importance by sharing stories gathered from the extraordinarily “ordinary” life of a young woman with a disability label. Conveyed in the form of keen observations, heartfelt surprises, and insightful reflections, the stories and images inspired by Erin’s life demonstrate the rich connections and relationships that result from an inclusive learning community. Through further reflection and thoughtful discussion, ideas will be generated by the participants on what we might look for and how we might encourage educators, professionals, and family members to use these “strategies” to change the world, or at least make a dent in the thinking of many others in our schools and communities.
Session B: Importance of Positive Teacher Attitudes: A Case Study from an Inclusive Classroom
Chongmin Lee, Graduate Student, Deaf Education, College of Education/Human Ecology, The Ohio State University; Bob Eckhart, Lecturer, College of Education/Human Ecology, Department of English, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
A teacher who is hearing and a student who is deaf will present their experiences from an English composition course in which new methods were utilized to include the hearing-impaired student. The participants will learn: 1) Interesting methods of including deaf students in a classroom environment; 2) Specific techniques and the motivation to be innovative in their own approach; 3) Some of the issues arising from traditional methods, such as an ODS-provided transcriber. The presenters’ goal is to demonstrate how a teacher’s attitude toward students with disabilities can positively change their peers’ recognition toward disability as well as motivate the deaf students to learn.
Session D: Connecting to the Community – Involving Young Adults with Disabilities in Developing Service Projects
Allison Gibson, Transition Liaison, Young Adult Transition Corps, The Nisonger Center; Victoria Mason, Transition Liaison, Young Adult Transition Corps, The Nisonger Center; Christopher Miller, Bachelors of Science in Psychology, Transition Liaison, Young Adult Transition Corps, The Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University
For young adults with disabilities, transition to adult life within a community has many obstacles. Service learning offers a unique educational experience to connect and include them within their communities. Young Adult Transition Corps (YATC) is an AmeriCorps program of The OSU Nisonger Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. YATC is dedicated to serving young adults with disabilities and their families and promoting successful transitions as these young adults enter adult life. AmeriCorps/YATC members engage young adults with disabilities in educational and community-based activities in the Columbus area that promote community service, community access, and social skill development, three areas critical to successful transition.
One major component of YATC is service learning within high school special education classrooms. Service learning projects demonstrate the benefits of community service for young people with disabilities, as well as enhance the students' education. Once a week, YATC members visit special education classrooms across the Columbus area to talk to classes about service, civic responsibility, and needs within the community. Students are engaged in the problem-solving process as they explore ways to help populations in need and develop and implement a plan to solve the problem and meet the need. Presenters will examine the transition period from school to adulthood for young adults with disabilities and discuss how a program such as YATC can address the uncertainties and challenges of that transition period. This presentation will enhance audience understanding of the importance of service learning for students in special education classrooms and the empowerment it brings to students as they develop their own service projects.
2:45pm-4:30pm - Ken Campbell Memorial Lecture on Disability Policy: A Call to Action: Preparing to Serve Wounded Warriors
Initiated by the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, the Campbell Memorial Lecture is free and open to the public and takes place at the Annual Multiple Perspectives On Access, Inclusion & Disability conference. A 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. This year’s lecture "A Call to Action: Preparing to Serve Wounded Warriors” will consist of remarks by David M. Booth, Trial Attorney, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice & L. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator, The Ohio State University and two presentations followed by a reception in the Urban Arts Space.
Session I: Serving Wounded Warriors: Current & Best Practices
Mary Lee Vance, PhD, Board of Directors for the Association on Higher Education and Disability, Director of the Center for Academic Advising & Disability Support Services at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, & Author; Paul D. Grossman, JD, Adjunct Professor of Disability Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law, presenting in his private capacity
The Association on Higher Education and Disability is conducting a national survey of college disability services offices on effective practices in serving wounded warriors in post-secondary institutions to be published in a special spring issue of the Journal of Post-Secondary Education and Disability. The session will present highlights of the survey’s findings and encourage a conversation focused on replication of best practices.
Session II: A Perfect Storm
Paul D. Grossman, JD, Adjunct Professor of Disability Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law, presenting in his private capacity
The injury patterns acquired with today’s deployment in the Middle East, a new definition of disability and the new GI Bill, and the fact that veterans have always been critical to the advancement of civil rights combine and intersect on today’s campuses; are we headed for a perfect storm or a perfect opportunity? After exploring the injury and recovery patterns of wounded warriors and the new definition of disability under the ADA Amendments of 2008 the presenter will outline "what it will take" to rise to this opportunity. The session will conclude with a look at creative solutions that have been successfully implemented on a systems, institutional, and individual level.
5:30pm-8:30pm - Urban Arts Reception
The Ohio State University’s new Urban Arts Space at 50 W. Town St. will host a reception featuring remarks on museum access by Georgina Kleege, Lecturer, Berkeley University, and novelist, essayist, and disability studies scholar; and accessible tours of the thesis exhibition for the Masters in Fine Arts program.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
9:00am-10:30am - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: A Simpler Time?: Managing Workplace Mental Health Issues Post-ADAAA
John Finch, Ph.D., Vice President of Rehabilitation, Center of Vocational Alternatives for Mental Health (COVA); William A. Nolan, Partner, Squire, Sanders and Dempsey L.L.P.; and Sondra Zardus, M.S.A., Director of Human Resources, COVA
The panelists represent 3 perspectives on managing workplace disability issues: Dr. Finch focuses on the rehabilitation aspects; Mr. Nolan focuses on legal ramifications for employees; and Ms Zardus focuses on issues from a human resources standpoint. After brief introductory comments by each panelist regarding their perspectives on these issues, the panelists will then focus on 2 – 4 actual case studies of representative workplace mental health situations. They will analyze each case study and how the ADAAA will change the dynamics of that situation. Audience interaction will be encouraged during the case studies.
Session B: Better Access to Hospitals for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind Communities: Pittsburgh Takes Initiative in Improving the Services for the Disabled Communities
Richard Meritzer, ADA Coordinator, Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh; Michelle Corkum, University of Pittsburgh Master of Public Administration Urban and Regional Analysis; Ying Lee, Carnegie Mellon University Master of Product Development
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires health care practitioners to provide “auxiliary aids and services” to the hearing-disabled for better communication, members of the hearing-loss and hearing-impaired community have limited access to healthcare services because of insufficient accommodations. The presenters will discuss the two-year research project which culminated in the creation of a booklet which provides information on standardizing procedures for admitting deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind patients.
Session C: Gender and the Cultural Construction of Disability in 19th-Century Women's Writing
Tiffany Anderson, PhD Student, The Ohio State University; Meghan Burke, PhD Student, The Ohio State University; Heather Thompson-Gillis, PhD Student, The Ohio State University
This presentation, which will take the form of a panel discussion, is intended to share information about the intersecting discourses of gender and disability in nineteenth-century literature. Our panel critically analyzes several American and British texts from the 1800s in order to: 1) Explore how societies’ conceptualization of disability is rooted in cultural contexts; 2) Examine how the study of historical notions of disability is essential to understanding our current representations of it today; and 3) Demonstrate how three female authors, Frances Harper, Louisa May Alcott, and Harriet Martineau reclaim and reinterpret disability in their work.
Session D: Using Agency Collaboration to Achieve Systems Change in Ohio’s Transition Youth Services
Mike Kinney, Rehabilitation Program Sepcialist for Transition and College Services, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Jamie White, Rehabilitation Program Specialist on Transition Services for Northeast Ohio, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission; Ed Flegel, Coordinator for Northeast Ohio, Ohio Secondary Transition Improvement Grant; Sue Beck, Coordinator for Southwest Ohio, Ohio Secondary Transition Improvement Grant, Miami Valley Regional Center
Transition services to youth with disabilities are provided by many entities. Schools are vested in establishing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students that outline how students will move from high school to the next phase of life. School personnel design plans that show what courses students will take to prepare for an outcome that will hopefully move the student towards independent living.
Meanwhile, vocational rehabilitation agencies and other adult services agencies often work with the same transition youth and set career and independent living goals that are not aligned with what has been directed for the student on the IEP. Additionally, many agencies and schools want to cooperate in the setting of goals for mutually served transition youth but they are often unaware of each other’s scope of services, procedures, referral processes, and eligibility requirements.
The result is that transition services for youth with disabilities are often uncoordinated, with different proposed outcomes. Agencies and schools often work just to fulfill their own requirements as opposed to having their primary goal being a coordinated set of activities where each involved entity is focused on the same outcomes for the student.
This program will present information on a five year grant received by the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission (ORSC) and the Office for Exceptional Children of the Ohio Department of Education. The grant, the Ohio Secondary Transition Improvement Grant, is designed to improve the system of how transition services are delivered to youth with disabilities in Ohio.
10:45am-12:15pm - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: ‘Come on Ding Dong!’ - Unexpected Lessons in Leadership
Alice Elliott, Film Director, Filmmaker, Associate Teacher, Tisch School of the Arts, Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, New York University, Film Director; Kathy Conour, Film Subject, BA in Social Work, Olivette University, Disability Rights Activist; Diana Braun, Film Subject, Disability Rights Activist, Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, Arc of Illinois; Alyce Myatt, Moderator, Executive Director, Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media (GFEM)
In this session the presenters will screen the award-winning short film, Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy and follow-up with a panel made up of the subjects, the filmmaker, and moderated by GFEM. The film captures a unique 40 year friendship while humanizing the issues of independent living, the aging of people with disabilities, and the importance of and tools used in effective advocacy. The film and follow-up discussion provide concrete examples of how leadership can come from the ground up. The importance of independent living and the need for effective advocacy from all sectors will be reinforced. The session will underscore the fact that disability rights are human rights and, as such, require a seat at every policy discussion.
Session B: From Challenges to Opportunities: The ADA Now and Disability Studies
Marian E. Lupo, JD, PhD; Wendy L. Chrisman, PhD, Adjunct, Columbus College of Art and Design; Michael J. Sasso, Doctoral Student, Disability Studies, The Ohio State University, Writing Center Director, The Ohio State University at Mansfield
As Disability Studies scholar Paul K. Longmore notes, “Disability Studies should serve as an access ramp between the disability community and research universities.” The presenters will use a part panel and part discussion to explore challenges and raise opportunities presented at the intersection of the ADA now and Disability Studies. This panel will first present the challenges of the lived experience of a father caring for his disabled veteran son in "My Son's War is My War Now." The panel will then turn to the challenges presented by (and ways to challenge) inadequate health care under state-mandated Medicaid HMOs in "The Bureau/carceral: Health Care for the Disabled." The panel will conclude by exploring the challenges of teaching interdisciplinary trainees in OSU’s Leadership Education Excellence in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program in “Humanizing the Clinic: Disability Studies and the LEND Experience.” The presentation will hopefully engage the audience in thinking about and discussing the future of disability rights.
Session C: The ADA Amendments Act: What Are the Implications? Employees from the Cleveland Ohio Regional Office, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Session D: Disability Harassment: A Hidden Social Reality
Jerome J. Holzbauer, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Mark C. Weber, JD, Vincent de Paul Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law
This presentation will unveil the reality of disability harassment in such instances as: The child who left school for a brief psychiatric hospitalization and, when he returned, was repeatedly beaten by classmates, called “psycho;” a laborer with learning disabilities who was labeled “Rick Retardo” by his peers, given extra repetitious work while supervisors stood by, and; the office worker with HIV whose supervisor shunned her, subjected her to demeaning names, repeated drug tests and placed her on probation. Drawing on the audience as well as collected narratives, the presenters will discuss disability harassment at school, work, and other settings. The relationship of harassment to the discriminatory and subordinating treatment of people with disabilities will be explored to identify options for what to do about harassment, from practical suggestions for voluntary employee programs to keep harassment from ever occurring to using the legal system to address harassment.
12:30pm-1:45pm - Information Exchange & Lunch
2:00pm-3:30pm - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: New Work in Deaf Studies at OSU\
Brenda Brueggemann, Professor, English & Disability Studies, Faculty Leader, ASL Program, The Ohio State University; Marla Berkowitz, MA, CDI, ASLTA Provisional, Senior Lecturer, ASL Program, The Ohio State University; Trena Shank, Senior Lecturer, The Ohio State University
Part I. "Documenting Deaf Lives and Literacy in an Age of Technology" will showcase some of the major findings from a research project focused on gathering digital "literacy narratives" from deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
Part II. "Deaf and Hearing Adult Sibling Relations Project" will entail excerpts of stories from both Deaf and hearing sibling perspectives revealing how the presence of a Deaf or hearing sibling alters life experiences in family dynamics.
Part III. "Qualifications for the American Sign Language Teacher" will highlight the standards and qualifications for ASL teachers--including their fluency in the language, specific teaching skills, appropriate training, awareness of linguistic research on ASL, and personality traits and attitudes. It will conclude with a discussion about the dangers of unqualified teachers.
Session B: More than the ADA: An Inventory of U.S. Disability Rights Laws
Doug Goeppner, MSW, LSW, ADA Coordinator, University of Southern Indiana
This presentation will present an overview of federal laws that have had an impact on disability rights in the United States. The primary goal of this presentation is to provide participants with an expanded insight into the issue of disability rights laws by demonstrating that the most commonly known disability-related laws (e.g., the ADA, Section 504, etc.) are by no means the only laws that address the issue of disability rights in our country. The second goal is to provide participants with an introduction to the national Protection & Advocacy system by presenting the relatively obscure collection of laws that have created, expanded, and maintained that system of promoting and protecting the rights of Americans with disabilities. The third goal is to leave participants with a historical perspective of disability rights laws and an appreciation of how they impact all citizens, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
Session C: Technology Access Policy at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: New Frameworks and New Challenges
Paul Schroeder, Vice President, Programs and Policy, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
This session will focus on advocacy efforts to update United States communications policy to ensure access to Internet-based technologies and digital TV for individuals with disabilities. Last year, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act was introduced in Congress and it is expected to be reintroduced in this session soon. The bill is supported by a new collaborative effort called the "Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology COAT. The presenter, a member of the COAT steering committee will outline the rationale and goals of the legislation.
In addition, the presenter will describe novel legal challenges confronting the disability community emanating from the new Amazon Kindle E-book reader and its text-to-speech function for accessing books. Submitting to pressure, Amazon agreed to allow publishers to turn off the TTS function because The Authors Guild of America complained that speech output could violate recorded books rights.
Paul Schroeder is Vice President of Programs and Policy for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). He has been involved in leadership of advocacy efforts to improve technology access policies for more than 15 years. Currently, he oversees legislative and public policy, research and demographic trends, training for service-providers, efforts to improve access and information concerning education, employment, independent living and technology.
Session D: Innovative Approaches to Employment Services for Persons with Organization, Memory or Attention Differences
Carey Busch, Assistant Director of Disability Services, Ohio University; Janet Foley Orosz, Assistant Professor Emeritus, Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies, The University of Akron
Individuals with limitations in organization, memory, and attention often have challenges in seeking and maintaining employment. The symptoms and individual experiences of limitations to a person’s executive brain can impact all areas of living, particularly employment. While no two individuals’ experience is the same, there is a need for a universally available support. This session will explore the current challenges related to employment and introduce new possibilities for effective intervention through the use of technology New possibilities to effectively address a gap between needs and available services will be introduced. Participants with a camera phone are encouraged to bring them for participation in a hands-on demonstration, however they are not required.
3:45pm-5:15pm - Concurrent Sessions
Session A: Writing the Self, Writing the Other: Author, Audience, and Popular Disability Narrative
Nicholas Hetrick, PhD Student, English, The Ohio State University; Krista Paradiso, PhD Candidate, Department of Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University; Melanie Yergeau, PhD Student, English, The Ohio State University
This panel investigates popular narratives dealing in some way with disability in order to identify how disability functions in and as narrative. They will discuss the intersections between disability studies and the study of narrative — in theory, in life writing, and in disability-specific texts. The three papers in this session will help participants consider how disability is deployed and engaged in both fictional and nonfictional narratives.
Session B: Emergency Preparedness and Advanced Needs Populations: Information on Personal Preparedness for Advanced Needs Populations
Erin Franks and Tessa Mott, AmeriCorps VISTA, FIRSTLINK
The presentation will include information on personal preparedness for advanced needs populations. They will also discuss how to include these populations in your workplace emergency plans and how to accommodate them in times of emergency.
Session C: Housing: Accessible, Affordable and Accommodating to Individuals with Disabilities: An Overview of State and Federal Fair Housing Laws, the ADA and How These Laws Impact Housing for Individuals with Disabilities.Jane Perry, Attorney at Law, Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS).
Learn how to request and receive reasonable accommodations and modifications for accessible housing, how zoning laws and housing interact, and the requirements of community integration.
Session D: Access to the Museum
Georgina Kleege, Lecturer, Berkeley University, novelist, essayist, and disability studies scholar
