Supporting Students with Disabilitiesfor

Academic Staff and Managers

Debbie JonesHumanitasJuly 2008

SUPPORTING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

General knowledge considerations

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What Must I Know?

• Basic facts about the disability – general knowledge

• Basic facts about how the disability impacts the particular student – how the disability “manifests” itself.

• Awareness of types of accommodations that may assist the student including considerations of the use of technology

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What Must I Know?

• An awareness of your own perceptions and misperceptions about disability

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Familiarize yourself with

disability-related terminology.

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Person First Language

• What is person first language?– Person first language puts the person before

the disability and describes what a person has, not who a person is.

• A “person with a disability” and not a “disabled” person

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Why Person First?

• Group designations such as "the blind," "the retarded" or "the disabled" are inappropriate because they do not reflect the individuality, equality or dignity of people with disabilities.

• Further, words like "normal person" imply that the person with a disability isn't normal, whereas "person without a disability" is descriptive but not negative.

http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/comucate.htm

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LEGAL

Review of who is a person with a disability and legal requirements.

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Who is a Qualified Person witha Disability?

• A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities

• Whether a particular person has an impairment that satisfies this definition, and whether a specific accommodation is appropriate for a particular person, must be determined on a case-by-case basis

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Legal Issues and Requirements

• Why Accommodate?– It’s the Law!

• Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504… “No program receiving federal funds may deny or exclude…”

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 - Title III

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SUSPICION OF DISABILITYWhat to do when you suspect a disability exists?

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Referral for Suspicion of Disability

• Referral Forms– Orientation

• Student/staff

• Disability Coordinator

• Documentation– Observations/other

• Requirements– Are you obligated to assess for disability?

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REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION CONSIDERATIONS

Accommodation plans and process.

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Reasonable Accommodation Process

• The interdisciplinary/ reasonable accommodation team (IDT) meeting must be an interactive process [involving the applicant/student]

• Collect/review documentation

• Develop plan• Distribute plan

– Who has a need to know?

• Monitor for effectiveness

• Review 45-60 days• Modify if needed

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Accommodation PlansIDT works with applicant or student to determine accommodation needs

• Consider:– Physical– Medical– Emotional or

Psychological – Educational

• Accessibility– classrooms, career

technical work areas, dorms

• ALL areas on center

• Impact of meds

• Schedule adjustments

• TABE, GED, career technical certification…

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Accommodation Plan Development

• What accommodations has the individual received in the past?– IEP/504 Plans– Vocational Rehabilitation Documentation

• What are the student’s strengths and weaknesses, learning styles, etc.?– Do the accommodations under consideration

make use of the student’s strengths and preferred learning style(s)? 16

Accommodation Plan Development

• Are they sufficient to provide the student access to all areas of the program?– If not, what additional accommodations are

necessary (e.g., in vocations, residential, other common areas)?

• Do those accommodations remain relevant to the current situation?

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ACCOMMODATIONS

Examples of assistive technology and other types of accommodation options

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Technology Considerations

• Hi-tech– Text to speech– Voice dictation– Talking calculators/thermometers/tape

measures– Digital/variable speed tape recorders– “Live-Scribe” pen

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• “Paper Replay.”

• Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a PC where they can be replayed, saved, searched and sent.

• Additional applications available

• math problems

• definitions, voice output

• preprinted materials

• handwritten messages as emails

• spoken messages/written notes

• Scan single words or full lines of text in seconds

• See dictionary and thesaurus entries

• Hear scanned words (including spelling), lines of text, definitions and thesaurus entries

• Test Mode allows blocking of access to the dictionary and thesaurus during tests

• Ergonomic and lightweight weighing only 3 ozs

• Optical Character Recognition at 97% (based on standard font)

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Technology Considerations

• Lo-tech– Specialty paper (e.g., graph, colored,

textured)– Writing utensils & accessories (e.g., pencils,

highlighters, grips, etc.)– Organizers (e.g., planners, calendars, etc.)– Positioning tools (e.g., clipboards, slant

boards, velcro, etc.)22

Lo-tech examples

• Pencil grips

• Margin tape

• Highlighters

• Highlighter tape

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Other Accommodation Examples

• Reducing number of items on assignment

• Chunking materials into segments

• Extended time

• Study guides

• Writing answers on same page as questions

• Masking/line guides24

What works for one student with a disability may not work for another.

Determine individualized

needs.

If an accommodation is

not working, try something else.

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STRATEGIESInstructional and learning strategies

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Memory Strategy Example

• 5

• 8

• 0

• 2

• 9

• 0

• 6

• 1

• 0

• 3

• What strategy or strategies could we use to help us remember this series of numbers?

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Memory Strategy Suggestions

• Chunking– Phone number format

• (580) 290-6103

• Patterns– Repeating numbers

• “0” every third number

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Memory Strategies

• Repetition

• Grouping

• Mental Picture

• Rhyming

• Acronym

• Abbreviation

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Teaching Learning Strategies

• Assess the student’s awareness of the strategy to be used.

• Provide opportunities for students to discuss, reflect upon, and practice the strategies with classroom materials and authentic tasks.

• Provide feedback.30

Teaching Learning Strategies

• Gradually have the student select the learning strategy to use for a particular activity or assignment.

• Provide instruction, review, and provide feedback until the student is able to self-select and apply learning strategies effectively.

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RESOURCESDisability-related websites

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Resource Organizations

• Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)– JC Program Instruction 99-03

• Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

• One-Stops – Disability Navigators

• Centers for Independent Living

• Other State Disability Service Agencies

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http://jcdisability.jobcorps.gov

Job Corps Disability Website

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Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities Websitehttp://jccdrc.jobcorps.gov/ld

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Supporting Students with Mental Health Disabilities Website

http://jchealth.jobcorps.gov/health-topics/mhd

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