[Athen] Advising Students with Disabilities

[Zach]

Hello Mr. Hori, 

 

Thank you very much. Your response is just what I needed and perhaps, with
your permission, would you mind if I reference you in my blog entry for the
CSP? Also, I wanted to run a scenario by you to get your opinion. If
accomidations are requested providing a "reasonable" amount of advanced
notice, say a test in Braille, if the test is either not available when the
student arrives to take the test or has translation errors, is it acceptable
for the disabilities office to reschedule the test? This has happened on
several occasions at one institution I've attended. 

 

Regarding your invitation to come to the number one veterinary medicine
school in the nation, while I did my undergrad there, I'm probably not vet
school-bound. Recently I've become more interested in animal research,
policy and law. 

 

I will, however, always remember my days at Cornell fondly. :) 

 

Kind regards,

 

Zac

 

Zachary Mason

M.S. Student

Animal and Dairy Sciences

Mississippi State University

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Joshua Hori
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 8:04 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Advising Students with Disabilities

 

Reasonable is the same amount of time that any other student would have to
provide if they needed accommodations. If I can break my arm the day before
the test and still be accommodated, then any student with a disability
should be able to do the same. There's not really a "reasonable time limit"
that is enforceable especially since some disabilities flare during times of
stress.

 

I'm not aware of public information to help students with disabilities
assess the ability of a potential college to meet their accommodations
without talking to the office first. There's quite a few factors to
consider.Does the student prefer braille, assistants or technology? 

 

If there is a preference to Braille, you may want to ask for samples of
subjects you will be attending and tactile graphics they can produce,
especially if STEM is involved. Find out if they do it in house or if it's
done by a third party. Make sure to state your braille preferences as well
to ensure you get what you need.

 

If they prefer assistants, they may want to ask what type of support for
scribing and reading is available (for tests, class projects, etc.). And
they will benefit registering with the department of rehab to ensure that
their books and out of classroom assistants are paid for (sometimes school
is paid for as well). Also, for blind users, I suggest reaching out to the
Delta Gamma Sororities! They are required to provide 100 hours of volunteer
work with visually disabled individuals. There are chapters all over the US
and I regularly see them escorting individuals around the CSUN conference. 

 

If they prefer technology, they will want to meet the assistive technology
staff to determine what is available. What types of formats can you get your
textbooks in? What software is available? Is it available all over campus or
just in labs? Are there open pilots of technology to participate in? 

 

There is some content available online, but they seem to be assuming quite a
bit and have wrong information listed. I keep getting companies requesting
to have their pages added to ours, but their info is just all over the
place. And from my experience, disability offices are like individuals with
autism; once you've been to one disability office, you've been to ONE
disability office. 

 

I see you're an animal and dairy sciences student.So, when should I expect
you here at the #1 Vet Med School in the Nation? :)

 

Sincerely, 

 

Joshua Hori

Accessible Technology Analyst

University of California, Davis

Student Disability Center

54 Cowell Building

Davis, CA 95616

530-752-3184

 

From: athen-list [mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman13.u.washington.edu] On
Behalf Of Zach
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 8:20 AM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network'
<athen-list at u.washington.edu <mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu> >
Subject: [Athen] Advising Students with Disabilities

 

I'm curious, in regards to being proactive, how much time is "reasonable"
for a student to provide advanced notice to the office they receive
accomidations from? I know this question is very vaguely worded and the best
answer is "depends," but I work as a mentor for Learning Ally's College
Success Program, and I'd very much like to provide sound recommendations or
logical ways to approach requesting accessible material to our students.

 

Personally, as a student, two months advanced notice is fair, but when we
start getting into eight or ten, as has been the case with one or more
institutions I've attended, it starts to get a little ridiculous. As a
mentor I feel it's my job to help students avoid choosing institutions where
this might happen. Is there publicly available information to help students
with disabilities assess the ability of a potential college to meet their
accomidations? 

 

Zachary Mason

M.S. Student

Animal and Dairy Sciences

Mississippi State University

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