Disability Services The Law & Our Responsibility
Message from Kelly!
Objectives: ~ know your Disability Counselor @ your campus ~The ADA and how it pertains to Higher Education ~Who are our students? ~Understand the process of Students receiving accommodations @ LFCC ~Common Questions & Feedback using ADA as a guide (what to do if you feel accommodation is interfering with integrity of the class) ~ Resources
Kelly Redmon, LCSW ❏ Licensed Clinical Social Worker ❏ Middletown Campus
Andrea Lo
Who?? Atlantic Cape Community college, Arizona State University, California community College, Capella University, Case Western Reserve University, Finlandia University, Florida State University, Harvard, MIT, Louisiana Tech University, Law school admissions Council, Mesa Community College and Maricopa, Miami University, Mt Hood Community College, New York University, Northwestern University, Ohio State, Pace University, Princeton University, Penn State University, Reed College, South Carolina Technical College System, University of California Berkley, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, University of Kentucky, University of Maryland, University of Montana, University of Phoenix, University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, Youngstown State University.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress. To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability or have a relationship or association with an individual with a disability. An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment. The ADA does not specifically name all of the impairments that are covered. A Guide to Disability Rights Law (https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor62335)
ADA Title II: State and Local Government Activities Title II covers all activities of State and local governments regardless of the government entity's size or receipt of Federal funding. Title II requires that State and local governments give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities (e.g. public education, employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, and town meetings). State and local governments are required to follow specific architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of their buildings. They also must relocate programs or otherwise provide access in inaccessible older buildings, and communicate effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities. Public entities are not required to take actions that would result in undue financial and administrative burdens. They are required to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination, unless they can demonstrate that doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity being provided. A Guide to Disability Rights Law (https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor62335)
ADA Section 504 Section 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service. Each Federal agency has its own set of section 504 regulations that apply to its own programs. Agencies that provide Federal financial assistance also have section 504 regulations covering entities that receive Federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction and alterations. Each agency is responsible for enforcing its own regulations. (https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor62335)
What the Law States ❏ Law protects anyone who has a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities”. This covers physical, sensory and health-related disabilities, psychological disorders or attentional disorders, and s learning disabilities ❏ Reasonable accommodations must be made that cannot fundamentally alter programs ❏ The appropriate academic adjustment must be determined based on your disability and individual needs. ❏ Entirely up to the student to inform college of disability
What does Reasonable Mean? Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the tasks, environment or to the way things are usually done that enable individuals with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to participate in an academic program or a job (DOE 2007) ❏ Accommodations cannot “fundamentally alter" the nature of the programs or result in an "undue burden.” Providing accommodations do not compromise the essential elements of a course or curriculum; nor do they weaken the academic standards or integrity of a course. ❏ Accommodations simply provide an alternative way to accomplish the course requirements by eliminating or reducing disability-related barriers. They provide a level playing field, not an unfair advantage.
Accessible: Accessible means the person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information , engage in the same interactions , and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective, equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability . (Department of Justice)
Accommodations are not….. ❏ Used to simplify or “dumb down” learning material ❏ Avoidance technique ❏ Retroactive (student forgets to give or doesn't follow process through intake) ❏ Completed by other institutions and used at LFCC ❏ Made to give more work to the instructor ❏ Used to give student an edge or an unfair advantage
Representation in Higher Education ❏ Here at LFCC, our population of students with disabilities has increased 39% between 2011-2014 ❏ 2 years after high school, 63% of students with disabilities were enrolled in postsecondary education compared to 72% of students without disabilities. ❏ more likely to enroll in 2-year versus 4-year institutions ❏ 42% of students with disabilities and 62% of students without disabilities were enrolled in 4-year schools. ❏ significantly less likely to earn bachelor's degrees than students without disabilities
Did ya know? Dyslexia Henry Ford, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Spielberg, Anderson Cooper, Cher, Kiera Knightly, Jay Leno, Vince Vaughn, Tim Tebow, Richard Branson, Tommy Hilfiger (many more) ADHD- Justin Timberlake, Michael Phelps, The Fonz (Henry Winkler) has dyslexia and considerable trouble with math Albert Einstein- Teachers said he was “slow, unsociable and adrift in foolish dreams” -
A Glimpse of the Students we Serve The majority of the disabilities that our office sees are “Invisible Disabilities” ❏ ASD, ADHD, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, POTS, Specific/NOS Learning Disability, Dyslexia, Diabetes, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD, Schizophrenia, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), ❏ MS, Cerebral Palsy, Seizure disorder, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Blindness, Deaf or Hearing Impaired ❏ Just an estimate, the diagnosis that we see the most is Anxiety/Panic Disorder. Usually paired or co-occurring with learning disabilities due to past educational experience.
4 types of Learning Disabilities Not able to assimilate as easily. Trying just as hard, processing, not taking in the information effectively. (Re-reading the same lines, words upside down, words change places) 1.Spoken Language: listening and speaking 2. Written Language: reading writing and spelling 3. Arithmetic: Calculations and Concepts 4. Reasoning: Organization and integration of ideas Individuals can be affected in more than 1 category
How Accommodations are chosen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA3dbvRCui0
The Process ❏ Student must disclose their accommodation by filling out an application for disability services here ❏ Student obtains documentation on their disability ❏ Student meets with a Disability Counselor for an Intake Appointment ❏ Disability Counselor reviews documentation ❏ An accommodation letter is generated for student ❏ Student must have discussion with Professor to discuss needed accommodations (they do not have to disclose their disability)
Student’s Responsibility ❏ Inform Instructors ❏ Not required to self disclose diagnosis, can speak in general terms about what may be helpful ❏ Maintain good communication with Instructor when documented disability symptoms exacerbate ❏ Set up testing time with Testing Center ❏ Notify Disability Counselor if accommodations are not being met and or accommodations need revisions. (Any revisions will be discussed with instructor).
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