[nabs-l] need help

[Jewel S.]

Jo,

You may some good points, but such points, in my opinion, only pertain
to pepople who were blind when they went to school. Many blind people
became such after they graduated from high school, some long after.
For example, I graduated from high school in 2003. I became blind in
2008, and I'll be starting my freshman year of college in the fall. I
went to the North Carolina rehab center for the blind to learn basic
techniques, but I didn't get into the college prep class because 1)
there's only one teacher for the class, 2) there's a long waiting list
for the class, and 3) there's a 15 week maximum at the rehab center.
This upset me to no end, because now I'm trying to go to college with
very little training in how to do so. I'm working with the DSS at the
community college, and I don't think I could do it without their help.

As for what to do for an accessible campus? First off, if there are
steps, there should be a ramp. I've seen too many places on campuses
where there are steps and the only way to go if you need a ramp is way
on the other side of the area. The ramp should not be out of the way.
And the stairs/steps must have a railing. Many people can use stairs,
but only if they can hold on to a railing. There should also be curb
cuts at all crosswalks and intersections.

All rooms (classrooms, offices, conference rooms, etc) need to have
Braille and large numbers, and the sign that has the numbers ain large
print and Braille should be in the same place for every room if
possible. At the community college I am attending in the fall, the
sign is not in the same place for each classroom and that can make it
hard to find the sign. When I'm rushing to find the right room number,
I won't have time to fumble for a sign that's not there.

Any building that has classroom on a second story should have an
elevator. No classroom should be inaccessible because of stairs or
steep inclines.

Any heavy door should have an automatic opener with a button. This is
not just for wheelchair-users. I use a white cane and a support cane.
Between those and my rolling backpack on a rope...I have no hands to
hold a door open! The same goes for someone who has a guide dog and
uses a support cane and some walker-users. It's really hard to hold a
door open while getting your walker through.

All fire alarms should have both an audible and visual alarm, but the
visual should not be at a strobe that causes seizures in people with
photosensitive epilepsy.

Any payphones available should have at least one with TTY
capabilities, even better if that TTY also has a refreshable Braille
display for the deafblind, though often deafblind persons have their
own refreshable Braille display with them, so if not possible to
provide one there, a TTY with Braille capabilities would be fine.

A tactile map is a great thing to have available. Having one placed
where the main map for sighted people is placed would be good, as well
as one in the disability office.

The disability office should have an embosser available for printing
Braille as needed, and be willing to scan books into Word documents
onto a CD or flash drive. Accessible computers should be available
wherever there is a group of computers (for example, the library
should have at least one computer with JAWS and one with ZoomText, and
the disability office should have a bank of accessible computers).

All sites that are used in classes and the website for the school
itself should be fully accessible. If it is not, it should be
re-designed to be accessible. If a website used for a class (for
example, my Spanish class in the fall uses a website in conjunction
with the book. It is accessible as far as I have been able to test it
without the book).

Other accessibility issues would include closed caption and
descriptive services for videos shown for a class, water fountains
that don't stick out into the hallway (a cane will not find it and a
blind person may run into it, as I have in the past), and enough room
between chairs, in hallways, and in doorways for a wheelchair to pass.

Read the ADA's checklist for accessibility to get some more ideas.
Accessibility is not about services so much as it is about universal
design in structure of buildings, classes, and services. People with
disabilities don't need extra services, just equal ones.

~Jewel

On 7/18/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't understand why people insist on identifying universities that are
> friendly to people with disabilities.  Forgive what may come across as a
> blunt tone, but if students are going to make a large time and money
> investment in higher education, they should select schools for their
> programs, not for the capacity of the disability service.  At the Catholic
> University of America here in DC the disability office didn't even know I
> exist until the coordinator caught sight of me shortly before my graduation
> procession, and you know, I think I did alright.
>
> The natural argument that people raise at this point is that not all
> students are built the same.  Some students need more help than others.
> >From this corner, the bottom line is that if by college a student has not
> figured out how to find readers, use scanners or negotiate testing
> environments with their professors, they ought to consider training at a
> center or dismiss the idea of going to college.  After high school,
> education is an option, not a right.  College is only a fraction of the rest
> of people's lives, and outside of the blindness field and government sector,
> there are no special accommodation offices in the workplace.
>
> Now, please do not misunderstand.  If a college offers a wide range of
> accommodations, there is no reason why the student should not take advantage
> where he or she feels it necessary.  Yet, stay in control of what you
> actually need versus what is prescribed, and remember not to become so
> dependent on these services that you are virtually helpless when you begin
> competing against your sighted peers in the job market.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Joe
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Hina
> Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 1:55 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: [nabs-l] need help
>
> hi friends,
> I am working on a project to help a university to make their
> campus accessible and would need some feedback from you all.
> please send  me some of the recommendations that you think a
> university should implement for people with disabilities?
>
>
> which universities are good for people with disabilities?
> thanks.
> hina.
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