[nabs-l] need help

Jewel S. herekittykat2 at gmail.com
Sun Jul 18 22:51:31 UTC 2010


I think structural universal design is important. It should not be
limited to universities, no. However, while many places are accessible
to the disabled, often colleges do not know that their campus is
inaccessible until someone points out to them what they need. And the
need for ramps is nto just for people in wheelchairs. For example, I
often have trouble getting up and down steps on my good days...on my
bad days, I am lucky to do two steps. But the options are 1) go up the
stairs, or 2) go all the way around to the ramp...more walking, more
fatigue, is it worth it?

I agree that the disability office is not everything. But the ability
to go to someone and say "I need to learn this." and have them be able
to teach you is a very important thing. After a few years at community
college, I plan to go to Peace College. This is a private women's
college. When I asked the tour guides and the advisor what the
disability community was like on campus, they all said that it was
nearly nonexistant. So no disability services. However, this is a
college that believes in hands-on learning and believes in teaching
people how to make things work for their particular needs...not just
disability...also height, gender (admit it, women are still given the
short end sometimes), personal learning style, family tradition,
heritage, and much more.

A school does not need a disability office to be a good school for
someone with a disability, but the school needs to be willing to work
with the person if they come across a problem. The school also needs
to be willing to make changes to structures or classroom if either is
really not accessible. Again I will use myself as an example.

I have multiple disabilities. I am legally blind (3/350 in one eye,
light perception in the other). I also have photosensitive epilepsy,
which is considered a disability, though it is not disabling. I also
have an undiagnosed condition (working toward a diagnosis) that causes
severe nerve and joint pain and leaves me unable to do much of
anything on some days, and fatigues me quickly. I also have mild
dyscalculia, trouble with numbers and order.

So, where should I go for college? I wanted to stay in the Raleigh
area for now because my friends are here and I'm not ready to move so
quickly. So, that narrowed it down to North Carolina State University,
Meredith College, and Peace College. There is also Wake Technical
Community College, which is where I am starting so I can find the
scholarships and learn the ropes of college. So, down to three. I
visited all three.

NC State has an education program, but requires elementary education
students to specialize in math and science. That's ok, I can
specialize in science, but NC State is also very large. I could ask
for special accommodation to have my classes placed so I don't have to
walk so far, but at one point or antoher that is going to fail me and
I'll be stuck walking too far for my body and go home exhausted the
entire semester. NC State is such a large campus that I would be
worried about getting lost in traffic and I hate crowds. So,
disadvantages win. Not NC State.

So, down to two. I had an interview with advisors from both schools
and a tour of each and found Peace College to be more optimistic in
their general outlook, more close-knit and traditional, and with their
"hands-on" approach, I thought I could easily learn there, since I'm a
tactile learner. Plus, they give special accommodations to every
student, basing their education on their own needs, and the classes
can be as small as three students...more one-on-one time with teachers
and help as needed sounds good to me. The classes are in one of two
buildings, connected by a bridge, so not much walking. Only one big
disadvantage, the $25,000 a year tuition...so, I decided I am just
going to have to find the scholarships and grants for it. Oh, one last
advantage...peace College offers a double licensure in General
Education and Special Education, with a double internship, something I
have nto seen before.

So, that's what I did to figure out which college I want. Merideth
will be my second choice, of course, just in case.

It depends on the person, not just their disability. A friend of mine
goes to NC State and wouldn never consider a smaller college as beter.
A student has to decide what they want in a school and choose on all
of the needs, not just disability-based.

My little novelette,
Jewel

On 7/18/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
> Jewel,
>
> I think you took a better, broader approach to the question.  I wondered if
> structural accessibility should be covered, and I guess my position is a
> little mixed.  On the one hand, if an institution is receiving federal
> funds, it ought to make these physical accommodations happen for the people
> who need them.  I do not like that people in wheelchairs need to sometimes
> cruise around the block to get into the same entrance.  On the other hand, I
> wonder if excessive accommodations are limiting a person's capacity to deal
> with the rest of the world where people are not so considerate.  Yes, public
> places are generally expected to have Braille signs, wheelchair ramps, and
> wider bathroom stalls, but is it cost efficient to create accessible bubbles
> on college campuses, or would it be preferable to advocate for a universally
> accessible design all around.  I would personally be in favor of the latter
> so that physical university accessibility is more than just feel-good
> projects that make the administration feel as though they are making people
> with disabilities feel welcomed.  Structural accommodations are a tough one
> for me, and I will admit to sitting on the fence about it.
>
> I'm afraid I disagree with the blindness later in life argument.  A lot of
> things can happen to people later in life.  This does not necessarily change
> people's mentality, and since we already see the varying degrees of
> disability services on campuses, I think we can agree that we will never be
> able to create the perfect disability office that ideally fits everyone's
> needs since disabilities dramatically range from the most obvious to the
> most subtle.  I believe universities are places where people go to fulfill
> the specific task of obtaining higher education, not the place where people
> receive higher education and training simultaneously.  Job interviews are
> pretty grim equalizers after college, and as much as I believe in equal
> rights, I think employers have a right to select the most qualified
> candidates based on what they can provide now, not what they could
> potentially provide later.
>
> Marc,
>
> Selecting disability-friendly universities is not the same as selecting
> cities, transportation, and housing.  While the location of a school should
> certainly play into a person's choice, using the accessibility quality of a
> campus is like a business student choosing to attend Texas A&M because the
> people are super nice.  Would this same person turn down the University of
> Texas even though the people are not as nice but it has a stronger business
> school?  The quality of a school's accessibility is so contingent on the
> administration currently present at a school that it is like using an orange
> traffic cone as a landmark to find your way to a building's front door.  It
> may not be there tomorrow.
>
> Yes, actually if sighted students can't exhibit these listed
> responsibilities, they too should reevaluate college.  Contrary to popular
> myth, college is not for everyone, and there are enough successful people
> without college that no one should feel as if they have to attend a
> university to make something of themselves, but, if you want to go straight
> up blind versus sighted, then, yes, I think we'd all agree that blind people
> need to be that much more prepared than their sighted peers to excel in
> school or any other aspect of life for that matter.  A school that provides
> great accessibility may only be running the risk of providing that person's
> training with a false sense of confidence.
>
> Your argument about higher education as a right would hold more weight if
> blind people were denied access to education.  No one is being denied access
> to the university, and the same challenges blind students face in the
> classroom are the same challenges they are going to face in the workplace.
> Or, are you suggesting that all persons with a college degree have a right
> to a job after graduating?  There are plenty of blind people who invest in
> college who still do not have a job, just as is true of sighted graduates.
>
> I do not agree that the answer is an accessible job market.  To me, the
> answer is a better K-12 education system.  Yes, I acknowledge all the people
> who come by a disability later in life should have proper recourse, but I
> think that responsibility falls on the shoulders of consumer groups like the
> NFB to continue advocating for accessible technology, better rehabilitation
> training standards, better Braille literacy rates, etc. for the community as
> a whole.
>
> And, I do not think people in power intentionally designed the college
> experience to shaft people with disabilities.  The NFB president made it
> through one of the country's leading law schools with far less
> accommodations than we enjoy today.  Are you going to tell me our generation
> is somehow less capable of accomplishing the same feat with far more
> technological advances?
>
> Anmol,
>
> Give me an example of a student who has not received some type of equipment
> assistance from their state agency.  If they exist, NABS needs to
> short-lists these states and ramrod them into compliance.  Even in cases
> where students attend private institutions receive some measure of
> assistance to purchase adaptive products.
>
> I see what you mean about experienced disability offices who can properly
> teach faculty what people with disabilities need, but then, isn't this part
> of our overarching problem?  People pretending to know what we need?  No one
> will be able to better convey to faculty what I need better than myself.
>
> To all,
>
> I realize I may be coming off as the NABS Grinch on this subject.  I just
> don't want people to be lulled into collapsing a really good disability
> service college experience with the rest of reality.  If you're currently
> stuck at a school where the only disability service is a one-man show where
> the man in question is never around, please bombard this list with
> questions.  We need to hear from you, and if we can hook you up with a good
> member in your area to spend time showing you the ropes, then I guess that's
> what needs to happen.  The point is, college is the beginning of the rest of
> your life.  It may be tough as hell, but there is always a way to help you
> get through it.
>
> Best,
>
> 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
>
>
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