[nabs-l] [SPAM?] Re: disability services in college

Wed Dec 31 04:57:42 UTC 2014

Hi, Vejas and all,

First off, don't discount private colleges.  I toured several private
and public colleges before choosing the school I attend now, which is
private and has a pretty awesome DS office and staff.  One thing that
I really like that my DS office does is that it employs students to do
much of the book scanning, edits, and stuff in addition to answering
phones and some basic emails that aren't specifically for a staff
member.  This is great, because if I have a simple worksheet or a
packet of information I need to read for class, I can just give it to
a student worker and have them email it to me once they're done rather
than waiting for a DS coordinator to be free from meetings or other
stuff.  I would ask if such a system is in place, and if so I would
plan to try to get to know the students who work there a bit.  I know
the girl who edits most of my books and she's an English major, so in
addition to being already detail oriented, I think that knowing who
the book is going to might help with making sure that it's
well-proofread.  (She's also been very nice and bumped papers up in
the cue for me if professors give them to me late so I could still
turn work in on time).

As mentioned, you'll probably not get a lot in braille.  So far I've
only gotten my math stuff and some science diagrams in braille, and
everything else has been electronic.  I'm a stickler for braille as
much as the next guy, but having almost everything electronic really
helps, and cuts down on your load.  If you thought carrying a bunch of
books was hard in high school, you certainly won't want to lug braille
volumes around a college campus.

I'd ask to see a testing room if you can, and to meet some of the
other staff members.  Your meetings will probably consist largely of
your DS coordinator reciting some basic shpeel about accommodations,
the ADA, etc, but it's the questions you ask and the other people you
meet who will help you decide which DS office is the best fit for you.

Additional Questions:
1.  Do you have an assistive technology specialist on staff?  If so,
can I meet them?  If not, are there any plans to bring one on staff in
the foreseeable future?
2.  Are there any assistive technologies I can loan/borrow for
academic or assistive purposes should I need them?  (My college does
this, and just requires me to sign a release stating that I'll pay for
any damage or loss to the device if something happens while I have it.
I also have to return it by an agreed deadline, but borrowing a Focus
40 sure beats having to buy one).
3.  Do you offer any training on assistive technology devices?  (Again
with the focus 40, I was able to get a quick half hour session with
the assistive technology specialist without leaving campus).
4.  What are the standard accommodations a blind person would receive?
 Just see what they tell you at a glance.  You should at the least be
guaranteed extended time on tests (usually double time), assistive
technology on tests and for use in the classroom, text descriptions of
pictures or videos shown in class, volunteer notetaker (if you want
it), a reader (if needed), distraction-reduced environments for test,
alternative formats for books and class materials (including books),
and a scribe for tests (if needed).  I would also see if they have a
policy about electronic submissions.  Most colleges don't, but it
might be something to ask about.  I had a professor who did not want
to accept assignments attached to emails, and I was able to get
electronic submission to be a reasonable accommodation because print
papers create organizational nightmares for me.
5.  See if you can find other disabled students on campus to talk to,
preferably blind ones but any should be able to provide some insight
into how good or bad the DS office is with response to problems,
working with professors, etc.

Remember that a lot of the advocacy is going to come from you first.
I know you've probably heard it a million times, but the DSS rarely
gets involved unless the professor goes to them directly to sort out
an issue, or there is some problem and after unsuccessfully advocating
for yourself you ask them to step in and back you up.

Some DS offices are awesome; mine has really gone above and beyond for
me, and while I don't use them often aside from getting my books and
materials they've always been willing to help read something, or help
me find something on campus if it's a location I've never had to go to
before but need to for a class.  The nice thing about student workers
in a DS department is that they are often able to do these things
because there are enough of them working at a time that work doesn't
stop.

On 12/30/14, Suzanne Germano via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I go to Arizona State and they have computers with JAWS, MAGic in several
> labs, libraries and in the high tech center in disabled student services.
> The will make tactile diagrams of things if needed. They offered to make me
> some for Circuits. They also have a braille printer and braille displays on
> some computers. So it seems there are really various levels of what is
> available and what is provided. They have an entire alternative format
> department to handle text books. I get electronic and if requested I can
> get large print. I prefer they get the pdf's from the publisher because
> they are better quality than scanned for reading with zoomtext.
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 4:08 PM, Karl Martin Adam via nabs-l <
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>> These are some good additional questions.  The only other thing I think
>> is
>> important is to find out how they get your books.  Do they request
>> publisher files?  If publisher files are not available--they aren't for
>> trade books, which is most of what you'll be reading in upper level
>> classes
>> and in things like English classes--does the office scan books for you?
>> Do
>> they have someone proofread the things they scan if they scan them?  By
>> the
>> way, you almost certainly won't be getting books in braille at all, and
>> if
>> you do they'll be embossed.  Almost all colleges will give them to you
>> electronically, which actually is more efficient.  Neither of the schools
>> I've gone to (they were both public) had the capability to produce things
>> in braille.  As for adaptive technology, most schools will have a
>> computer
>> in the library with Jaws and maybe one or two more, but of course you'll
>> have to provide your own personal computer and notetaker etc.  You might
>> also want to talk to them and try to figure out indirectly if dss tries
>> to
>> control the classes disabled students take.  I've heard horror stories
>> from
>> friends at some schools where dss basically exempts blind students from
>> taking certain classes, such as basic math, because they don't want to
>> provide the accommodations that would be necessary.  You probably also
>> want
>> to talk about how accommodations for lab science classes work.
>>
>> Best,
>> Karl
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: NMPBRAT--- via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> To: alpineimagination at gmail.com, nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 18:03:32 -0500
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] disability services in college
>>
>> Vejas,
>> Here are a few other suggestions for  questions:
>> 1) How many people work for the DSS?
>> 2) What days and hours are the DSS open?
>> 3) What accommodations are available to me, including testing
>> accommodations?  What is the process for requesting those
>> accommodations?
>> 4) How willing do professors seem to be when working with the  DSS
>> office?
>> (note: if you know what degree you are majoring in, you can be  specific
>> to
>> that particular group of professors)
>> 5) Who do I talk to and what is the process in dealing with  issues that
>> arise in a particular class or with a particular  professor?
>> 6) What percentage of students that your office services are  blind or
>> visually impaired?
>> 7) What resources, if any, do you work with outside of your  office?
>>
>> Just some thoughts!  Good luck!
>>
>> Nicole
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 12/29/2014 5:51:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org writes:
>>
>> Hi  All,
>> I am going to be meeting soon with the disability services of my
>> schools and have some questions/want some insight.
>> How do you know how  good a DSS program is? (Of my three colleges,
>> one is a Cal State and two  are private, so the privates may not
>> have very good services).
>> If the  DSS is poor but you like the college for all other
>> reasons, is this a big  enough reason not to attend that college?
>> Also, I'd really like your ideas  on questions I could ask DSS.  I
>> already have 5, which I'll paste  below my name, and I would
>> really appreciate if you could add some more or  change any of the
>> above.
>> Thanks.
>> Vejas
>> Questions to Ask  DSS
>> 1.  How quickly is the turnaround time for Braille  materials?
>> 2.  Is there a Braille transcriber/braillist on campus, or  is
>> everything just going to be embossed?
>> 3.  Is there anyone on  campus who can create raised diagrams for
>> subjects such as chemistry and  mathematics?
>> 4.  What kind of adaptive technology is offered at the  school?
>> 5.  Should anything go wrong with my hearing aids, is there
>> anyone who can help with  them?
>>
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-- 
Kaiti