[nabs-l] disability services in college

Wed Dec 31 20:29:10 UTC 2014

Hi,
Thank you all so much for your answers. I just wanted to clarify something.
Did you wait until you were for sure going to be accepted into the
college before having the meetings? I'm still waiting to see if I will
be accepted.
Also, Karl, you mentioned that sometimes DSS will exempt someone from
taking a class because they don't want to make the diagrams. Is it
worth fighting for that even if it's a class you don't want to take?
For example, I might have to take math for one year but I want to be
an English major. So is it worth fighting for even if it's just a
general ed class that you don't care to take anyway? Or should you
still fight for a class that you don't want to take because your
sighted peers are taking it?
I would really appreciate oppiinions on this.
Thanks,
Vejas

On 12/30/14, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 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
>
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