[nabs-l] disability services in college

Karl Martin Adam kmaent1 at gmail.com
Wed Dec 31 23:06:48 UTC 2014


I would definitely suggest talking to dss offices before you 
apply.  Maybe if you're thinking about applying to places far 
from where you live it isn't worth it to go through the expense 
of traveling their just for that until you've been accepted, but 
definitely if they're local schools I would do it.  As for 
getting exempted from math, I think it's important as a blind 
person to get the same education everyone else does.  Employers 
will expect it as will grad school if you intend on going there.  
Partially it's also that I refuse to let people tell me that I 
can't do things because I'm blind when I actually can.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Vejas Vasiliauskas via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>, National 
Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:29:10 -0800
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] disability services in college

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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