[NABS-L] Disability Office Problems

[Nina Marranca]

Good morning,
I’m sorry you are going through this. It certainly sounds frustrating. I would set up a meeting with the disability  coordinator, in person if possible. Is the iPad your only technology you are using in school? Do you have access to any kind of computer? I would discuss what technology options they have in the office, such as conversions into a word doc or another format. They are most likely unsure of what would work for the tech you use, as everyone uses different technology. I’d encourage you to ask around and research options (I’m not as familiar with using an iPad for class readings.) and also set up a meeting. It’s unfortunate that you have to do some of the legwork here, but many times, we have to do some research in order to offer solutions to the office if they do not have the necessary knowledge. I’d also communicate with your professor regarding extensions or other options so you are not penalized.  Good luck.

From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> on behalf of Isaac McBurney via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Date: Monday, February 5, 2024 at 20:23
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Isaac McBurney <isaacmcburney35 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Disability Office Problems
Hey NABS Students, I hope you are all doing well.

For my Children’s Literature class, we have to read some PDFs from various journals through our library’s website. Some of these have worked well with VoiceOver on my iPad, but the two most recent ones didn’t work so well. It decided to read all three columns of text at the same time which isn’t very helpful when you’re trying to listen for complete sentences. I sent them to the disability office last Tuesday, and heard nothing back, so I decided to call them on Friday. They said they would work on it, and then sent me back a PDF that was somehow worse than before. I explained that this wouldn’t work with my screen reader, sending a screen recording along with it to show what it was doing, and they have yet to respond. The entire team changed last semester, so this is part of the issue as everyone is still learning stuff, but this shouldn’t be an excuse to not provide accessible materials to me and another blind student who I know is having a lot of issues with them too. They also weren’t very helpful with providing accessible book information, and wouldn’t convert another student’s textbooks to an accessible format, so it was done by another professor.

So my questions are: what is the best path forward for this? What should I do to help them resolve this, because it really isn’t working. Is there anyone you would suggest I talk to at the college or otherwise, and has anyone had a similar experience? I thank you for your guidance, as this is only my second semester in college. I hope you have a great day!

Thank you,
Isaac McBurney  (He/Him/His) | Special Education, UMKC 2027
Board Member, Missouri Association of Blind Students

(isaacmcburney35 at gmail.com | 816-398-9541 | Linktree <https://linktr.ee/IsaacMcBurney?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=6b804ce5-9e1f-49ce-b10e-933ab21379f6>)

_______________________________________________
NABS-L mailing list
NABS-L at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NABS-L:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/ninam0814%40gmail.com