[nabs-l] Is This a Typical Request for Disability Services?

[Ka Yat Li]

Hi:

To add on to what others have said, using tactile maps as well as taking 
the time to explore your campus, can help you develop a mental map of 
the area. Rather than thinking of getting lost as a bad thing, think of 
it as an opportunity to work on problem solving skills and to meet new 
people. The experiences you have with problem solving different types of 
navigation issues now can be used in the future. When   you encounter 
the same problem in the future, you can resolve it quicker.

Also, tactile landmarks such as dips in sidewalks and in buildings, can 
be used to orient yourself. As for auditory cues, you can use counters,  
acoustics, echo location, etc. The sense of smell can be useful as well.

If you attend an orientation to the campus or have friends and family 
show you things, pay attention to different landmarks and if it's an 
unexplored area, you can add it to your mental map. Even if you kind of 
know the area, walking it multiple times can help you fill in details 
and other landmarks that you might not have noticed the first time you 
walk it.

Route reversal helps when figuring out how to get back to a major 
landmark such as a central area where students can hang out and using a 
GPS app like BlindSquare can help you locate where the different 
buildings are Especially on a large campus where everything is spread 
out like mine.

Even though I had O&M instruction during my last year of high school and 
help from my vision teacher in enrolling into university, I didn't have 
my O&M instructor do an orientation to the campus. I could've requested 
that but I had faith in the skills I've been taught so I didn't push for 
it. Instead, I had my family and friends show me a few places and I 
attended an orientation. After a few months, I learned how to get around 
some of the major parts of campus and after a couple of years, I now 
know the majority of the campus.

York University is considered to be the fifth largest university in 
Canada in terms of campus size so I was understandably a little 
intimidated by the size but as I started to figure things out by 
breaking things into manageable pieces, I realized it wasn't too bad. 
Since I had to problem solve and figure out things on my own, my skills 
and confidence with traveling has continued to grow and as I continue to 
travel more, I continue to learn and grow in my skills.

Hope this helps.
Ka Li

On 7/23/2016 7:08 PM, Kaiti Shelton via NABS-L wrote:
> Hi Vejas and all,
>
> Definitely take the silver lining of the situation and use this time
> as a means of getting to know people.  I found that some of my best
> friends on campus were the people who noticed I looked a bit turned
> around in the first few weeks or I stopped to ask for directions to a
> class, and most of the time people are willing to help all freshmen as
> even the sighted kids get completely turned around in the first week
> or two.
>
> As for learning the campus ahead of time, I'd recommend doing some
> walking around with a friend or family member as Arielle said.  I did
> this with my mom a lot every time we'd visit to meet with disability
> services, the music department, or check out the dorm with my O&M
> instructor.  Your family members, though not certified instructors,
> are probably a good resource for pointing out landmarks and potential
> hazards to avoid.  Definitely pay attention to fountains and other
> audible cues, but also where construction blocks might be.  My
> university underwent some major construction throughout campus in my
> sophomore and junior years, and it was really important to find where
> those blocked off areas would be to plan alternative routes
> accordingly.  Make sure you don't just know one way to go through
> campus if possible, so that if you do find yourself in a situation
> where one route is better than the other you can choose the shortest
> or safest way.
>
> Voc rehab, as Justin said, has handled my O&M training.  the
> disability services office has had no problem with sending a student
> worker to guide me to buildings I have needed to go to just one time
> here and there and therefore didn't spend time learning, but it was
> generally expected that I get myself to and from classes on a regular
> basis by myself since they knew I had those services and discussed the
> importance of utilizing voc rehab at our initial meetings.  I don't
> know that my school would have viewed this long-term kind of
> assistance as a reasonable accommodation, especially since the way
> they do it they'd have to either reach out to professors you have and
> put an additional responsibility on other incoming freshman getting
> used to college life by assigning the task of fetching and bringing
> you to classes, or they'd have to hire someone and I'm not exactly
> sure how they'd figure out how to pay students for that kind of job
> when it's not something that can easily be justified for hourly wages.
> I don't know if your university has had blind students before you, but
> I think precedents of services might also apply somewhat as well
> depending on a lot of factors from if your university is public or
> private, what resources they have available, how big the campus is and
> what services are offered to all students regardless of disability in
> finding their way, etc.
>
> One thing I found really helpful was to ask my O&M instructor to
> provide me with a tactile map of the campus.  He was able to do this
> for me as well as some other students he worked with at other
> colleges, and the map really did help.  I carried it in my backpack
> for the first few weeks in case I needed to run an errand or meet
> someone in a building I didn't know very well yet.  Disability
> services might also be able to produce a tactile map for you if your
> O&M can't provide one, and I think that absolutely would be a
> reasonable accommodation to ask for.
>
> HTH.
>
> On 7/23/16, Arielle Silverman via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Vejas and all,
>> I know it can take a while sometimes for voc rehab to get their act
>> together and send out a mobility instructor. In the meantime, though,
>> anybody who knows the campus can show you around. Even a visitor who
>> doesn't know campus, but who is a good map reader, can help you find
>> your classroom buildings. If your parents or other family or friends
>> are helping you move in, they could also help you practice routes to
>> classes simply by reading the maps. There is nothing particularly
>> special about having it be a certified O&M teacher or someone with any
>> kind of disability background.
>> It will be good for you to learn where your class buildings are
>> relative to big landmarks on campus, such as fountains or major
>> streets bordering campus. Then, if you get lost, you can ask
>> directions based on those landmarks. If you are living in the dorms,
>> you could also request help from the resident assistant (RA) or other
>> staff in your dorm, whose job it is to help all freshmen.
>> You may be surprised in how quickly you are able to learn to find your
>> classes.
>> Best, Arielle
>>
>> On 7/23/16, Greg Aikens via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> I also had my DSO offer to have someone help me orient myself before the
>>> start of my freshmen year of college (too many years ago). That person
>>> helped me for one or two days, maybe three. They would have been available
>>> if I had a specific question about a route, but not to walk me to my
>>> classes
>>> every day.
>>>
>>> I certainly did get lost several times those first few weeks, but so did
>>> all
>>> freshmen. It was normal to stop someone and ask where a building was,
>>> normal
>>> for an older student to offer to show a group of freshmen where to go by
>>> walking part of the way, etc. I went to a small private school though, and
>>> that may not be so typical on a larger campus.
>>>
>>> If you are going to request this accommodation, I recommend you limit it
>>> to
>>> the first day you have each of your classes, or at most the first week.
>>> For
>>> me, my concerns about getting lost were a great catalyst for making
>>> friends
>>> in my classes early on. I would ask people where they were headed next
>>> after
>>> class and if they were heading in the same direction, I would ask to walk
>>> with them as far as our paths went the same way. This also motivated me to
>>> make friends with people in my dorm. I looked for people who might have a
>>> 9:00 AM class in the same building or in a building close to the building
>>> I
>>> needed and asked if we could walk together, at least at the beginning. You
>>> don’t want to be wholly dependent on these people of course, but it is a
>>> perfectly natural way to connect with others and learn your way at the
>>> same
>>> time.
>>>
>>> On a related note, my difficulties navigating the dining hall lead me to
>>> invite people to grab lunch after class etc. I got turned down plenty of
>>> times of course, but it was a good way to connect with people and learn my
>>> campus without them really even knowing it. Upon reflection, I probably
>>> would have benefited from better travel skills, but I made it work and
>>> developed some cool relationships in the process.
>>>
>>> Anyway, that’s just my take on it. I probably gave you more than you were
>>> asking for but I hope some of this helps.
>>>
>>> Best of luck with starting school this fall.
>>>
>>> -Greg
>>>
>>>> On Jul 22, 2016, at 10:23 PM, Justin Williams via NABS-L
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Mine actually sais that they would also, but they also said that it was a
>>>> very short term thing because they just didn't have the man power.
>>>> Justin
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Logan
>>>> Anderson
>>>> via NABS-L
>>>> Sent: Friday, July 22, 2016 9:53 PM
>>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Cc: Logan Anderson <logan4447 at gmail.com>
>>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Is This a Typical Request for Disability Services?
>>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>> I to begin college in less than a month. I have not requested this
>>>> particular service from my disability services office, but they have told
>>>> me
>>>> several times it is very typical to have someone help you learn the
>>>> campus.
>>>> Though they have said that it is typically only a few days that this
>>>> person
>>>> will help you. I am in the process of requesting my accommodations from
>>>> them, and will probably have no & M on my list of things that I am going
>>>> to
>>>> ask for help with, but I myself don't need a long-term partner. I
>>>> honestly
>>>> don't think my disability services office even offers a long-term option
>>>> like this. I don't have much insight on the situation, but I am sure they
>>>> will willingly work with whatever you need to help you succeed in
>>>> college.
>>>> If you are working through the vocational rehabilitation system in your
>>>> area, if there is one, then they also might have assistance that they can
>>>> offer you with this question.
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>>> On Jul 22, 2016, at 8:54 PM, Vejas Vasiliauskas via NABS-L
>>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>> I start college next month, and have been trying to get everything
>>>>> ready,
>>>> which includes meetings with Disability Services and the normal
>>>> due-dates.
>>>> (I never would have thought that there would be so many due-dates between
>>>> college acceptance and the start of school-lesson learned there!"
>>>>> Although I have been getting to know my disability services, I have only
>>>> just today received an accmmodations letter.
>>>>> One accommodation that I requested from them is to have someone walk
>>>>> with
>>>> me to each of my classes for the first month or so, while I am still
>>>> learning the layout of the campus.  Travel is one of these aspects for me
>>>> that I just need to have constant repetition for, and although I will be
>>>> working with someone authorized by the Department of Rehab, this process
>>>> is
>>>> still happening and I feel that knowing myself and my travel skills, I
>>>> need
>>>> this.  DSS seems unsure if this is possible, but is willing to discuss
>>>> the
>>>> matter further.  I don't know if their hesitation has anything to do with
>>>> the fact that I have 5 classes at 5 completely different times, although
>>>> I
>>>> think it would be more of a matter of me communicating with these
>>>> students
>>>> via text to arrange times.
>>>>> I have a meeting with them in two weeks, but was just wondering if you
>>>> have had any similar issues with them and how you have dealt with them.
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Vejas
>>>>>
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