Hotline: Students with Disabilities
Speak Out!
Natalie Martiniello1, Maria Barile1, Jillian Budd1,
Mai N. Nguyen1, Catherine S. Fichten1,2
1 Adaptech
Research Network
2 Dawson College
Presentation at the AQICESH Conference
Montreal, Quebec, June 6, 2012
1
Introduction
Adaptech
The
Research Network
Study: What & Why
Team
Members
Funder:
SSHRC/CRSH
2
Agenda
 Methodology
 Pre-Employment
 Self-Management
and Course Workload
 Disability Related Academic/Access Supports
 Financial Concerns
 Access to Information/Environment
 Recommendations
3
Methodology
 Academic
retention of postsecondary
students with disabilities and graduation
 Data collected in 2010 and 2011
 Online questionnaire
 Open-ended question:
“Please indicate any other issues related to
your education and/or job search
experiences that are important to you.”
4
How Responses Were Evaluated
A coding
manual was developed
Two coders
Coded up to 3 comments
10
distinct categories
Categories
Positive
Based
of comments coded as
or negative
on how comments were written
5
Open Ended Demographics
397
participants
 Female:
67%
 Male: 33%
 English: 70%
 French: 30%
Provided
up to 3 comments
497 comments total
6
Academic Status
75%
Current students
20% Recent graduates (past 2 years)
No longer studying
5% Leavers (left without completing
their program)
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Ranking by % of Responses
 Negative
 Pre-employment
concerns
 Self-management and course workload
 Disability related academic/access supports
 Accessing information/school environments
 Financial barriers due to disability
23%
17%
17%
7%
7%
 Positive


Disability related academic/access supports
Self-management and course workload
7%
2%
8
Pre-Employment - Negative
“I am very concerned about having a
job, because I don't foresee there
existing any job flexible enough to
accommodate me.”
9
Pre-Employment - Negative
 Top
concern
 22.9%
of the responses
 20%
of current students
 38% of graduates
 14% of leavers
 Specific
concerns
 Accommodations
 Disability
disclosure
 Need for interview and job readiness skills
10
Pre-Employment - Negative
 Of
greatest concern to
 Those
with speech/communication and
hearing impairments
 Participants with low vision (33%) vs.
participants who are blind (22%)
 Participants in career/technical and
professional programs
 Female participants (25%) vs. male
participants (20%)
11
Self-Management
and Course Workload - Negative
“I wish [the] disability services would
concentrate not only on the
accessibility issues on campus, but
also how to live with a disability in our
academic and professional lives.”
12
Self-Management
and Course Workload - Negative
Awareness
of difficulties in managing
one’s course load
17%
of the comments were negative
20% of females, 12% of males
2%
of comments about their workload
were positive
13
Disability Related Academic /
Access Supports - Negative
“They seem NOT to understand that if
someone is ill with pain, the last thing they
need to add to their already hard-to-balance
schedule and life is another doctor's
appointment for something that is already
registered with Disability Services.”
14
Disability Related Academic /
Access Supports - Negative
 Poor
services provided by the OSD, individual
professors, and the university at large
 Availability
 Negatively
perceived by 67 participants (19% of
females, 13% of males)
 Some
professors view accommodations as
lowering standards
 Teaching assistants often unequipped to
accommodate
15
Disability Related Academic /
Access Supports - Negative
 Onerous
documentation and "proof"
requirements
 Lack of assistive technology and training
 7% females and 6% of males offered positive
comments
 7% of comments received about Disability
Related Academic/Access Supports were
positive
16
Disability Related Academic /
Access Supports - Positive
“The accessibility services at [U of XX]
have made my university career much
easier and much more enjoyable”
17
Access to Information /
Environments - Negative
“I find waiting for textbooks for courses to be
converted to PDF format or having to buy
new books so that we can get them
converted is wrong […]. The lack of audio
books, and the lack of digital books for
research (so that we can use our programs
to read them) is a challenge.”
18
Access to Information /
Environments - Negative
Mentioned
by 8.1% of respondents
English:
6%, French: 10%
Negative comments from 8% of current
students, 4% of graduates, 5% of leavers
Physical
barriers (inside and outside)
Difficulty accessing course materials
19
Financial Concerns - Negative
« Au niveau de l'aide financière aux études,
ces formes d'aide financière (bourses) ne
reflètent plus la réalité monétaire de nos
besoins de base : loyer, électricité,
chauffage, téléphone, Internet, assurances,
nourriture et passe d'autobus… »
20
Financial Concerns - Negative
Disability-related
financial concerns as
a hindrance for
7%
of current students
8% of graduates
14% of leavers
Leavers
expressed the most concern
about financial burdens caused by
disability
21
Recommendations
22
Pre Employment
Inform
students about employment
counselling services and other
organizations
Provide interview skills workshops
Consider mentorship opportunities
23
Workload Management
Organize
study skills workshops
Stress management support
Importance of time management
Importance of obtaining course
material in advance
Inform that reduced load is available
for “full time” students
24
Disability Related Academic /
Access Supports
Public
education: disability awareness
and universal design instructions
Training on adaptive and general use
information and communication
technologies
25
Financial Concerns
Provide
information about bursary
programs and scholarships for
students with disabilities
Provide help with complex
government forms
Educate students about free and
inexpensive adaptive software
26
Access to Information and School
Environments
 Encourage
professors to finalize course
material in advance
 Encourage publishers to provide alternative
formats
 Educate students about adaptive
technology (e.g. scanning software)
 Advocate for universal design from the start
(e.g. school websites)
27
Universal Design: Built Environment
Accessibility
starts in the parking lot
Choice of classroom set up
Quiet places for studying and exams
Environmental sensitivity issues
28
Universal Design: Built Environment
Management
issues
Snow-free
ramps
Working elevators
Keep accessible spaces free
29
Universal Design of Instruction
Learn
the benefits & limitations of UDI
Create links with diversity of students
in your institutions
Be flexible in required paper work
Create links with community
resources that can assist students
30
Universal Design of Instruction
 Advise
faculty to:
 Provide
their course outline in print & online
from the first class
 Hold flexible office hours and use different
meeting methods (in person, phone, MSN, etc.)
 Indicate an openness to any discussion related
to courses to all their students
 Provide an estimate of costs of various course
materials
31
Universal Design of Instruction
Assist
students to communicate
directly with faculty and other
institutional personnel
Address students’ concerns
32
Universal Design of Instruction
Encourage
the administration to
provide workshops on
The
needs of diverse student
populations (based on gender, culture,
disability, learning style, etc.)
Understand how to apply UDI at all
levels of the educational institution
33
Questions
Have
you noticed similar concerns in
your institution/country?
How
have these been addressed?
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This project was funded by
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Adaptech Research Network
Authors
Natalie Martiniello, Maria Barile,
Jillian Budd, Mai N. Nguyen, Catherine S. Fichten
36
Information
Natalie Martiniello
nmartiniello@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
Maria Barile
mbarile@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
Adaptech Research Network
www.adaptech.org
To download this presentation:
http://dc160.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/adapt2/Presentations/MartinielloAQICESH2012.pdf
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