Working Together:
Faculty and
Students with
Disabilities
Elaine High
Learning Disabilities and ADHD
Specialist
120 Bessey Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824
517 432-2466
high@msu.edu
John Pedraza
Disability Resource Coordinator for
Employees
120 Bessey Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824
517 432-4240
pedrazaj@msu.edu
Michigan State University Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, DO-IT Prof and North
Central Michigan College.
1
Agenda:
Welcome and Introductions
Legal Responsibilities
Video
Accommodations and Solutions
Test Time!
Campus Resources
Case Studies
Veronika’s Activity
Q&A
2
The Americans with Disabilities Act
No otherwise qualified individual with
a disability shall, solely by reason of
such disability, be excluded from
participation in or be denied the
benefits of the services, programs, or
activities of a public entity, or be
subjected to discrimination by any
such entity.
3
Who is a Person with a Disability?
Anyone with a
physical or mental
impairment that
substantially limits
one or more major
life activities
Anyone with a
record of such an
impairment
Anyone who is
regarded as having
such an impairment
Individuals
associated with
persons with
disabilities (i.e.
spouse, child, etc.)
4
Definition of Disability
Nature of impairment
Duration of impairment
Limitations of major life activities
Substantially limiting
What is the evidence
Unable to work in broad range of jobs or
class of jobs
5
Major Life Activities
Breathing
Sleeping
Seeing
Hearing
Working
Taking care of
Oneself
Procreation
Stooping
Bending
Walking
Learning
6
Otherwise Qualified
A person must be able to meet the
technical and academic qualifications
for entry into the school, program, or
activity in order to be considered
otherwise qualified.
7
Otherwise Qualified Continued
A qualified individual with a disability is
one who meets the skill, experience,
education, and other job-related
requirements of a position held or
desired and who, with or without
reasonable accommodation, can
perform the essential functions of a job.
8
Substantial Impairment
Impairment is substantial when the
limitation for individual is greater than
that experienced in the general
population.
Example: Experience pain after walking a
mile which prohibits individual from doing
other activities (debilitating)
Example: Unable to lift 10 pounds without
significant pain
9
Examples of Disabilities
Spinal cord injuries
Loss of limbs
Multiple sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Cerebral Palsy
Hearing
Impairments
Visual Impairments
Speech Impairments
Specific Learning
Disabilities
Head Injuries
Psychiatric Disorders
Diabetes
Cancer
AIDS
10
With or Without Reasonable
Accommodation
Reasonable modifications to rules, policies or
practices
Removal of architectural, communication or
transportation barriers
Provision of auxiliary aids and services
Modification or adjustment to a job, the work
environment, or the way things usually are done
Making existing facilities used by employees
readily accessible to and usable by individuals
with disabilities
11
Reasonable
Must be effective – producing the
intended or expected effect
12
Hearing Impairments
Interpreters, real-time captions, FM systems,
note-takers
Face student when speaking
Written directions, assignments, lab
instructions
Visual aids, visual warning systems
Repeat questions and statements from others
Electronic mail for communicating
13
VIDEO
Psychiatric Disabilities
Changes in schedules, instructions, job
tasks or other procedures and ways of
interacting with the employee or
student
Know the person’s functional limitations
and the symptoms of the illnesses and
the medications
15
Low Vision
Large print handouts, signs, equipment
labels
TV monitor connected to microscope to
enlarge images
Directions, notices, assignments in
electronic format
Computers with enlarged screen images
Seating where the lighting is best
16
Blindness
Audio-tape, Braille, electronic notes,
handouts, texts
Describe visual aids
Raised-line drawings and tactile models of
graphic materials
Computers with optical character readers,
voice activated computers, voice output,
Braille keyboards and printers
17
Mobility Impairments
Group assignments, note-takers/scribes, lab
assistants
Extra exam time, alternative testing
arrangements
Classrooms, meetings, labs, field trips in
accessible locations
Adjustable tables, equipment located within
reach
Materials in electronic formats
Computers with special input devices (e.g.,
voice, alternative keyboards)
18
Health Impairments
Note-takers, audio-taped class sessions
Flexible attendance requirements
Extra exam time, alternative testing
arrangements
Assignments in electronic formats
Electronic mail
19
Specific Learning Disabilities
Note-takers and/or audio taped class sessions
Extra exam time; alternative testing
arrangements
Visual, aural, and tactile demonstrations
incorporated into instruction
Course and lecture outlines
Spelling checkers and grammar checkers
20
Student Obligations
Self identify that he or she has a
disability
Indicate the need for accommodation
Provide appropriate documentation at
the student’s expense to establish the
existence of the disability and the need
for accommodation
21
Institutional Obligations
Provide reasonable
accommodations for
the student’s known
disabilities
Afford student equal
opportunity to
participate in
programs, activities
and services (including
extracurricular
activities)
May not discriminate
based on disability
Provide auxiliary
aids and services
22
HEATH Resource Center
National survey results on freshmen
with disabilities:
One in 11 first-time, full-time freshmen
entering college in 1988 self-reported a
disability.
This translates to about 9 percent of the
total, or about 154,520 students who
reported disabilities.
23
In 1998, freshmen who selfreported disabilities were more
likely than their peers to:
Be male
Be 20 years or older
Have chosen a particular college because it
offered a special program or because of
advice from counselors/teachers
Rate themselves lower in self-esteem,
emotional health, & academic or physical
ability
24
What changes have occurred in
the past few years?
Percentage of freshmen reporting disabilities
remained stable at 9 percent between 1991
and 1998
Students with learning disabilities continued
to be the fastest growing group (25% to
41%)
Higher proportions of students with
disabilities were enrolling in four-year colleges
and universities in 1998
25
1. True or False?
You should change
your vocabulary when
speaking to a person
with a disability. Use
words like "when you
roll in the room..." to
someone who uses a
wheelchair.
26
2. True or False?
One should
ask the
companion of
the person
with a
disability
what they will
27
3. True or False?
You should
always pet a
guide dog to
show that you
intend no
harm to its
master.
28
4. True orThe majority
of persons
False? who are deaf
are better lip
readers than
hearing
people.
29
5. True or False?
Persons who
are deaf and
use American
Sign
Language
(ASL) are
unable to
30
6. True or False?
American Sign
Language
(ASL) is
English
conveyed
through signs.
31
7. True or False?
Sign
language
is
universal.
32
8. True or False?
A person can
be cured of
a learning
disability.
33
Please read
the
following
aloud.
34
This si wdat a leaming
bi sadleb qerson
frepuehtly hasto
conteub with when
attemqting ot nead a
dook.
35
Rocker buy bay bee inner tree
hops
Turnip out fir play
Ronald's tone gadders nome
hoss
Sinkers honkers sick spentz
Law tent britches full in town
Diamond died weight fur Nome
Ann
My tea hoax farm ladle egg
36
GREEN BROWN
BLACK
RED
YELLOW ORANGE
PURPLE
GREEN
RED
YELLOW
37