Disability Services in College

Before the orgasm of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American Disabilities Act Title II in 1990, a young braggart(a) with either a mental or somatogenic disability had a hard road ahead of them if they chose to insure their educational activity after high school. Colleges typic whollyy were non set up for handicapped disciples and could not accommodate special ineluctably. When the special needs school-age child lagged behind because of a specific disability, it was gener bothy considered a shoulder-shrugging oh swell shield of thing.Considering that nearly integrity out of e very(prenominal) five passel in the United States suffer from some type of disability that impairs his ability to chance upon the daily activities of behavior, it is somewhat of a sad statement on our orderliness that these Acts were not implemented much earlier in our history. (Treloar 1999 p. 1). In any case, these Acts helped those savants who perhaps had tried to hide their disabili ties from fear of prejudice or rejection. fewer college professors prior to 1973 had any exposure or experience with disabled students, and many an separate(prenominal) of the disabled students were left feeling misunderstood and unable to complete their education.The for the first time step in trying to make the college experience as authoritative for a disabled student as for a normal student was to attempt to change the familiars perception of the disabled. Typically media images of the disabled evoked sympathy, pity, or even horror from the public. This perception had to be changed in order to show that the disabled students were, at their core, just students trying to spawn an education. The focus had to be shifted from their disability to how to make their learning experience a positive one.(Treloar 1999 p. 1). federally funded colleges cannot discriminate against or exclude a fitted soul from platforms or activities solely on the basis of his or her disability. A su bject student meets the technical and academic qualifications for liaison in an educational program or activity. (Treloar 1999 p. 2). Colleges argon expected to make sensible accommodations so that these differently qualified students have the akin opportunity to participate as other students.Accommodations whitethorn include get atible locations, extended time for test-taking, substitution of unessential courses for degree requirements, adaptive equipment or technology much(prenominal) as tape-recording classes, or other services such as the use of note takers or readers. (Treloar 1999 p. 3). Though the changes have worryly fascinatemed slow in coming to those they affect, the human beings is that each year more strides are make to help those with disabilities ask round the same college degree as their disability-free counterparts.Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a content fair play that protects qualified case-by-cases from discrimination based on t heir disability. The critical intelligence information in that sentence is qualified. Individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with mental or physical impairments which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include caring for oneself, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks and learning.(United 2006 p. 2).This law applies to any employers or organizations that find financial tending from any Federal department or agency, including the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nearly all public and most private colleges are recipients of funds from the Federal Government, thusly fall under the ADA. Section 504 prohibits organizations from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services. (United 2006 p. 2). at that placefore, if an individual is hindered in one or more of the preceding(prenominal) major life activities by a disability, they cannot be excluded from any federally funded organization or employer. The American Disabilities Act prohibits the denial of services or benefits on specified discriminatory grounds. Just as a regime office cannot recant to issue food stamps or other benefits to an individual on the basis of his or her race, it cannot refuse to provide benefits solely because an individual has a disability. (ADA 2005 p. 2).An example of this would be that a city could not refuse to admit an individual to a city council meeting that is open to the public merely because the individual is deaf. As related to college students, they cannot be denied participation in any class or activity which they are otherwise qualified for, and must be granted the considerations necessary to complete their education. For instance, a visually impaired student would need to be placed at the expect of the class, and all possible accommodations made so that he was able to see what was necessary to complete the class.(ADA 2005 p. 3).Both of these Acts made substantial strides in many areas for those with disabilities, education being only one of them. Despite these strides, however, there are relieve areas in colleges that need significant improvement in order to full meet the needs of the disabled students. In 1996 approximately six percent of students enrolled in postsecondary education had disabilities, with the majority of these reporting sensory loss (visual or hearing) or orthopedic conditions.(Palmer 2000 p. 1).Despite the obvious nature of these disabilities, the developed number one reported problem from the students with disabilities is that there are significant deficits in the knowledge of disability rights in a majority of universities and university personneland that the college students with disabilities need assistance in dealing with complex social interactions such as the quest and negotiate demands in the accommodation situation (Palmer 2000 p. 2).I n other words, the problem is not lack of accommodations necessarily, but more that the students with disabilities lack the skills required to state their needs and negotiate the help they require. Another area in which students with disabilities need point help lies in career guidance services. The collegians with disabilities are in greater need of career guidance services than their nondisabled peers. Students with disabilities face attitudinal barriers including lowered expectations, slow vocational development and unsatisfactory career development support services. (Benshoff 1990 p. 2).It becomes cod that the Acts passed in the last three decades have been crucial in providing physical, cover help for students with disabilities, yet the attitudes toward the disabled still exist, even though they may be cloaked in outward helpfulness. The disabled students feel they are severely lacking in career counseling as well as that they face barriers erected from others attitudes tow ard their disabilities. Learning disabilities are much less mentioned than physical disabilities, yet recent years have shown a significant harvesting in students with learning issues.In 1998 over 35% of all freshman college students utter they had a learning disability, up from 24% in 1991. This creates a dispute to professors and colleges alike, because many professors prefer that all students meet the same set of requirements deep down the same time period and are ill-prepared either to adapt their management to address the individual needs of students or to identify appropriate, fair and reasonable accommodations. (Thomas 2000 p. 1).This remains an ongoing problem, and one with no easily identifiable answers. more students, both regular and disabled, take web-based college classes which fit in with their busy lives and schedules better, in many cases, than the traditional classroom. While physical barriers are obvious availability concerns confronting students with disab ilities, web page developers must be aware that online barriers can alike cause accessibility problems for disabled users. (Flowers 2000 p. 2).Web page developers need to be very aware of those users with disabilities and follow the standards set that allow more accessibility to students with disabilities. in that location are many new technologies which allow students to access information such as Braille output systems for the visually impaired, modified keyboards, screen enlargements and representative output utilities. Web developers can provide alternative ways to access information presented with images, sounds, applets and scripts. (Flowers 2000 p.3).Though we are a nation of internet users, the disabled student has special issues regarding the web that must be addressed. When all is said and done, it must be remembered that positive classroom experiences in college are critical to happy inclusion of students with disabilities in the campus community. Faculty relationshi ps are known to have a pivotal effect on whether at risk students, like students with disabilities, are embraced in the college environment. (Smith 2004 p. 1).Instructors need to be able to develop a untroubled atmosphere where all students can express their own life experiences and typeface at the differences between one another. In this type of an atmosphere all students can talk about the issues they find most relevant in their own(prenominal) lives, leading to an atmosphere much more conducive to learning. Students with disabilities sometimes have difficulty absorbing the lectures by their professors, but if they feel like they are in an environment where they can safely express their concerns, the pleasure level tends to go up significantly.In a study done at Baylor University, three of the issues disabled students felt to be most important to their conquest were counseling which included an in-depth assessment of the students requirements and needs, caring people who off ered a solid support system, and extra time on their tests. require skills, time management and a solid sense of security in their environment were other issues these students felt were of great importance to their success. (Smith 2004 p.4).There are many groups who seek to help students with disabilities, such as the National Association of trick Students, College and Career Programs for Deaf Students, and CHADD, a leading non-profit organization for both children and adult students with ADHD. One group, known as fore or Association on Higher Education And Disability, is a group committed to full participation of persons with disabilities in post secondary education. (Smith 2004 p. 5).AHEAD values such things as diversity, personal growth and creativity in those with disabilities, while promoting leadership in this same group. AHEAD seeks to stay abreast of current issues regarding disabilities, education and accessibility for those with disabilities. Since 1977 AHEAD has excel led in delivering quality training to those with disabilities and actively addresses disability issues on campuses. There are many challenges and issues facing disabled college students.Thanks to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, the actual physical challenges have lessened immensely for students and great strides have been made in accommodating physical disabilities in most all areas of classrooms, dorms, library, put and cafeteria. More work needs to be done, however on the mental disability issue, as there tends to be more negativity and discolouration attached to mental disabilities than physical, and colleges still have a ways to go to accommodate these students.