In case you have missed it, the U.S. Census Bureau has released an updated set of
Informational statistics about Americans with disabilities.
So, if you are conducting research or preparing a report needing the latest general statistics on Americans with disabilities, it is now available.
FYI, that report claims that, as of the 2003-04 school year, there were 2.2 million undergraduates with a disability, representing 11 percent of all undergrads.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Good article about Disability Service and Mental Health professionals
In the days following the shootings at Virginia Tech, I found myself trying to compose some thoughts on the matter to post here. However, each time, I felt intrusive on the survivors of that tragedy and my words were not near as clear as they were in my mind. As a result, I deleted each attempt, feeling inadequate to express the words that needed to be said.
The compulsion to write about that subject was prompted by the shooter in that event reminding me of the type of students Disability Support Service professionals are periodically alerted to, either as one of the students on their caseload, or one which a faculty member inquires about. I've met a couple of these types and recall the gut response from many of the involved staff and faculty.
Many who have served in the DSS role for any reasonable amount of time have known at least one of these incidents. It prompts a spectrum of emotions and reactions ranging from sincere concern to a hyperactive fear. Striking the proper response is the key.
There is a good piece on this very subject written by a clinical psychologist in the Times Community Newspapers, titled
Are you Seung-Hui Cho's keeper?
Being that the article is written by a mental health professional, it is presented with a good understanding of the ADA and HIPPA and the restraints these laws have on universities.
Without spoiling the body of this well written article, I’d like to share the two closing paragraphs.
“Am I my brother's or sister's keeper? Is it my business if I notice that a fellow human being is having difficulty coping with life? Intruding in one's personal affairs is not always the easiest or wisest thing to do.”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed. We might ask ourselves, however, if there was the slightest possibility that having done so might not only have saved Cho's life, but the life of over 30 others as well.”
The article magnifies the positive alliances that can be achieved when the DSS office maintains open lines of communication with trained mental health professionals. I urge you to click the above link and read the entire piece. It says a lot, the meat of which I had been attempting to grasp and put into words.
The compulsion to write about that subject was prompted by the shooter in that event reminding me of the type of students Disability Support Service professionals are periodically alerted to, either as one of the students on their caseload, or one which a faculty member inquires about. I've met a couple of these types and recall the gut response from many of the involved staff and faculty.
Many who have served in the DSS role for any reasonable amount of time have known at least one of these incidents. It prompts a spectrum of emotions and reactions ranging from sincere concern to a hyperactive fear. Striking the proper response is the key.
There is a good piece on this very subject written by a clinical psychologist in the Times Community Newspapers, titled
Are you Seung-Hui Cho's keeper?
Being that the article is written by a mental health professional, it is presented with a good understanding of the ADA and HIPPA and the restraints these laws have on universities.
Without spoiling the body of this well written article, I’d like to share the two closing paragraphs.
“Am I my brother's or sister's keeper? Is it my business if I notice that a fellow human being is having difficulty coping with life? Intruding in one's personal affairs is not always the easiest or wisest thing to do.”
“Nothing in life is guaranteed. We might ask ourselves, however, if there was the slightest possibility that having done so might not only have saved Cho's life, but the life of over 30 others as well.”
The article magnifies the positive alliances that can be achieved when the DSS office maintains open lines of communication with trained mental health professionals. I urge you to click the above link and read the entire piece. It says a lot, the meat of which I had been attempting to grasp and put into words.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Welcome back and another accessibility roundup
Last you read here, Access Ability was going into stealth mode while I took a few days to examine a university web site for accessibility. Unfortunately, that task ran longer than I had anticipated and hence, it has been more than two weeks since I’ve posted anything here.
Well, to quote an old cliché…”I’m back!”
I feel that it would also be most appropriate to toss out some related links to the very subject that was the cause for my absence, web accessibility. Maybe it was coincidence or just plain karma, but there was an abundance of accessibility related news in the last two weeks. Go figure.
In an interesting undertaking, a digital instructional design professional at Kansas State University is taking a first-hand look at using assistive technology to access technology dependent classes. In the
Instructional Design Open Studio blog,
on the May 17 post titled Accessibility in eLearning, this person writes that (s)he is taking two versions of the same class, one will be online and the other on-campus, but both are mediated via technology, which the user is going to access with assistive technology and blog the experience.
I hope the site’s author will try to use JAWS to access the information and see the navigation headaches that the blog's employed Flash feature creates. With JAWS, they might also notice the indication of headings on each and every line of the posts in that Flash presentation. It is just a guess, but I don’t think that the user intended each line to be noted as a heading.
Nonetheless, the effort to take the classes with assistive technology by somebody who is not usually an AT user is a good and worthwhile effort and I commend the undertaking. I’ll be interested to see what the findings are.
In another recent finding, I noticed that on
Duff Johnson’s PDF Perspective,
A blog targeting the production of pdf documents, there was the May 14 post about the recent AGI Acrobat PDF Conference. In it, the writer discusses how he worked to make accessible pdf production interesting. He also offers a download of his presentation. Of course, it is in pdf format!
I have read a previous post by Duff Johnson on that blog concerning accessibility and have it bookmarked as a site for research. It is good to see professionals in the production world continue to take note of the importance of accessibility.
If you are interacting with a web developer about accessibility and the discussion of web applications versus web pages has ever come up, you may be interested in what
Christian Heilmann wrote in his May 20 post, titled How to Make Your Web Applications Accessible – The Human Way.
In that piece, Heilmann shoots down what is apparently a common developer’s defense that what they have created is a web application, not a web page. Heilmann asserts that “web applications should be more accessible than web sites.”
I like the logic in that statement. Now, if we can just get the developers to buy into it. Keep pushing, Christian!
Finally, in keeping with my personal philosophy of not griping without offering solution, I present the following information for authoring accessible web content. There is a review of
Immediacy CMS
on the latest pages of
IT-Director.com
In this review, Peter Abrahams says that Immediacy is an easy to use content creation tool which creates both accessible content and compliant code.
He adds that, “Immediacy provide a variety of plug-ins to provide specific website functionality; one of these is an accessibility plug-in. This plug-in enables a user to change the overall text size and the background-foreground colour combinations these changes can be important to people with visual impairments or dyslexia.”
He presents a specific list of qualities that the software gives that makes content creation sound easy to do.
Additionally, the IT-Director.com site also has other helpful and informative links concerning accessibility. In particular, there is a link on the latest update on the review of web accessibility 2.0.
Now that I’m back, I’ll soon be posting more regularly. Thanks to all of you that have maintained a vigil on this site.
Well, to quote an old cliché…”I’m back!”
I feel that it would also be most appropriate to toss out some related links to the very subject that was the cause for my absence, web accessibility. Maybe it was coincidence or just plain karma, but there was an abundance of accessibility related news in the last two weeks. Go figure.
In an interesting undertaking, a digital instructional design professional at Kansas State University is taking a first-hand look at using assistive technology to access technology dependent classes. In the
Instructional Design Open Studio blog,
on the May 17 post titled Accessibility in eLearning, this person writes that (s)he is taking two versions of the same class, one will be online and the other on-campus, but both are mediated via technology, which the user is going to access with assistive technology and blog the experience.
I hope the site’s author will try to use JAWS to access the information and see the navigation headaches that the blog's employed Flash feature creates. With JAWS, they might also notice the indication of headings on each and every line of the posts in that Flash presentation. It is just a guess, but I don’t think that the user intended each line to be noted as a heading.
Nonetheless, the effort to take the classes with assistive technology by somebody who is not usually an AT user is a good and worthwhile effort and I commend the undertaking. I’ll be interested to see what the findings are.
In another recent finding, I noticed that on
Duff Johnson’s PDF Perspective,
A blog targeting the production of pdf documents, there was the May 14 post about the recent AGI Acrobat PDF Conference. In it, the writer discusses how he worked to make accessible pdf production interesting. He also offers a download of his presentation. Of course, it is in pdf format!
I have read a previous post by Duff Johnson on that blog concerning accessibility and have it bookmarked as a site for research. It is good to see professionals in the production world continue to take note of the importance of accessibility.
If you are interacting with a web developer about accessibility and the discussion of web applications versus web pages has ever come up, you may be interested in what
Christian Heilmann wrote in his May 20 post, titled How to Make Your Web Applications Accessible – The Human Way.
In that piece, Heilmann shoots down what is apparently a common developer’s defense that what they have created is a web application, not a web page. Heilmann asserts that “web applications should be more accessible than web sites.”
I like the logic in that statement. Now, if we can just get the developers to buy into it. Keep pushing, Christian!
Finally, in keeping with my personal philosophy of not griping without offering solution, I present the following information for authoring accessible web content. There is a review of
Immediacy CMS
on the latest pages of
IT-Director.com
In this review, Peter Abrahams says that Immediacy is an easy to use content creation tool which creates both accessible content and compliant code.
He adds that, “Immediacy provide a variety of plug-ins to provide specific website functionality; one of these is an accessibility plug-in. This plug-in enables a user to change the overall text size and the background-foreground colour combinations these changes can be important to people with visual impairments or dyslexia.”
He presents a specific list of qualities that the software gives that makes content creation sound easy to do.
Additionally, the IT-Director.com site also has other helpful and informative links concerning accessibility. In particular, there is a link on the latest update on the review of web accessibility 2.0.
Now that I’m back, I’ll soon be posting more regularly. Thanks to all of you that have maintained a vigil on this site.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Web Accessibility: Its two, two, two posts in one
As promised, I’m back with more on web accessibility. However, I’m combining the two posts I mentioned into this one today, as the common theme is web accessibility.
Let me begin by saying up front that I readily admit that I am not a geek. While I believe I am somewhat computer savvy, I cannot wear the badge of geek. I know the difference between accessible and inaccessible web sites and software, very often, only by personal experience. I know the particular mechanics of what makes the web page accessible no better than I know what makes the mechanics of a garbage disposal operate. However, I do not have to know what makes them work to understand when they are not working for me.
However, Jeremy Keith is a web developer in Brighton, England, and I think he would fit whatever the criteria is to be a geek. (Mr. Keith, I use the term “geek” with all due reverence. Web developers know and do things I cannot even dream of.)
On his,
Adactio Journal,
Mr. Keith recently penned a very good post about
The Language of Accessibility,
Where he reflects upon a recent conference he attended in Germany.
His discussion takes us down the path of what accessibility means. In some pretty good layman’s language, he talks about things like markup language, which non-techies like myself may not know much about, but the results of which we know very well. His words in the two paragraphs below say a lot.
“Far from being something that is added to a site, accessibility is something we need to ensure isn’t removed. From that perspective, the phrase “making a site accessible” isn’t accurate.”
“Just as “progressive enhancement” sounds better than “graceful degradation”, talking about accessibility as something that needs to be added onto a website isn’t doing us any favours. Accessibility is not a plug-in. It’s not something that can be bolted onto a site after the fact.”
Mr. Keith goes on to suggest that web designers follow his new understanding: he will talk about keeping a site accessible rather than talking about making a site accessible”
That truly does sound like the language of accessibility. Thanks for sharing it with us, Mr. Keith.
I have only offered a bit of Mr. Keith's words and insight here. Do check out his post and also check out the speech made by the speaker at the conference he attended. Those words are the foundation for the piece and will ring just as true with you.
And, for today’s second feature presentation, I offer this posting from the
FinaBlog,
Titled The State of the Art of Interactive Design.
The piece starts with a simple, but fairly accurate assessment of the progression of the internet, finishing up with a projection with where it may lead. It then weaves in the need for accessibility as an essential element, stating, “Accessibility has become one of the driving forces in web design.”
Hmmm. I’m not sure that I totally agree with that statement, but it is a nice thought.
And, maybe the writer of that piece doesn’t totally agree with that thought either, because he soon follows it by saying, “Unfortunately, most websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to use the Web.”
Then, when he begins to speak to web developers and what they can do to make web content accessible, he also begins to use the techie lingo I’m not fully fluent in, but understand what they mean to accessibility. These include the need for developers to use XHTML and CSS. He further adds further incentive for developers to use these techniques as they aid in optimizing the site for search engines. If somebody is going to create web content, it makes sense that they would want the search engines to be able to find it.
As with Mr. Keith’s post, I have only presented a small portion of what the writer presents. This one is truly worth investing the time to read the full post. And, also like Mr. Keith’s post, worth sharing with your colleagues in web development.
Like I said earlier, I don’t have to understand what these web development techniques are to understand their impact. Describing inaccessible web content for me is much like that one judge said about pornography, I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is, but I know it when I see it. Being I’m totally blind, maybe the more accurate way of wording that phrase would be to say, “I know it when I don’t see it.”
Let me begin by saying up front that I readily admit that I am not a geek. While I believe I am somewhat computer savvy, I cannot wear the badge of geek. I know the difference between accessible and inaccessible web sites and software, very often, only by personal experience. I know the particular mechanics of what makes the web page accessible no better than I know what makes the mechanics of a garbage disposal operate. However, I do not have to know what makes them work to understand when they are not working for me.
However, Jeremy Keith is a web developer in Brighton, England, and I think he would fit whatever the criteria is to be a geek. (Mr. Keith, I use the term “geek” with all due reverence. Web developers know and do things I cannot even dream of.)
On his,
Adactio Journal,
Mr. Keith recently penned a very good post about
The Language of Accessibility,
Where he reflects upon a recent conference he attended in Germany.
His discussion takes us down the path of what accessibility means. In some pretty good layman’s language, he talks about things like markup language, which non-techies like myself may not know much about, but the results of which we know very well. His words in the two paragraphs below say a lot.
“Far from being something that is added to a site, accessibility is something we need to ensure isn’t removed. From that perspective, the phrase “making a site accessible” isn’t accurate.”
“Just as “progressive enhancement” sounds better than “graceful degradation”, talking about accessibility as something that needs to be added onto a website isn’t doing us any favours. Accessibility is not a plug-in. It’s not something that can be bolted onto a site after the fact.”
Mr. Keith goes on to suggest that web designers follow his new understanding: he will talk about keeping a site accessible rather than talking about making a site accessible”
That truly does sound like the language of accessibility. Thanks for sharing it with us, Mr. Keith.
I have only offered a bit of Mr. Keith's words and insight here. Do check out his post and also check out the speech made by the speaker at the conference he attended. Those words are the foundation for the piece and will ring just as true with you.
And, for today’s second feature presentation, I offer this posting from the
FinaBlog,
Titled The State of the Art of Interactive Design.
The piece starts with a simple, but fairly accurate assessment of the progression of the internet, finishing up with a projection with where it may lead. It then weaves in the need for accessibility as an essential element, stating, “Accessibility has become one of the driving forces in web design.”
Hmmm. I’m not sure that I totally agree with that statement, but it is a nice thought.
And, maybe the writer of that piece doesn’t totally agree with that thought either, because he soon follows it by saying, “Unfortunately, most websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to use the Web.”
Then, when he begins to speak to web developers and what they can do to make web content accessible, he also begins to use the techie lingo I’m not fully fluent in, but understand what they mean to accessibility. These include the need for developers to use XHTML and CSS. He further adds further incentive for developers to use these techniques as they aid in optimizing the site for search engines. If somebody is going to create web content, it makes sense that they would want the search engines to be able to find it.
As with Mr. Keith’s post, I have only presented a small portion of what the writer presents. This one is truly worth investing the time to read the full post. And, also like Mr. Keith’s post, worth sharing with your colleagues in web development.
Like I said earlier, I don’t have to understand what these web development techniques are to understand their impact. Describing inaccessible web content for me is much like that one judge said about pornography, I may not be able to tell you exactly what it is, but I know it when I see it. Being I’m totally blind, maybe the more accurate way of wording that phrase would be to say, “I know it when I don’t see it.”
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Request for feedback
I have a request of any of the readers who are willing to take a moment and share your thoughts with me.
The Access Ability blog has been in operation since late July, 2006 and I have personally written and posted 118 posts here. In all that, I have received minimal feedback on what is posted here. Specifically, I have received, minus the several spam replies, less than five comments to these posts.
I seek feedback from you, the readers that I know are out there. I understand that the comment method here on Blogger is not the most user-friendly way to share your thoughts. In that light, I am asking for you to
Email me your comments.
Please share your thoughts with me concerning this blog. I would like to know what types of news or resources you have found most helpful or would like to see more of. I can’t read your mind, so hit that link above and it will instantly bring up an email message ready for you to fill out. I promise that I will not share your email information with anybody.
I sincerely appreciate the readership that has grown steadily since I first launched this blog just over nine months ago. I am working in a vacuum, though, and am only writing about those things I believe might interest you. Take a moment and let me know how to better serve you.
Thanks,
RG
The Access Ability blog has been in operation since late July, 2006 and I have personally written and posted 118 posts here. In all that, I have received minimal feedback on what is posted here. Specifically, I have received, minus the several spam replies, less than five comments to these posts.
I seek feedback from you, the readers that I know are out there. I understand that the comment method here on Blogger is not the most user-friendly way to share your thoughts. In that light, I am asking for you to
Email me your comments.
Please share your thoughts with me concerning this blog. I would like to know what types of news or resources you have found most helpful or would like to see more of. I can’t read your mind, so hit that link above and it will instantly bring up an email message ready for you to fill out. I promise that I will not share your email information with anybody.
I sincerely appreciate the readership that has grown steadily since I first launched this blog just over nine months ago. I am working in a vacuum, though, and am only writing about those things I believe might interest you. Take a moment and let me know how to better serve you.
Thanks,
RG
Web access: Head's up on time-consuming project and GAID initiative
I will be meeting with a colleague and the head of his university’s web site portal in the coming days. In preparation for this meeting, I will be examining the university’s web content. This will include examining the least prefered design route the university has taken, offering text-only pages, which were recently offered as an accessible alternative to meet the letter of the law in Section 508 compliance...Grrr. Additionally, I will also be looking at web sites being offered by other school’s in the same university system.
My reason for telling you this is to give you a head’s up that posting may be a little on the light side here at Access Ability for the next few days, due to the time commitment I will need to review the large amount of web pages.
I’m not one to leave you hanging high and dry, though. Below is a recent news item related to this very subject of accessibility to web content for people with disabilities who use assistive technology. I will also follow up this with a couple more posts related to this subject before knuckling down on the research for my pending project.
An interesting article in
EContentMag
Reports on the latest efforts of the United Nations’
Global alliance working to bridge the information divide.
This article informs readers about the goals of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID),which has global players from academia, governments, the private sector, and civil society. A strong demonstration of the commitment from the technological industry can be sensed just by noting that the current GAID chairman is Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel.
GAID’s primary objectives span a wide spectrum, but two areas of the groups interest are discussed in the article; gaining more saturated broadband penetration in Africa and developing better technology solutions to assist people with disabilities in information access.
Explaining the group’s methodology, Sarbuland Khan, GAID's executive coordinator, said, "The goal is not that we, the UN, do it, but we try to get the partners to do it themselves and show that the UN can catalyze. We don't have the resources or the expertise, but we can convene the right people around the right table to work on these issues.”
Another source cited in the article is Daniel Aghion, executive director and co-founder of the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), which has been working with GAID since its days as the UN’s ICT Task Force, the predecessor to GAID. In December, 2006, the United Nations adopted a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities to education, health, labor, and other needs. The UN has encouraged all 192 of its member states to ratify this convention, because, according to Aghion, approximately ten percent of the global population has some impairment keeping them from accessing information technology.
As for the United States, Aghion says, "In the U.S., some policies have been set to address that community and are embedded in the Americans with Disabilities Act, but—as far as information technology is concerned—they have not been very actively enforced."
This goes back to the adage about laws only being as good as their enforcement. If things work as planned, the proposals GAID has set out offer some teeth for accountability towards the end of enforcement.
Again, as I’ve posted previously, the United States has yet to sign this UN convention. Please take an active role and contact the White House and your legislators, encouraging our country to sign off on this potential powerful tool for accessibility.
My reason for telling you this is to give you a head’s up that posting may be a little on the light side here at Access Ability for the next few days, due to the time commitment I will need to review the large amount of web pages.
I’m not one to leave you hanging high and dry, though. Below is a recent news item related to this very subject of accessibility to web content for people with disabilities who use assistive technology. I will also follow up this with a couple more posts related to this subject before knuckling down on the research for my pending project.
An interesting article in
EContentMag
Reports on the latest efforts of the United Nations’
Global alliance working to bridge the information divide.
This article informs readers about the goals of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID),which has global players from academia, governments, the private sector, and civil society. A strong demonstration of the commitment from the technological industry can be sensed just by noting that the current GAID chairman is Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel.
GAID’s primary objectives span a wide spectrum, but two areas of the groups interest are discussed in the article; gaining more saturated broadband penetration in Africa and developing better technology solutions to assist people with disabilities in information access.
Explaining the group’s methodology, Sarbuland Khan, GAID's executive coordinator, said, "The goal is not that we, the UN, do it, but we try to get the partners to do it themselves and show that the UN can catalyze. We don't have the resources or the expertise, but we can convene the right people around the right table to work on these issues.”
Another source cited in the article is Daniel Aghion, executive director and co-founder of the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i), which has been working with GAID since its days as the UN’s ICT Task Force, the predecessor to GAID. In December, 2006, the United Nations adopted a convention protecting the rights of people with disabilities to education, health, labor, and other needs. The UN has encouraged all 192 of its member states to ratify this convention, because, according to Aghion, approximately ten percent of the global population has some impairment keeping them from accessing information technology.
As for the United States, Aghion says, "In the U.S., some policies have been set to address that community and are embedded in the Americans with Disabilities Act, but—as far as information technology is concerned—they have not been very actively enforced."
This goes back to the adage about laws only being as good as their enforcement. If things work as planned, the proposals GAID has set out offer some teeth for accountability towards the end of enforcement.
Again, as I’ve posted previously, the United States has yet to sign this UN convention. Please take an active role and contact the White House and your legislators, encouraging our country to sign off on this potential powerful tool for accessibility.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
May is Better Speech and Hearing Month
May 1 is often referred to as May Day. This is not to be confused with a mayday distress call or the fictional Sam “Mayday” Malone character from the TV sitcom Cheers.
May 1 is also the beginning of Better Speech and Hearing Month, according to an audiologist who wrote a letter in April to the newspaper columnist
Hints from Heloise.
While she doesn’t cite her source, this audiologist gives a figure that, if true, we should all pay attention to: about 30 million Americans have hearing loss.
Additionally, while she shares with Heloise these five low-tech tips for those who use hearing aids, they give some good guidance for all. Everybody can learn to be more aware when dealing with people who use hearing aids.
1. Listening in noisy environments is difficult. Move closer, and turn off the TV or radio before talking. (Hearing in noisy environments is the No. 1 complaint of those with hearing loss/hearing aids.)
2. Get attention. Make sure your face is visible, and avoid talking from another room.
3. Practice clear speech. Speak in a natural way, pronouncing each syllable. This automatically slows your speech and gives the listener more time to process your information.
4. Avoid cross talk when in a group. In restaurants, request that background music be turned down or off.
5. Teach children to use their "big girl/boy" voices. Lower-pitched voices are easier to hear.
Disability service professionals work with people who have a variety of disabilities including hearing loss. We should set the example and be aware of these things that make for better communication. Share these with your faculty and students.
Got any more to add to this list?
May 1 is also the beginning of Better Speech and Hearing Month, according to an audiologist who wrote a letter in April to the newspaper columnist
Hints from Heloise.
While she doesn’t cite her source, this audiologist gives a figure that, if true, we should all pay attention to: about 30 million Americans have hearing loss.
Additionally, while she shares with Heloise these five low-tech tips for those who use hearing aids, they give some good guidance for all. Everybody can learn to be more aware when dealing with people who use hearing aids.
1. Listening in noisy environments is difficult. Move closer, and turn off the TV or radio before talking. (Hearing in noisy environments is the No. 1 complaint of those with hearing loss/hearing aids.)
2. Get attention. Make sure your face is visible, and avoid talking from another room.
3. Practice clear speech. Speak in a natural way, pronouncing each syllable. This automatically slows your speech and gives the listener more time to process your information.
4. Avoid cross talk when in a group. In restaurants, request that background music be turned down or off.
5. Teach children to use their "big girl/boy" voices. Lower-pitched voices are easier to hear.
Disability service professionals work with people who have a variety of disabilities including hearing loss. We should set the example and be aware of these things that make for better communication. Share these with your faculty and students.
Got any more to add to this list?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Interesting diversion: Assistive Technology trainer reports on adventures in Ghana
I offer a slight diversion today, kind of. Instead of offering information or resources, I want to share an on-going profile of a person who is providing disability services. However, this person is not working in DSS at a postsecondary institution. Instead, she is traveling around the African countryside near Ghana, where she is conducting assistive technology training and other related activities promoting individual advancement with blind residents and reporting her adventures on her blog.
On the pages of the
Ghana 2006-2007 Blog,
Akuwa reports on her interactions with locals as her travels take her to different points of interest.
Akuwa‘s writings are smart and intelligently written, but most of all they are interesting, particularly the April 27 post titled “The Last Few Months,” in which she tells about her most recent adventures. There are several pictures also posted on the same date individually above that post. For sighted readers, these may prove informative and interesting, especially the voodoo chief’s palace or the motorcycle driver’s voodoo paraphernalia.
I know, this is a little stretch of serving the needs of postsecondary disability support services, but it is definitely an interesting sidestreet to venture down. I’ll soon return with more of the standard fare.
On the pages of the
Ghana 2006-2007 Blog,
Akuwa reports on her interactions with locals as her travels take her to different points of interest.
Akuwa‘s writings are smart and intelligently written, but most of all they are interesting, particularly the April 27 post titled “The Last Few Months,” in which she tells about her most recent adventures. There are several pictures also posted on the same date individually above that post. For sighted readers, these may prove informative and interesting, especially the voodoo chief’s palace or the motorcycle driver’s voodoo paraphernalia.
I know, this is a little stretch of serving the needs of postsecondary disability support services, but it is definitely an interesting sidestreet to venture down. I’ll soon return with more of the standard fare.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Article offers good information about managing dyslexia
There was a recent New York Times article about dyslexia which clearly illustrated the plight of a child struggling through, and ultimately learning the resources and tools to manage this disability. It also emphasized a point I’ve often cited, that a person with a disability does not function in a vacuum. In this case, the parents of the young lady with dyslexia were also impacted, having to learn the limitations of her disability and assist her, as she grew into an understanding and acceptance of her dyslexia and what it would take to succeed despite the dyslexia.
Aptly titled
A family’s experience with dyslexia,
The article aemphasizes some statistics about dyslexia and specific tools that this family used to manage the limitations.
Some of the statistics highlighted:
*Studies have shown that dyslexic students have significantly more academic and behavioral problems than children without learning disabilities.
*One 1996 study found that 2 percent of those with learning disabilities go on to a four-year college.
*Studies have also found that adult dyslexics have a lower satisfaction with health and friends, and exhibit more psychiatric problems than non-dyslexics.
*Fewer are employed and, even if employed, hold jobs that are part-time, minimum wage and unskilled.
Some of the tools discussed for managing dyslexia included the traditional electronic speller and word processer. However, the article also praised the use of tools such as recorded textbooks from
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
And also using the
Write:OutLoud
Computer Program.
Aside from providing a good discussion of the progression of understanding dyslexia and what it would take for the young lady to manage it, the article paints a clear picture of what advances the skills and tools brought her in terms of comprehension and the decrease of time needed to complete her reading and writing projects.
The article offers a good general discussion on dyslexia and research currently underway to understand the cognitive functioning that goes on during reading. It also shows what a strong will and determination can bring when augmented with the right tools.
Personal footnote:
I believe the PDF Equalizer I wrote about yesterday would be another great tool to put in the tool box for a person with dyslexia. This program’s ability to convert pdf files into mp3 files would serve the same function for a student reading pdf documents as those served by the RFB&D textbooks. There seems to be a growing use of pdf documents, especially for official government reports and the like, and this would only empower students’ when researching information for class projects and papers.
Aptly titled
A family’s experience with dyslexia,
The article aemphasizes some statistics about dyslexia and specific tools that this family used to manage the limitations.
Some of the statistics highlighted:
*Studies have shown that dyslexic students have significantly more academic and behavioral problems than children without learning disabilities.
*One 1996 study found that 2 percent of those with learning disabilities go on to a four-year college.
*Studies have also found that adult dyslexics have a lower satisfaction with health and friends, and exhibit more psychiatric problems than non-dyslexics.
*Fewer are employed and, even if employed, hold jobs that are part-time, minimum wage and unskilled.
Some of the tools discussed for managing dyslexia included the traditional electronic speller and word processer. However, the article also praised the use of tools such as recorded textbooks from
Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
And also using the
Write:OutLoud
Computer Program.
Aside from providing a good discussion of the progression of understanding dyslexia and what it would take for the young lady to manage it, the article paints a clear picture of what advances the skills and tools brought her in terms of comprehension and the decrease of time needed to complete her reading and writing projects.
The article offers a good general discussion on dyslexia and research currently underway to understand the cognitive functioning that goes on during reading. It also shows what a strong will and determination can bring when augmented with the right tools.
Personal footnote:
I believe the PDF Equalizer I wrote about yesterday would be another great tool to put in the tool box for a person with dyslexia. This program’s ability to convert pdf files into mp3 files would serve the same function for a student reading pdf documents as those served by the RFB&D textbooks. There seems to be a growing use of pdf documents, especially for official government reports and the like, and this would only empower students’ when researching information for class projects and papers.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Web site is rich resource for assistive technology
In one of my news alerts today, I found a good general listing of assistive technology. The link I've created doesn't open the page correctly, but the web site's URL is
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm,
so copy it and check it out as it is a rich on-line resource of assistive technology.
Even though the web site’s name indicates that the targeted audience is disability service folks in the elementary and secondary school sector, the resources are useful for those serving the postsecondary student population as well.
The listed resources are useful for students with a wide variety of disabilities, including visual, hearing and learning disabilities. Make sure you have some time when you go to this site as it is brimming over with information and you’ll need that time just to look over the list, much less check out some of the linked web sites.
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assistive_tech.htm,
so copy it and check it out as it is a rich on-line resource of assistive technology.
Even though the web site’s name indicates that the targeted audience is disability service folks in the elementary and secondary school sector, the resources are useful for those serving the postsecondary student population as well.
The listed resources are useful for students with a wide variety of disabilities, including visual, hearing and learning disabilities. Make sure you have some time when you go to this site as it is brimming over with information and you’ll need that time just to look over the list, much less check out some of the linked web sites.
PDF Equalizer makes Google Books accessible
You’ve got to hand it to the folks at
Premiere Assistive Technology
as they’ve made inroads for accessibility once again.
According to a press release for PDF Equalizer, it is easy to understand the powerful functionality of this latest offering from Premiere Assistive Technology.
From the press release:
“PDF Equalizer is a tool that can open and read aloud PDF Files in their original format without any required file conversion. It is designed so that individuals who use electronic documents can have the true "equal access" to those who use the printed version, plus a few extras. PDF Equalizer allows individuals to select and control what is being read aloud as simply as using your mouse to select the text to be read. If listening to audio of the text is beneficial to you, PDF Equalizer can also turn a PDF Document into MP3 files that individuals can listen to on their MP3/MP4 players. PDF Equalizer can convert each PDF page into a separate MP3 file so it is easy to navigate or create a playlist of the pages you want to hear.”
“PDF Equalizer is a "must have" tool for those who take distant learning classes. The superior note taking capability in PDF Equalizer is unmatched. Notes are automatically synchronized with the PDF page to help keep them organized. At any time, the user can extract all notes into a single Microsoft Word document. If you have too much to read and need to condense the amount of material, use the powerful built-in "content summarization" feature. You can summarize a single topic or an entire book. If you can't find a publication in your native language, don't worry, the translation feature built into PDF Equalizer can translate text on the fly. You can also imbed hyperlinks for direct access to the Internet and there is an integrated dictionary that allows you to immediately lookup definitions.”
This useful piece of assistive technology does more than just make access to pdf documents easy. It also makes
Google Books
Accessible. This feature alone makes the PDF Equalizer's functionality stand out alone in the field of assistive technology. No other pdf reader on the market that I am aware of does this.
If you’re not already familiar with it, check out Google Books and see what a powerful research tool it can be for students.
Google Books has been around for a little while, letting users read passages of print books on their computers, yet also protecting the publisher’s copyrights by not allowing the screen to be printed. In the past, however, it has been completely inaccessible to those who could not read the picture of the text displayed on the screen.
Now, with PDF Equalizer, all those who have been previously excluded from this rich resource can now read the print material via the web…without having to purchase the whole book.
And, like so many other titles from Premiere Assistive, PDF Equalizer is available for free as a fully functional demo so you can try it out. I’m guessing that if you try it, you’ll make that purchase. The price, like so many others from Premiere Assistive, is also reasonable—only $89.95.
If you want more information on this product, check out the official
PDF Equalizer page
On Premiere Assistive’s web site.
Finally, also from that press release, I gleaned an interesting statistic from
the National Institute for Literacy--
nearly 42 million Americans struggle with literacy.
I’m just curious how many of these people are going to college and have a diagnosis of some type of disability. My guess would be a good number of them. Even if just one percent of these were college students, that is still more than 400,000 people. And, this is yet one more tool to help provide access to material which has been previously inaccessible.
Premiere Assistive Technology
as they’ve made inroads for accessibility once again.
According to a press release for PDF Equalizer, it is easy to understand the powerful functionality of this latest offering from Premiere Assistive Technology.
From the press release:
“PDF Equalizer is a tool that can open and read aloud PDF Files in their original format without any required file conversion. It is designed so that individuals who use electronic documents can have the true "equal access" to those who use the printed version, plus a few extras. PDF Equalizer allows individuals to select and control what is being read aloud as simply as using your mouse to select the text to be read. If listening to audio of the text is beneficial to you, PDF Equalizer can also turn a PDF Document into MP3 files that individuals can listen to on their MP3/MP4 players. PDF Equalizer can convert each PDF page into a separate MP3 file so it is easy to navigate or create a playlist of the pages you want to hear.”
“PDF Equalizer is a "must have" tool for those who take distant learning classes. The superior note taking capability in PDF Equalizer is unmatched. Notes are automatically synchronized with the PDF page to help keep them organized. At any time, the user can extract all notes into a single Microsoft Word document. If you have too much to read and need to condense the amount of material, use the powerful built-in "content summarization" feature. You can summarize a single topic or an entire book. If you can't find a publication in your native language, don't worry, the translation feature built into PDF Equalizer can translate text on the fly. You can also imbed hyperlinks for direct access to the Internet and there is an integrated dictionary that allows you to immediately lookup definitions.”
This useful piece of assistive technology does more than just make access to pdf documents easy. It also makes
Google Books
Accessible. This feature alone makes the PDF Equalizer's functionality stand out alone in the field of assistive technology. No other pdf reader on the market that I am aware of does this.
If you’re not already familiar with it, check out Google Books and see what a powerful research tool it can be for students.
Google Books has been around for a little while, letting users read passages of print books on their computers, yet also protecting the publisher’s copyrights by not allowing the screen to be printed. In the past, however, it has been completely inaccessible to those who could not read the picture of the text displayed on the screen.
Now, with PDF Equalizer, all those who have been previously excluded from this rich resource can now read the print material via the web…without having to purchase the whole book.
And, like so many other titles from Premiere Assistive, PDF Equalizer is available for free as a fully functional demo so you can try it out. I’m guessing that if you try it, you’ll make that purchase. The price, like so many others from Premiere Assistive, is also reasonable—only $89.95.
If you want more information on this product, check out the official
PDF Equalizer page
On Premiere Assistive’s web site.
Finally, also from that press release, I gleaned an interesting statistic from
the National Institute for Literacy--
nearly 42 million Americans struggle with literacy.
I’m just curious how many of these people are going to college and have a diagnosis of some type of disability. My guess would be a good number of them. Even if just one percent of these were college students, that is still more than 400,000 people. And, this is yet one more tool to help provide access to material which has been previously inaccessible.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Resource explaining Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
A good primer on universal design for learning (UDL) is available as a podcast from the
Texas Assistive Technology Regional Conference 2006 Blog.
While this blog appears targeted towards special education professionals in the public school system, the offered information can be applied to a broader audience to include postsecondary education. The fundamentals of universal design are very well outlined in the
April 20 podcast.
If one changes the setting to postsecondary education, the basics of universal design can still be applied very aptly. The podcast would make a good resource to share with faculty members, especially those who want to maximally assist their students with disabilities. It also makes a sound argument the DSS staff can make to those faculty members who are a bit resistant to embracing alternative format, either delivering handouts to students in alternative methods or by accepting modifications to what expectations would constitute reasonable accommodations in the work the students submit.
The concept of universal design is one that our society as a whole can learn to embrace much better. Having this podcast as a guide supporting this argument only serves to broaden minds.
Check out the blog and see if there is any other information that you can apply to your school. There are other podcasts, including one for meeting math needs for students with a variety of learning styles. Now, I know that’s something DSS professionals can definitely relate to.
Texas Assistive Technology Regional Conference 2006 Blog.
While this blog appears targeted towards special education professionals in the public school system, the offered information can be applied to a broader audience to include postsecondary education. The fundamentals of universal design are very well outlined in the
April 20 podcast.
If one changes the setting to postsecondary education, the basics of universal design can still be applied very aptly. The podcast would make a good resource to share with faculty members, especially those who want to maximally assist their students with disabilities. It also makes a sound argument the DSS staff can make to those faculty members who are a bit resistant to embracing alternative format, either delivering handouts to students in alternative methods or by accepting modifications to what expectations would constitute reasonable accommodations in the work the students submit.
The concept of universal design is one that our society as a whole can learn to embrace much better. Having this podcast as a guide supporting this argument only serves to broaden minds.
Check out the blog and see if there is any other information that you can apply to your school. There are other podcasts, including one for meeting math needs for students with a variety of learning styles. Now, I know that’s something DSS professionals can definitely relate to.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Ebiblio Collection -- Another accessible research resource tool
I have previously posted about accessible texts available on-line. I want to add to this today by providing another resource for on-line research material that is also accessible.
Today, I want to tell you about the
Ebiblio Collection.
It is a searchable database which claims to be “the public’s library and digital archive.”
It is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Material on this site can be located by using search terms or by categorically perusing the site’s offerings by the Universal Decimal Classification. The material the site locates is then made available by a link.
What it actually offers up is a gathering of websites that offer resources, such as the
Library of Southern Literature
and
Project Gutenberg,
Among several other sources under the American Literature heading.
I randomly explored several of the scores of headings to see what was offered on each linked page. I found from as few as three linked listings to more than ten. There was something under each heading that I checked. If that holds true for the entire site, they have indeed done some serious work in putting this site together.
This site has a solid foundation in place that gives it the potential to grow into a very strong resource for on-line research. It will be interesting to watch it grow over time.
Today, I want to tell you about the
Ebiblio Collection.
It is a searchable database which claims to be “the public’s library and digital archive.”
It is a collaboration of the Center for the Public Domain and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Material on this site can be located by using search terms or by categorically perusing the site’s offerings by the Universal Decimal Classification. The material the site locates is then made available by a link.
What it actually offers up is a gathering of websites that offer resources, such as the
Library of Southern Literature
and
Project Gutenberg,
Among several other sources under the American Literature heading.
I randomly explored several of the scores of headings to see what was offered on each linked page. I found from as few as three linked listings to more than ten. There was something under each heading that I checked. If that holds true for the entire site, they have indeed done some serious work in putting this site together.
This site has a solid foundation in place that gives it the potential to grow into a very strong resource for on-line research. It will be interesting to watch it grow over time.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Free conference--United Spinal Association
How about a free professional conference?
Well, let me restate, it is free if you preregister.
The United Spinal Association is offering that great deal for the upcoming
2007 North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference & Disability Expo,
, which will take place August 27-29 in Orlando.
Granted, this conference is for a particular target audience, but this may be of interest to some readers specifically. And, can’t we all stand to expand our horizons?
If you are not interested, or are not able to attend, but know somebody who may be, please share this information with them.
The conference will be featuring the following organizations and the programs listed:
*American Paraplegia Society
53RD Annual Conference -
* American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses
Embracing New Horizons In SCI Nursing -
*American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists & Social Workers
21ST Annual Conference -
* Therapy Leadership Council In Spinal Cord Injury
Reaching New Heights In SCI Therapy -
For more information on the participating organizations , or to preregister, go to the web site linked above.
Well, let me restate, it is free if you preregister.
The United Spinal Association is offering that great deal for the upcoming
2007 North American Spinal Cord Injury Conference & Disability Expo,
, which will take place August 27-29 in Orlando.
Granted, this conference is for a particular target audience, but this may be of interest to some readers specifically. And, can’t we all stand to expand our horizons?
If you are not interested, or are not able to attend, but know somebody who may be, please share this information with them.
The conference will be featuring the following organizations and the programs listed:
*American Paraplegia Society
53RD Annual Conference -
* American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses
Embracing New Horizons In SCI Nursing -
*American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists & Social Workers
21ST Annual Conference -
* Therapy Leadership Council In Spinal Cord Injury
Reaching New Heights In SCI Therapy -
For more information on the participating organizations , or to preregister, go to the web site linked above.
Updated: Attitudes towards people with disabilities-- Like We're Not Even Here
There is an interesting article in the
Government Technology magazine,
titled
Like We’re Not Even Here.
In it, the writer discusses the attitude of some people towards others who have visible disabilities—they talk about us like “we’re not even here.”
I think the article speaks clearly about a particular group of people, unfortunately found too often in the service industry such as cab drivers, wait staff at restaurants or hotel desk clerks. This aggravating and disrespectful attitude is displayed when the service person does not speak to the person with a disability, instead talking to the person who happens to be with him or her.
People in service professions still routinely ask the accompanying person questions such as, What would he like to drink?” or “Will she need anything special for her guide dog?” It is the unspoken attitude that the person with a disability is not capable of speaking for himself.
Whether the attitude is intentional or if it is being subconsciously voiced doesn’t really matter. It still exists.
The heart of the matter is to recognize that it exists. Only then can we change attitudes.
As a footnote to this post, when I attempted to leave a comment on the publication’s web site regarding the attitude expressed in the article, I was unable to do so. The site, like many others employs a screening technology called Captcha to filter spam from reader replies. Captcha uses a graphical image to show letters and numbers that the reader must enter into an edit field to demonstrate it is an actual person, not a spam bot, that is posting to the site. Unfortunately, screen readers, such as JAWS, do not decipher any letters or numbers. Screen readers only see a graphical image—a picture – instead of text.
Isn’t it ironic that a magazine targeted towards government technology workers, who one would think would be fully cognizant of the requirements of Section 508, has a web site that does not allow access to blind readers?
Like we're not even here.
UPDATE: 04/19/07
I emailed Gina Scott, the writer of that article and received a prompt and professional response later that same day. She acknowledged the accessibility concerns and was clear that she did not want to come across as hypocritical. It was her hope that, despite the accessibility concerns, by raising the issue, she would get the word out to "those in government who were not even aware of the issues"
No problem, Ms. Scott. I don't believe you came across as hypocritical in any manner. Enlightenment is a wonderful thing.
She was also forwarding my concerns and suggested solutions to her IT department for consideration as they are in the process of updating their web site. Here's hoping that the IT folks follow up!
I thank Ms. Scott for her time, concern, and insight.
Lastly, I received a comment that the link to the story does not work, so here is the URL to read that story:
www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104996
(I Have tried to correct the link, but am still unable to make it work, but provide the complete URL so that readers can read Ms. Scott's meaningful article. Copy the address and paste it into your web browser. The article will then load correctly.)
Government Technology magazine,
titled
Like We’re Not Even Here.
In it, the writer discusses the attitude of some people towards others who have visible disabilities—they talk about us like “we’re not even here.”
I think the article speaks clearly about a particular group of people, unfortunately found too often in the service industry such as cab drivers, wait staff at restaurants or hotel desk clerks. This aggravating and disrespectful attitude is displayed when the service person does not speak to the person with a disability, instead talking to the person who happens to be with him or her.
People in service professions still routinely ask the accompanying person questions such as, What would he like to drink?” or “Will she need anything special for her guide dog?” It is the unspoken attitude that the person with a disability is not capable of speaking for himself.
Whether the attitude is intentional or if it is being subconsciously voiced doesn’t really matter. It still exists.
The heart of the matter is to recognize that it exists. Only then can we change attitudes.
As a footnote to this post, when I attempted to leave a comment on the publication’s web site regarding the attitude expressed in the article, I was unable to do so. The site, like many others employs a screening technology called Captcha to filter spam from reader replies. Captcha uses a graphical image to show letters and numbers that the reader must enter into an edit field to demonstrate it is an actual person, not a spam bot, that is posting to the site. Unfortunately, screen readers, such as JAWS, do not decipher any letters or numbers. Screen readers only see a graphical image—a picture – instead of text.
Isn’t it ironic that a magazine targeted towards government technology workers, who one would think would be fully cognizant of the requirements of Section 508, has a web site that does not allow access to blind readers?
Like we're not even here.
UPDATE: 04/19/07
I emailed Gina Scott, the writer of that article and received a prompt and professional response later that same day. She acknowledged the accessibility concerns and was clear that she did not want to come across as hypocritical. It was her hope that, despite the accessibility concerns, by raising the issue, she would get the word out to "those in government who were not even aware of the issues"
No problem, Ms. Scott. I don't believe you came across as hypocritical in any manner. Enlightenment is a wonderful thing.
She was also forwarding my concerns and suggested solutions to her IT department for consideration as they are in the process of updating their web site. Here's hoping that the IT folks follow up!
I thank Ms. Scott for her time, concern, and insight.
Lastly, I received a comment that the link to the story does not work, so here is the URL to read that story:
www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=104996
(I Have tried to correct the link, but am still unable to make it work, but provide the complete URL so that readers can read Ms. Scott's meaningful article. Copy the address and paste it into your web browser. The article will then load correctly.)
Monday, April 16, 2007
Job interview tips for soon to be graduates
In today’s Houston Chronicle, there is an Associated Press story titled
How to interview like a champ.
The target audience of this article, and the book it references, is soon-to-be college graduates entering the job market. The book, New Rules at Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, by Barbara Pachter, gives advice for preparing for that all-important interview.
While I have not read the book itself, I would venture to guess that it does not address people with disabilities and the additional steps they might need to address. However, the following techniques mentioned in the article are good, practical advice for all job seekers, whether they have a disability or not.
• Be prepared. Know how to relate your relevant experience.
• Make a strong first impression. "It's more than just clothes. Do you look the person in the eye? Do you shake hands?"
• Fake it until you feel it. Behave confidently even if your knees are knocking; your interviewer won't know the difference.
• Send a thank-you note. Even a small touch can set you apart.
Those first three tips should be magnified for anybody with a disability, especially if it is a visible one.
Now, to that short list, I would like to add the following suggestions.
The first impression is so important. The emphasis on conveying confidence at that point is critical. You are asking this person to believe in you enough to select you as the most qualified candidate. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect the interviewer to do that?
Dress for success. It is much better to overdress for an interview than to underdress. Even if the job’s dress code is office casual, nobody will fault you if you interview in a sharp, pressed suit.
If your disability keeps you from doing something during the interview, such as shaking hands, don’t feel awkward about it. The interviewer may be a little uncomfortable at first, and that is when your confidence in handling these situations must be conveyed. Use your confidence as a catalyst to put the interviewer at ease.
Posture can not be overstated. Stand and sit upright, as much as your disability allows.
Be aware of any nervous habits you have and avoid these during an interview. Do not sit there picking at your nails fingers, or other areas, no matter how insignificant you think that behavior is. The interviewer is watching you to see not only what you say, but also how you respond under stress.
Visual impairments have their own unique challenges and being proactive in planning how to deal with these will give you more confidence in handling what could otherwise be awkward moments.
When you first introduce yourself to the interviewer, extend your hand to shake (if you are able). The interviewer will reach to meet your hand. This keeps the interviewer from trying to figure out how you will know his hand is extended, waiting to shake.
Eye contact is important, even if you can’t see. If a person has a visual disability, directing one’s gaze in the direction of the interviewer is still important to the interviewer.
Hand in hand with the above comment about eye contact, remember that facial expressions accompany that eye contact. It is okay to show facial expressions as you interact with the interviewer. It is okay to laugh at appropriate times. These expressions can help the interviewer look beyond the obvious and see the person, not the disability.
Finally, the last tip cited in the article-- yes, the one about sending a thank you note – applies to interviewees with disabilities as well. That can help you make an even stronger and lasting, final impression on the interviewer. Don’t delay in doing this, either. If possible, do it the evening of the day of the interview. If you need somebody to help write the note, then do it. Whatever it takes, get that final point made.
How to interview like a champ.
The target audience of this article, and the book it references, is soon-to-be college graduates entering the job market. The book, New Rules at Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, by Barbara Pachter, gives advice for preparing for that all-important interview.
While I have not read the book itself, I would venture to guess that it does not address people with disabilities and the additional steps they might need to address. However, the following techniques mentioned in the article are good, practical advice for all job seekers, whether they have a disability or not.
• Be prepared. Know how to relate your relevant experience.
• Make a strong first impression. "It's more than just clothes. Do you look the person in the eye? Do you shake hands?"
• Fake it until you feel it. Behave confidently even if your knees are knocking; your interviewer won't know the difference.
• Send a thank-you note. Even a small touch can set you apart.
Those first three tips should be magnified for anybody with a disability, especially if it is a visible one.
Now, to that short list, I would like to add the following suggestions.
The first impression is so important. The emphasis on conveying confidence at that point is critical. You are asking this person to believe in you enough to select you as the most qualified candidate. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect the interviewer to do that?
Dress for success. It is much better to overdress for an interview than to underdress. Even if the job’s dress code is office casual, nobody will fault you if you interview in a sharp, pressed suit.
If your disability keeps you from doing something during the interview, such as shaking hands, don’t feel awkward about it. The interviewer may be a little uncomfortable at first, and that is when your confidence in handling these situations must be conveyed. Use your confidence as a catalyst to put the interviewer at ease.
Posture can not be overstated. Stand and sit upright, as much as your disability allows.
Be aware of any nervous habits you have and avoid these during an interview. Do not sit there picking at your nails fingers, or other areas, no matter how insignificant you think that behavior is. The interviewer is watching you to see not only what you say, but also how you respond under stress.
Visual impairments have their own unique challenges and being proactive in planning how to deal with these will give you more confidence in handling what could otherwise be awkward moments.
When you first introduce yourself to the interviewer, extend your hand to shake (if you are able). The interviewer will reach to meet your hand. This keeps the interviewer from trying to figure out how you will know his hand is extended, waiting to shake.
Eye contact is important, even if you can’t see. If a person has a visual disability, directing one’s gaze in the direction of the interviewer is still important to the interviewer.
Hand in hand with the above comment about eye contact, remember that facial expressions accompany that eye contact. It is okay to show facial expressions as you interact with the interviewer. It is okay to laugh at appropriate times. These expressions can help the interviewer look beyond the obvious and see the person, not the disability.
Finally, the last tip cited in the article-- yes, the one about sending a thank you note – applies to interviewees with disabilities as well. That can help you make an even stronger and lasting, final impression on the interviewer. Don’t delay in doing this, either. If possible, do it the evening of the day of the interview. If you need somebody to help write the note, then do it. Whatever it takes, get that final point made.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Texas student wins battle over accessible dorm room
A recent article on the
Campus Progress
Web site Titled
Separate but Unequal Dorms
tells about the victory of a Texas State University student who uses a wheelchair after she had to pay higher costs than other first-year students just so she could live in an accessible dorm room.
Bailey Gosda is a sophomore at TSU who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. She has been in a nearly two-year fight with the university, in which she has contended that the university overcharged her several thousands of dollars so that she could live in a dorm room with wheelchair access. This would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA).
In 2005, Ms. Gosda visited the campus and Residence Life told her they did not know where to house her. She asked to live in Smith Building, the traditional and most affordable dorm, but there were no rooms in the building that were wheelchair accessible. The university moved her to a single room in a more expensive dorm, explaining that she and her equipment would foreclude the possibility of having a roommate. The result was that she paid more than twice what most first-year students did.
With the assistance of an attorney from
Advocacy Inc.,
a non-profit disability rights organization based in Austin, Ms. Gosda began to take on the university.
In the article, her attorney stated that, “under the ADA, Gosda should only have to pay for what she requested—a dormitory room in a traditional building with a roommate—even if there was not a wheelchair accessible room available that fit that description.” Her attorney asked the school to repay Ms. Gosda the difference.”
This seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? It was not that simple, though, as Texas State officials drug out their opposition. Read the article linked above to understand the battles this young lady had to undertake to be proven right.
Last month, Ms. Gosda was vindicated in her battle when the euniversity offered to refund the $6,000 it had overcharged her.
Hopefully, the university administration has learned a legal lesson on providing access. That was a cheap way out for them. Had she taken this matter to court and been successful, the university could have faced more severe financial penalties.
We often sit back and naively believe we are living in enlightened times when cases such as this are no longer taking place. It is a reflection of attitude towards the law and that is as subjective as any individual. The case of Ms. Gosda could have happened at any college or university. All it takes is the right situation, such as the lack of accessible rooms in the traditional dorm, and the subsequent boneheaded ignorance taken by somebody withing the university to not see the right thing to do, in this case it was to give her the accessible room at the rate of the traditional dorm room.
It is the responsibility of all DSS professionals to educate and enlighten. I would hope that the university consulted their ADA coordinator for an opinion before taking such a foolish and indefensible stance. It doesn't sound like they did, though.
Campus Progress
Web site Titled
Separate but Unequal Dorms
tells about the victory of a Texas State University student who uses a wheelchair after she had to pay higher costs than other first-year students just so she could live in an accessible dorm room.
Bailey Gosda is a sophomore at TSU who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. She has been in a nearly two-year fight with the university, in which she has contended that the university overcharged her several thousands of dollars so that she could live in a dorm room with wheelchair access. This would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA).
In 2005, Ms. Gosda visited the campus and Residence Life told her they did not know where to house her. She asked to live in Smith Building, the traditional and most affordable dorm, but there were no rooms in the building that were wheelchair accessible. The university moved her to a single room in a more expensive dorm, explaining that she and her equipment would foreclude the possibility of having a roommate. The result was that she paid more than twice what most first-year students did.
With the assistance of an attorney from
Advocacy Inc.,
a non-profit disability rights organization based in Austin, Ms. Gosda began to take on the university.
In the article, her attorney stated that, “under the ADA, Gosda should only have to pay for what she requested—a dormitory room in a traditional building with a roommate—even if there was not a wheelchair accessible room available that fit that description.” Her attorney asked the school to repay Ms. Gosda the difference.”
This seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? It was not that simple, though, as Texas State officials drug out their opposition. Read the article linked above to understand the battles this young lady had to undertake to be proven right.
Last month, Ms. Gosda was vindicated in her battle when the euniversity offered to refund the $6,000 it had overcharged her.
Hopefully, the university administration has learned a legal lesson on providing access. That was a cheap way out for them. Had she taken this matter to court and been successful, the university could have faced more severe financial penalties.
We often sit back and naively believe we are living in enlightened times when cases such as this are no longer taking place. It is a reflection of attitude towards the law and that is as subjective as any individual. The case of Ms. Gosda could have happened at any college or university. All it takes is the right situation, such as the lack of accessible rooms in the traditional dorm, and the subsequent boneheaded ignorance taken by somebody withing the university to not see the right thing to do, in this case it was to give her the accessible room at the rate of the traditional dorm room.
It is the responsibility of all DSS professionals to educate and enlighten. I would hope that the university consulted their ADA coordinator for an opinion before taking such a foolish and indefensible stance. It doesn't sound like they did, though.
Library site aware of need to address accessible web content
On a blog named
Library Stories,
Which is targeted towards library professionals, there was a recent post about
Web content and meeting the needs of students with disabilities,
particularly pointing out the need for compliance to Section 508.
The author of that post had the insight to point out that students needing consideration in web content are not only blind, but that list includes students whose disabilities are:
• Blindness / low vision
• Dyslexia
• Deaf / hard of hearing
• Limited Mobility
• Epilepsy
• Cognitive impairments
Whatever trends develop over the course of the coming years, one constant will remain-- students with disabilities will continue to go to college and need accommodations at their school’s library. Accessible texts and web sites are two of the primary concerns that will continue to need to be addressed.
Library Stories,
Which is targeted towards library professionals, there was a recent post about
Web content and meeting the needs of students with disabilities,
particularly pointing out the need for compliance to Section 508.
The author of that post had the insight to point out that students needing consideration in web content are not only blind, but that list includes students whose disabilities are:
• Blindness / low vision
• Dyslexia
• Deaf / hard of hearing
• Limited Mobility
• Epilepsy
• Cognitive impairments
Whatever trends develop over the course of the coming years, one constant will remain-- students with disabilities will continue to go to college and need accommodations at their school’s library. Accessible texts and web sites are two of the primary concerns that will continue to need to be addressed.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Second part of Marcus Engel interview is now posted
Okay, so you went to the
Disability 411
Site a couple of weeks ago and downloaded the interview I did with
Marcus Engel,
Or at least downloaded the transcript to see what Marcus is all about. Then, you felt like you were left hanging on a cliff because it suddenly ended, all due to the interviewer, namely me, running long on the interview.
Never fear. Beth Case has been busily working and you can now go to the
Disability 411
Site and get the second part of that interview.
Now that you see how easy it is to conduct and submit an interview or product review, why don’t you take Beth up on her offer and submit one to Disability 411 yourself. I think she would appreciate a variety of topics and is giving a lot of latitude for submissions. Besides, it is your shot at getting your moment in the sun. And, who knows, you might tap into an interest that you didn’t know you were good at until you did that submission.
Disability 411
Site a couple of weeks ago and downloaded the interview I did with
Marcus Engel,
Or at least downloaded the transcript to see what Marcus is all about. Then, you felt like you were left hanging on a cliff because it suddenly ended, all due to the interviewer, namely me, running long on the interview.
Never fear. Beth Case has been busily working and you can now go to the
Disability 411
Site and get the second part of that interview.
Now that you see how easy it is to conduct and submit an interview or product review, why don’t you take Beth up on her offer and submit one to Disability 411 yourself. I think she would appreciate a variety of topics and is giving a lot of latitude for submissions. Besides, it is your shot at getting your moment in the sun. And, who knows, you might tap into an interest that you didn’t know you were good at until you did that submission.
Medicare and power wheelchairs
There is an interesting article posted on
AlterNet.org
About
Medicare keeping the door shut on the disabled.
The gist of the article concerns Medicare and its policy to either pay or not pay for power wheelchairs. The answer lies in the results of a strict checklist. The bone of contention is that “it boils down to one question: Does the patient need a wheelchair inside the home?”
According to the article, “If you can limp 10 feet to the bathroom, or move from the refrigerator to the sink to make dinner, then Medicare will not cover a power wheelchair, even if you can't walk down the block to the grocery store for the food in the first place.”
This approach seems almost like a silly argument, one that makes no sense in the broader scope of individual needs. If a person is barely functional in their home, but can manage just a little bit, then Medicare says, “Well then…you certainly don’t need a power wheelchair,” even though providing such an assistive device may enable the person to get out of the house and get a job.
Compound this with individual pride and the innate quality of people trying to show they can do as much as they can, demonstrating their will to be strong in light of a disabling condition, even when this demonstration of will is at the reviewing athority who will report their findings of the individual's ability/disability to Medicare? When showing they can walk ten feet, no matter how much is done with a limp or the level of pain they endure when doing this, will be the very deciding factor that will shoot that person in their all-------too-able foot.
Wouldn’t it make sense to empower a person by providing the tool that would give him the potential to go to work and have private employer-provided health insurance, getting him off of Medicare as a result?
I don’t consider myself a liberal, nor a bleeding heart, but I am a passionate defender of rights of people with disabilities. However, I am also a tax-paying citizen and also understand the need for Medicare to protect its budgetary constraints, carefully scrutinizing the criteria for incidents when they will pay for a person’s expensive piece of assistive technology. However, there should be a more common sense review to consider when Medicare will fund these items.
The article illustrates clearly that items such as this which Medicare reigns over with a tight fist often goes unnoticed by legislators, as it is not a big hit on the political radar screen. In time, though, I believe this will change with the graying boomer population and the effects of this aging bringing on a variety of disabling conditions. Medicare’s ability to be so stringent in its governance for power wheelchairs may change as does the age of our population.
AlterNet.org
About
Medicare keeping the door shut on the disabled.
The gist of the article concerns Medicare and its policy to either pay or not pay for power wheelchairs. The answer lies in the results of a strict checklist. The bone of contention is that “it boils down to one question: Does the patient need a wheelchair inside the home?”
According to the article, “If you can limp 10 feet to the bathroom, or move from the refrigerator to the sink to make dinner, then Medicare will not cover a power wheelchair, even if you can't walk down the block to the grocery store for the food in the first place.”
This approach seems almost like a silly argument, one that makes no sense in the broader scope of individual needs. If a person is barely functional in their home, but can manage just a little bit, then Medicare says, “Well then…you certainly don’t need a power wheelchair,” even though providing such an assistive device may enable the person to get out of the house and get a job.
Compound this with individual pride and the innate quality of people trying to show they can do as much as they can, demonstrating their will to be strong in light of a disabling condition, even when this demonstration of will is at the reviewing athority who will report their findings of the individual's ability/disability to Medicare? When showing they can walk ten feet, no matter how much is done with a limp or the level of pain they endure when doing this, will be the very deciding factor that will shoot that person in their all-------too-able foot.
Wouldn’t it make sense to empower a person by providing the tool that would give him the potential to go to work and have private employer-provided health insurance, getting him off of Medicare as a result?
I don’t consider myself a liberal, nor a bleeding heart, but I am a passionate defender of rights of people with disabilities. However, I am also a tax-paying citizen and also understand the need for Medicare to protect its budgetary constraints, carefully scrutinizing the criteria for incidents when they will pay for a person’s expensive piece of assistive technology. However, there should be a more common sense review to consider when Medicare will fund these items.
The article illustrates clearly that items such as this which Medicare reigns over with a tight fist often goes unnoticed by legislators, as it is not a big hit on the political radar screen. In time, though, I believe this will change with the graying boomer population and the effects of this aging bringing on a variety of disabling conditions. Medicare’s ability to be so stringent in its governance for power wheelchairs may change as does the age of our population.
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