Bridges Instead of Boundaries: Pedagogy Meets Disability

Bridges Instead of Boundaries:

Pedagogy Meets Disability

Contexts of Disability

Clinical

PracticalLegal Educational

KEY TERMS

• Disability

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation• Compliance

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation• Compliance• Disclosure

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation• Compliance• Disclosure• Inclusion

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation• Compliance• Disclosure• Inclusion• The Rehabilitation Act (1973) – Section 504

KEY TERMS

• Disability• Accommodation• Compliance• Disclosure• Inclusion• The Rehabilitation Act (1973) – Section 504• The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

DISABILITY

“The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”

SOURCE: United States Code of Federal Regulations (42 U.S.C. 423)

What on Earth does that mean?

Myths about Disability

Please see “Dispelling Myths about People with Disabilities” in the packet you will receive after this presentation. For now…

2 More Myths about Disability


Myth #1 An individual with a disability has a “people.” They identify with other individuals who have the same disability. They also identify more easily with other disabled people than those who are not disabled.


Myth #1 An individual with a disability has a “people.”

FACT: Each individual experiences disability differently. Disabled people value family, role models, friends, educators, and community leaders exactly the same way as someone who is not disabled.


Myth #2 A disabled student has “educational boundaries.”


Myth #2 A disabled student has “educational boundaries.”

FACT: All people learn in different ways, and employ different learning styles. A disability may prevent the employment of some learning styles. However, it is just as likely that a disabled student has found alternative learning styles, and is, as a result, more cognizant of her/his unique learning process!

When these myths are confronted…

Disability begins to sound more like…

When these myths are confronted…

Disability begins to sound more like…

Difference!

Other kinds of difference


• Race


• Race• Gender


• Race• Gender• Religion


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Ethnicity


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Ethnicity• Nationality and Citizenship


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Ethnicity• Nationality and Citizenship• Age


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Ethnicity• Nationality and Citizenship• Age• Economic Class


• Race• Gender• Religion• Sexual Orientation• Ethnicity• Nationality and Citizenship• Age• Economic Class• Educational Background

If we perceive disability as difference, the idea of having disabled students in our classrooms

should seem a lot less daunting!

What do we lose when we buy into the “myths” about Disability?


A realization…


Realization…The skills students bring to the classroom

are not solely the result of previous education. They are also formed from life experiences that are entirely unique to them as individuals!


Enrichment…


Enrichment…Disability is not inability! Rather, under the

right circumstances it can be the development of different abilities -- through compensation, ingenuity, and the self-conscious process of acquiring new learning skills.


Improvement…


Improvement…A classroom in which the “myths” are

dispelled is an environment of acceptance – that is, inclusion. The door opens for the professor to become engaged with each student’s overall education, not just her/his capacity to do well in that class.


Safety…


Safety…When differences like disability are met

with acceptance, students who are in need of accommodations (adjustments to assignments, tests, and classroom environment) may feel more confident and less stigmatized when contacting the campus’ Office of Disability Support Services.


Safety…In this environment of inclusion, a student

with a mental health issue or other problem is more likely to turn to the professor for contact information, including • Addiction Treatment Centers• Counselors/Therapists• Abuse Intervention Programs• Suicide Prevention Services

KEY TERMS

Disability• Accommodation• Compliance• Disclosure Inclusion• The Rehabilitation Act (1973) – Section 504• The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

Definitions

Disability

Definitions

DisabilityLike such factors as race, gender, ethnicity,

and sexual orientation, disability is best described simply as difference. It should never be confused with “inability.” Disability is part of a student’s background, allowing for the development of unique life and self-conscious learning skills.

Definitions

Inclusion

Definitions

InclusionInclusion is essential for a safe, trusting

environment. It maximizes student-professor and student-student communication. It creates a classroom that allows but does not coerce disclosure of personal background. It allows disability (and other factors such as race, gender, beliefs, and background) to become a vital part of both teaching and self-conscious learning. Inclusion recognizes difference as a bridge instead of a boundary.

Disclosure, Accommodations, and Compliance

Disclosure


DisclosureCommunicating that you (as in the

student or instructor) has a disability. It does not necessarily mean you are communicating the nature of that disability (diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, prognosis).


Accommodations


AccommodationsAlterations to the delivery, review, or testing of

course material. Accommodations do not change the course material, only how it is disseminated. Accommodations are given to the professor, in a general form, by the Disability Support Services (DSS) Coordinator. The task of the professor is to make accommodations relevant and concrete with regard to the course material. Accommodations do not give advantage to a disabled student. It enables them to have the same learning opportunities as the other students in the class.


ComplianceThe professor’s task when working with a

disabled student. By being “in compliance,” the professor is working in accordance with college policy and procedures, as well as state and federal laws, that deal with disability.

So…what are these laws?

So…what are these laws?The Rehabilitation Act (1973)

Section 504: “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

IVY TECH PROFESSORS ARE DIRECTLY ACCOUNTABLE!

So…what are these laws?The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

Title II: Prohibits disability discrimination by all public entities at the local (such as school district, municipal, city, county) and state level.

Title III: Requires that “practicable accommodations,” in the form of physical alterations to all private and public buildings and areas, be made to allow access by the physically disabled.

So…what are these laws?Again…

IVY TECH PROFESSORS ARE DIRECTLY ACCOUNTABLE!

What’s more…These two laws (RA and ADA) work in tandem with one another – they are enforced equally, and they in no way cancel out one another under any circumstances.

How do these things apply to my classroom?


• Disability is built into our language in pervasive ways.



• Disclosure is often an eventuality when professors are seen as caring, attentive, and engaged in the student’s long term goals.



• Disclosure is often an eventuality when professors are seen as caring, attentive, and engaged in the student’s long term goals.

• The number of disability disclosures in classrooms – particularly for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Learning Disabilities (such as ADD), and Psychological Disorders appear to be on the rise.


AS A PROFESSOR,YOU WILL OFTEN FIND

YOUARE THE “FIRST CONTACT”

FOR STUDENT DISABILITY DISCLOSURE…

NOT DSS!

The Language of DisabilityWhen speaking about a diagnosed disability, student will say things like…

• “I have a disability.”• “I have a learning disability.”• “I am collecting disability.”• “I’m trying to get disability.”• “I have a problem/some issues.”• “I have a ‘health problem’.”• “I have some psychological issues.”• “I have a mental health issue.”• “I need ‘help’.”• “I have anxiety” (as opposed to “I’m worried” or “I’m frustrated”

or “I’m panicking”).• “I’m Learning Disabled/LD.”

The Language of DisabilityWhen speaking about a learning block, challenge, or difficulty (not necessarily a diagnosed disability), students will say things like…• “I’m kind of/a little ‘ADD’ today”• “I’m really ‘OCD’ about this”• “That gave me a panic attack”• “I’m a little LD today”

The Language of DisabilityWays in which words related to “Disability” are used pervasively and disparagingly in our culture…• “You’re/That’s retarded.”• “Did you take the little bus to school?”• “That’s/You’re special, like little bus special.”• “You’re crazy”• “You’re unbalanced.”• “You need help/Get help.”

What do we lose when we buy into myths and assumptions?

1) The skills students bring to the classroom are not solely the result of previous education. They are also formed by life experience that is entirely unique to them as individuals.

2) Disability is not just about accommodation, but the development of different abilities by the student necessary to overcome the disability.

3) The necessary disclosure of a disability can only happen in an environment of acceptance, in which the professor recognizes and is engaged in the student’s overall education, not just her/his capacity to do well in the professor’s class.

4) A classroom environment that is accepting of difference requires a deeper level of accountability from both professors and students.

5) While disabilities disclosed to a professor cannot, under any circumstance, be revealed to other students by the professor, the disclosure of a professor’s disability can enable deeper avenues of communication, engender trusting relationships, and open the door for the modeling of alternative learning methods.

6) When a disability, especially an untreated mental health problem, is disclosed to a professor, contact information about mental health treatment facilities, made available to the student, could save a college career, a close relationship, even a life!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTSA professor is a model to the student – a model of a teacher and a learner. The deeper the disclosure on the part of the professor, the better able her/his students are able to see how s/he went through the education process!

Perhaps “differently-abled,” despite the ambivalence it’s been met with by many communities of disabled, most neutral, most descriptive, most inclusive way of thinking about disability.

As a professor, I find the disclosure of my Tourettes to my students is a humanizing factor. The ground is more even. When I invite questions of any kind, communication becomes more relaxed, curiosity is peaked, and an environment of acceptance (inclusion), trust, and even humor immediately becomes possible.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTSIvy Tech’s ADA STATEMENT (for Syllabi): “Ivy Tech Community College seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with documented disabilities. If you need an accommodation because of a documented disability, please contact the Office of Disability Support Services. If you will require assistance during an emergency evacuation, notify your instructor immediately. Look for evacuation procedures posted in your classroom.”

CONCLUDING THOUGHTSMy Additional Note on Disability (in Syllabi):“As a disabled employee of the College (I have Tourette Syndrome), I am very open to discussing disability issues with you and working with you to help resolve such issues. However, under federal law, you are NOT required to disclose the nature of your disability to me, under any circumstances! It is very important that you know your rights under the Rehabilitation and Americans with Disabilities Acts, and I am more than happy to direct you to the appropriate resources.”

Bridges Instead of Boundaries: Pedagogy Meets Disability

Education

Transcript of Bridges Instead of Boundaries: Pedagogy Meets Disability