I am the disability accommodation coordinator at our school although I work with several others as a team. What comes to my mind when taking this course is the training our admissions staff will need to effectively work with incoming students.
An Admissions Representative's job is to use discretion and provide the student with the information to make an informed decision on their future.
Treating a student with disabilities with the same kindness and respect you would treat any student is important to ensuring a good experience for all involved parties.
Remember to see the student, and not their disability. It is not up to you to determine whether or not a student with a disability is able to meet a physical standard, but you may present the student with what the requirements for that standard are/look like, and the student may decide if that is something they can meet.
My role is to not being mean to people with disabilities and be a better person with them.
So thankful that we are focusing on students as PEOPLE and not just as those with disabilities. I learned about how to check my faulty thinking to encourage all to pursue their full potential.
Be open and honest and don't use the student's disability against them. Present the information and let them decide.
Being kind and treating all our students with respect and care is key.
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My role is to make sure that students know that disability accommodations are available to anyone who needs/qualifies for them. My job is also to work with the student to submit a accommodations request to the proper channels.
I learnt to treat all our students the same even those with disabilities. Treating them with respect and care making sure not to discriminate . not to ask personal questions as to about their disability .
Exit Criteria should not be referred to when establishing Entry Criteria.
As with the rest of the continuing education module, this section continued to be though provoking on where "the line" is between appropriate and inappropriate, legal and illegal.
Congress estimated that there where 57 million people with disabilities in 1990 which developed the Americans Disability Act (ADA). However, the interesting component is that more votes of higher majority came before Legislation than any other bill in 50 years.
It is important not to stereotype or discriminate people with disabilities. You can not assume what the disability is. Accommodation and respect is the key to treat these people equally.
I learned how to approach students with disabilities since it is completely ok to acknowledge any physical abilities only if the questions pertain to how classroom instruction will be given.
Remember to tell students "what to do" instead of, "how to do it"
My role, as a dean of nursing, is to ensure we are following the law and treating students with disabilities as a "person", nothing less, nothing more. At the same time, we must be cognizant that we are meeting their needs "to access" the learning journey that gives them the potential for success.
Comment on Jodi Elston's post:
Jodi, I had no idea about half of these areas discussed in these module. What a vast area.. one of the most striking ones was the basic concept that we are not supposed to ask personal questions about the student’s disability..
While it is easy to focus on the student's disability, it's important to remember that the student wants to be treated like any other student.
Be tactful when finding out if a student has a disability.
