Fall 2001
Fall 2001
In this issue:
Message from the President
Message from the President - Louise
Bedrossian
With the start of the new academic term well under way, I hope this finds all
of you beginning to see your heads above water. There are many new challenges
ahead of us this year and your board has been busy addressing old and new tasks.
It is with sadness that I reflect on one of our very active members who will
not be part of this work. Our colleague Diane Carpenter, from Gainesville College,
lost her battle with cancer on July 17, 2001. She was well known to many of
us who shared her joyful presence. Diane leaves two adult daughters and a multitude
of appreciative students. Our thoughts are with her family. She will be sorely
missed.
GADSPHE is hoping to make a small cash award to an outstanding student with
a disability at the end of the year. We will be asking for nominations after
the holidays. Criteria will be announced at that time. In the meantime, be generous
in donating to the Carole Pearson scholarship fund. Some of you may wish to
make a donation in memory of our colleague, Diane Carpenter. Notification of
your donation will be sent to her family from our organization.
We are still actively pursuing publisher' cooperation in producing textbooks
in electronic format allowing them to be more easily accessible in alternate
formats. In addition, we have sought and received verbal backing from the Regents'
Committee on Learning Disorders. We are awaiting their letter of support in
pursuit of our request to have the BOR require that all textbooks adopted by
the system be available in electronic format. When we receive their letter,
we will approach the RACSA group, a committee of vice presidents, to inform
them of the pending request to the Board of Regents and seek their endorsement.
It is a slow process, but hopefully these actions will move us all more quickly
toward the goal of textbooks universally available in electronic format.
As a reminder to Board of Regents' institutions, last year we obtained a decision
to remove the exclusionary language from the policies governing the use of BOR
technology fees (Item #7) and that its use should not be precluded for assistive
technology for students with disabilities. Computer classrooms, labs and e-mail
systems should be accessible. Contact one of your board members if you still
need a copy of the letter from BOR in order to obtain accessible equipment or
software for your campus. Those of you in private schools, please be aware of
this issue. We will be happy to support you in your quest for accessible information
technology at your institutions.
Work for the upcoming conference is progressing rapidly. We anticipate an excellent
program with sessions of universal appeal. We have included a session on minority
issues, "hot" compliance issues as seen by OCR, improving technical
skills in operationalizing psychological evaluations we receive into accommodations
and examining a much overlooked area: program technical standards. We are making
a special effort to develop programs that will be relevant to those in technical
and private colleges and to build our relationship with Vocational Rehabilitation.
We want this organization to reflect the diversity of the membership. Please
let us know if there are issues of importance to you.
It has been said that "if you don't know were you're going, you won't
get there." The GADSPHE Board is undertaking the development of a strategic
plan, a critical activity if we are to retain our reputation as a dynamic organization.
Members are invited and encouraged to participate in this crucial activity.
Our first meeting is tentatively set for November 29-30, 2001. We will begin
about midday, stay overnight and continue until early afternoon the next day.
We will be exploring facilities that can accommodate the meeting in a location
central to our statewide membership. Notice will be sent to members when plans
are finalized. I urge you all to put this on your calendar and seriously consider
how you can contribute to the vitality and direction of our organization. We
are exploring how GADSPHE can help members with no travel money to offset some
of their expenses for this meeting as well.
As you can see, there is much activity within our organization. Be a part of
it all. Please sign up for our listserve. This can be a crucial link to our
new members and a vital resource even for veterans as we face the sticky issues
which constantly amaze me. I am grateful for the counsel of my peers and invite
you to dialog with us if you have not done so already.
I will look forward to seeing you at the conference on November 8. Plan to
stay around to mix and mingle at the post-conference reception too.
Certification: A Good Idea for the Profession
Rodney E. Pennamon, M.Ed., Student Disability Services Coordinator
North Georgia College & State University
RoseMary Watkins, EMRA, Learning Resources Director
Oglethorpe University & President, Access Now, Inc.
A committee has been formed at the direction of the GADSPHE Board to explore
the feasibility of a certification program for disability service providers
in higher education. The committee as part of its work will examine several
existing certification programs for professional counselors, social workers,
rehabilitation counselors, certified recreation therapists, assistive technology
professionals, and certified project managers to name a few. The committee will
also examine the work of several AHEAD members published in the spring 1997
issue of the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability on professional
standards for student disability service coordinators.
This research will enable the committee to make recommendations to the Board
on planning, developing, naming and implementing a certification process for
disability service providers and ADA coordinators in higher/postsecondary education.
The committee will also explore issues, concerns, obstacles and implications
based on the experiences of other related professions. The committee and the
GADSPHE Board fully recognize that this may be a daunting task for our organization
to take on. However, we also acknowledge that if we don't begin the task of
defining what we do as a profession and establish competency standards others
outside our profession will do it for us. This should not be misconstrued as
an effort by GADSPHE to weed out individuals who have been in the field for
many years and may not have all the credentials that might be required under
a newly enacted certification program. A grandfather provision would be recommended
as part of any certification program. This can be without a doubt a good thing
for our profession as we plan our future direction. Both the challenge and the
opportunities before us are exciting.
A certification survey will be forthcoming to our readers and members. It will
be available at our upcoming conference or sent to you directly. We will also
have it available for you on the GADSPHE web page. This will allow the committee
to gather some demographic data on our readers and members and to further explore
the feasibility of this effort. We would only ask that you complete and return
it to the committee. Remember that GADSPHE has always taken a lead in the field
of services for students with disabilities. We need your assistance as we undertake
what we hope will be a rewarding effort for everyone.
Questions and comments about his article can be sent to: rpennamon@ngcsu.edu or rwatkins@facstaff.oglethorpe.edu.
Name: Kimberly Godden
Institution: Valdosta State University
How long have you worked in Disability Services?
Seven years (five at VSU)
How many students are you serving?
We serve approximately 180
students that have documentation of a disability that meets our criteria for
accommodations. We serve an additional 150 students that come under the heading
of "monitoring." These students may need additional support for success
(tutoring, referrals) or may have documentation that does not yet meet criteria.
What is the largest population of students with disabilities
you serve?
Students with learning disabilities
What do you feel is one of the biggest challenges in serving
students with disabilities?
I feel that the "biggest" challenge
is providing services that meet students' needs while avoiding over-accommodation.
List types of training you are interested in attending.
I would be interested in any type of training that benefit the students provided
I can be out of the office to attend the training.
Personal Comments: Thanks for asking.
Name: Adrienne Beach-Duncan, Ed.S.
Institution: South Georgia Technical College
How long have you worked in Disability Services?
I have been in disability services for seven (7) years.
How many students are you serving?
I am presently serving over 100 students.
What is the largest population of students with disabilities
you serve?
Learning Disabilities is the greatest number of special needs students.
What do you feel is one of the biggest challenges in serving
students with disabilities?
Receiving timely notification that the student needs assistance, and documenting
the need.
List types of training you are interested in attending
Additional training, resources and information regarding working with hearing
impaired students.
Agnes Scott College - Melissa Blazek
Melissa was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of thirteen.
She currently holds a 3.0 GPA. She thanks her Disability Coordinator for educating
her instructors on how to better assist her. The only aspect of her college
experience she would change is the campus attitude about students with disabilities.
Melissa gives this word of advice to students with disabilities who are not
taking advantage of the services, "Being stigmatize is painful, but not
taking advantages of the services is even worse. For me, part of dealing with
my disability is finding ways to make my life easier and the services do that.
People will place a stigma on you regardless of whether or you take advantage
of the services or not. So why not make your life easier?"
Together We Stand: Technical Institutions
Carol Pope
The Special Populations Coordinators from the institutions in the Department
of Technical and Adult Education met at Augusta Technical College on July 20th.
Under the leadership of interim state director Barb Wilburn, the meeting provided
an opportunity for coordinators to discuss some of the current issues affecting
disability services in higher education, particularly in Georgia.
Several institutions shared the publications and forms that they have developed
to coordinate disability services. Samples included a special populations resource
handbook, equipment loan agreement forms, faculty notification forms, student
accommodations request forms, confidential information release forms, and a
statement of student responsibilities. The coordinators agreed that sharing
sample forms was extremely helpful to them in improving the functions of their
respective offices.
A variety of topics were presented for discussion; more than could be covered
in a one-day meeting! Some of the possible topics for future meetings include
a better understanding of the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act, procedures for providing accommodations to students who take classes on-line,
demonstrations and evaluations of various types of adaptive technology, and
more effective ways to coordinate with other state agencies.
Coordinators were also informed about some of the current projects that GADSPHE
is pursuing, including the e-text project and the technology fee discussions.
Everyone agreed that working together is in our best interests, and Barb Wilburn
is considering combining the next meeting with the GADSPHE fall conference.
A highlight of the day was the team-building exercise, "Stranded in the
Himalayas." Some of us found out that we probably wouldn't survive very
long, but that we had lots of friends who would go down with us!
Many thanks to Barb Wilburn for coordinating this meeting and to Marty Nabors
for hosting the meeting at Augusta Tech.
| November 8, 2001 | GADSPHE FALL CONFERENCE | See conference information at www.gadsphe.org/2001conf.html |
| October 2001 - February 2002 | ADA: THE LAW & HIGHER EDUCATION Seminar in 8 cities nationwide GROUP DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE Presented by The University of Vermont, Continuing Education Division and co-sponsored by AHEAD. |
With a dynamic, nationally known presenter, Jeanne Kincaid,
J.D., and an information-packed agenda, this 1 ½ day program is a
cost-effective professional development opportunity. FOR CITIES AND DATES, visit the program site: http://learn.uvm.edu/profprog/highered/ada/ PHONE: 800-639-3188 FAX: 802-656-3891 EMAIL: highered@ced.uvm.edu |
| October 30 - November 1, 2001 |
DEAF/BLIND EMPLOYMENT TRAINING Topics: Industry Trends - Assistive Technology in Blindness and Low Vision, Interpreting and Implementing a Low Vision Evaluation, Counselor and Consumers Responsibilities in Overcoming Barriers to Employment, Addressing the Challenges of the Deaf-Blind, and more. |
Sponsored by Georgia Department of Labor Rehabilitation
Services Registration fee: $15.00 For more information contact Dr. Bob Crouse at 770-432-7280 |
| November 3, 2001 | LDAG Annual Conference Topics: Social Skills and Development Training, Coaching/Mentoring Individuals with Learning Disabilities and /or ADHD, Organization Skills, Strategies and Techniques in Helping Children with LD and ADHA, College Counseling for LD Students, Advocacy for a Child with Special Needs and many more. |
Kennesaw State University Registration Deadline: October 21, 2001 Registration Fee: $50 members $70 non-members For more information call (678) 461-4471 or e-mail the Learning Disabilities Association of Georgia at ldaga@AOL.com |
The Disability Coordinator at Georgia Perimeter College, Mark Crenshaw, wrote
an article that was published in Ethics News & Views. If you are
interested in reading Mark's article, Disabled or Crippled?
A new ethic on ableness, visit
www.emory.edu/ETHICS/Newsletter/fall2001/crenshaw
MESSAGE FROM THE NEWSLETTER CHAIR
I hope that the Gazette was informative. Thanks to all who provided articles and shared ideas. Please feel free to contact me with topic ideas for the Spring Newsletter. It is important that you offer input.
Thank you for supporting GADSPHE and affording me the opportunity to serve as the Newsletter Chair for 2001-2002.
To obtain more information about the GADSPHE's Fall Conference, please visit www.gadsphe.org or call Caroline Gergely at 404-463-9044.
Tangie Key, Newsletter Chair
GADSPHE Newsletter
c/o Tangie Key, Newsletter Chair
Student Support Services
800 Wheatley Street
Americus, GA 31709
Phone: 229-931-2661
Fax: 229-931-2832
Email: tkey@canes.gsw.edu