(Full Transcript)

John Barbuto
Access Consultant
UALR Disability Resource Center

The Medicaid system, the public-assistance system, the Social Security system - these organizations would send out contradictory mail everyday. And it would confuse people in the community, and they had nowhere to go. I tell people this with 100 percent honesty. Lately, I've always been a helper. I've always been a counselor. All my friends and family tell me, "You're such a great listener, John." But here's the thing - through personal experience of living with a disability, working with local and federal government, I didn't go into counseling because I knew I was innately good at counseling. The reason I chose specifically rehabilitation counseling was because I wanted to utilize my personal experience of living with a disability, working with local government and federal government, to help consumers, clients and customers effectively navigate this system to ensure their basic needs were met while maintaining their dignity - with their dignity. That's the primary reason I chose the field I'm in.

I'll be very, very honest with you. I've always known that I could be successful - academically, professionally. But our society at times is a very, very cruel environment. Many, many years ago, when I graduated from undergrad - you know, it's the hardest thing to prove - but I experienced a lot of employment discrimination. I had people, employers, ecstatic to meet me on paper when they read my resume but when I walked in as an individual with a disability, it was a different story. I worked in local independent living facilities and nonprofit organizations that received United Way funds.

My primary responsibility is working with our students who live with disability. The disabilities range from the nonvisible ADHD to physical disability and mobility disabilities such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries. So it's the full gamut. For example, we have graduation coming up - commencement. We have an individual student who's registered with our office who has difficulty walking long distances, so we need to ensure that there's a padded seat at each end of the stage so that he can sit. When it's his turn to receive his diploma, he can walk, receive his diploma, you know, wave to his loved ones and his friends, and then at the end, be seated comfortably so that he can participate actively in the commencement. So primarily most people think it's academic in nature, but anything related to disability access on campus - in the classroom, on the web, anything you can imagine. And I take no credit for that. Where I give the credit is to Susan Quellar, Sharon Downs, and Melanie Thornton - the people who were here before me - because they established the credibility and respect of the campus for this center. I've been fortunate enough to be brought in because of my skill set, and my knowledge, and passion for individuals who live with disabilities.

The common pitfall is not knowing where to go in your community to get appropriate, seamless, reputable answers to your questions. Seriously. If nothing else, and I mean this wholeheartedly and completely, I love being a counselor by trade. It's something I love to do. But I actually consider myself an information and referral specialist. At the end of every meeting I have with a student or family or a parent, I will conclude my conversations with "If you need anything, let me know." It doesn't have to be disability related. If someone's on this campus and can't get the answer to their question or don't know where to go, they come to me. I may not know the answer, but my belief is that as long as I tell them the truth - that I don't know - I will find the answer for them.

I think that living with a disability or not, the transition from high school to college is what I call a reality check sometimes. In a lot of high schools - public or private - there's a lot more one-on-one attention, there's a lot more structure, and things of that nature. Again, living with a disability or not, a lot of our incoming freshmen and transfer students possibly have difficulty being self-directed. Structuring their time and seeking out services where needed, where in high school - in all of my experience, in all of my years - the teacher or instructor always recognized the potential difficulty and approached the student with a potential idea.

My credentials are one of a counselor. I tell people all the time, "It's OK to have a bad day. You know if you ever need to come kick, scream, or holler in a nonjudgmental, closed environment, feel free to come to me. I will listen, and I will help you process. But I will help you process both sides of the coin." People may be struggling, but again to know that they have a resource that they can come to without having to worry about payment, without having to worry about things of that matter, where they can just vent. I can watch them blossom as the blood comes back to their face because it's like, "Wow. He's here to listen."

One of the primary reasons that I chose to work at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock - out of all the universities that I could have worked within - is that this Center and this University's philosophy on disability. There are three reasons I chose UALR. First and foremost, I already mentioned my successful relationship with this Center as a student. Secondarily, this University is very unique in that it accepts and views disability as one's uniqueness and part of diversity. So, living with a disability contributes to the campus community's diversity. So we take a stance back from the traditional model where we need a doctor to tell us what is wrong with a student. Instead, we make the student the expert on his or her disability. I come in, and we collaborate; our students collaborate with myself and Sharon Downs and Melanie Thornton to come up with a plan that is most effective for that individual's learning style based on their self report and their knowledge of their disability specifically. The last reason that I came here professionally was because of the leadership that this Center had. I knew that I wanted to transition to higher education to pursue higher education - a law degree and/or a doctorate. Being new to the field, I have the belief that if I want to be the best eventually, I need to learn from the best. Susan Susan Quellar is and was an amazing director and leader in the field of disability service. So those are my three primary reasons for choosing this University.

My ultimate goal is to always continue to work in some kind of disability service, but I also have come to the realization from the opportunities that I have had that I have a lot to give - not only just in a counseling role. As of August, I will complete my second master's. I recently applied to law school at Bowen. I do - as crazy as this sounds - I do want to get a PhD as well. As I continue to pursue my education, be a professor of sorts, maybe in the counseling realm, maybe in disability studies. I'd like to intertwine all those passions - teaching, counseling, advocacy, and leadership - in some way.

 

(Special thanks to Tonya Smith from the UALR Office of Communications for transcribing this interview. If you would like to assist with transcribing spoken voice to text on a "Difference Makers" feature, please contact wastephens@ualr.edu. )