University of Arkansas at Little Rock

From the residence hall area, there is an accessible route by going through the Wesley Foundation parking lot, which hooks up to the sidewalk just west of the parking deck.

The Fine Arts elevator is being modernized and therefore is out of service. Work will be completed by August 30th for sure, and we hope by August 18th. This is the only elevator in Fine Arts, so access to the second floor will be available only via the stairs.

If further information is needed do not hesitate to call Disability Resource Center at 501.569.3143.

The pedestrian walkways (sidewalks) from the corner of Campus Drive and 32nd Street, between the Housing Complex and the Donaghey Student Center (DSC), will be closed Tuesday, July 19 through Friday, July 22, 2011. For access, you may use the sidewalk which wraps around the parking deck to gain access to the DSC, however this route is not wheelchair accessible. It is suggested that students, employees and visitors park in the deck, or otherwise avoid having to approach Campus Drive and 32nd during this time. We apologize for this disruption, and are making every effort to have the walkways available for pedestrians as soon as possible.

If further information is needed do not hesitate to call Sharon Downs, Director, Disability Resource Center at 501.569.3143 or Logan Hampton, Dean of Students at 501.569.3328.

Christopher Flint Fears started his teaching career at the Arizona State School for the Deaf in Tucson, AZ. After working for three years as an elementary and middle school teacher, he moved to Little Rock, AR where he was employed as ASL instructor at University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2003. Since 2005, he has worked at the Arkansas School for the Deaf as Campus Life Director then later as a classroom teacher. He is currently employed at the Arkansas School for the Deaf as the high school principal.

Mr. Fears has been involved in various community organizations and has served on boards such as Arkansas Association of the Deaf as 2nd vice president for two terms. He is also serving on the Arkansas Governor’s Commission on People with Disabilities and on the board of Arkansas Hands and Voices. He is also a Deaf interpreter working with Arkansas Administrative Office of the Court.

Mr. Fears earned his bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University and completed his master’s degree at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is currently studying for his Educational Specialist degree and expects to obtain his doctorate degree in a few years. He is an outstanding example of leadership in the College of Education, the department of Educational Leadership at University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is committed to the idea of life-long learning, and believes that education is the key to success in life for both children and adults. He is dedicated to the education and encouragement of children and works with his faculty and staff at the Arkansas School for the Deaf to promote a caring and fun, academic atmosphere in which the nutritional, emotional, and educational needs of young students are met.

When not at work or the University, he is busy with his ten-year-old daughter. He and his family love to spend their time traveling, swimming, and spending time with friends. Mr. Fears is an avid reader and enjoys learning about diverse cultures, photography and, naturally, Deaf culture.

The purpose of the Stacy Willis Endowed Scholarship is to fund scholarships for students with disabilities at UALR. It is named for a remarkable young woman who attended UALR, and who made an impact on everyone she met.

Applications for this scholarship are accepted every spring for the following academic year. For more information, visit the DRC website (ualr.edu/disability) any time.

Welcome to the spring semester! Here’s some information that could enrich your life (and we’re talking real money here). Read on…

Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship

Every year the DRC offers one scholarship for up to $2,500 for the following academic year. We are accepting applications now, so go to the DRC website and select “Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship” on the left to get more information or follow this link to the scholarship page. All the requirements are listed there, along with the application form. The deadline to apply is March 1.

Staff changes

John Barbuto accepted a position out of state, and left without time to say goodbye to you all, which he regrets. We will be filling the Access Consultant position soon, but in the meantime we are so fortunate to have Connie Wordlaw and Ashish Bhakta fill in on a part-time basis. They are graduates of the Rehabilitation Counseling master’s degree program at UALR and worked as interns in the DRC, so they’re very familiar with our department and have proved to be invaluable.

DIG (Disability Interest Group) on Facebook

DIG is gearing up for the semester, and we’d love for you to be involved! Join the DIG Facebook Group to keep up-to-date on activities. With everyone’s input, DIG can continue to grow and be another voice for diversity, inclusion and accessibility at UALR.  Not on Facebook?  Email Melanie Thornton at mpthornton@ualr.edu to be added to the UALRDIG email list.

CADA wants your ideas to improve accessibility

CADA, the Chancellor’s Committee on the ADA, will be meeting soon to decide how to spend the allocated funds to improve accessibility at UALR. It’s not too late to submit a request for funding! Just go to the Make A Request page and tell us what you think. The committee will consider requests made after the deadline to the extent possible.

The Story of Disability History

People with disabilities, just as other groups, share a long, rich history in the struggle for civil rights.  This group is working to bring together some of the voices of that history together on a website and YouTube channel called “It’s Our Story.”

From the web site:

“It’s Our Story is a national initiative to make disability history national and accessible. We’ve conducted over 1,000 video interviews with disability leaders across the nation; now, we’re making these voices public and accessible so everyone can take part in the discussion about what it means to be an American with a disability.”

For more information, view the It’s Our Story web site or visit the It’s Our Story YouTube Channel.

Construction at UALR

There are several construction projects currently in progress, which is making for some challenges regarding parking and pathways. To keep up with all the changes, visit the Construction website. Here are a couple of changes we know about near our department:

• The sidewalk north of Lot 1 that runs west to east is still open for foot traffic at this time, but the west part of the sidewalk near the library has been removed and replaced with grass.
• The sidewalk north of Donaghey Student Center that runs west to east will be closed very soon for several months during the construction of the One Stop Center. During that time, students will be directed to walk through the DSC to get past the construction area, and exit by the food court.

All of us at the DRC hope you are having a good start to your semester. Cheers!

Updated 2.1.2011

Welcome Students

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable summer. We also hope that you find the information below informative and helpful. Please email John Barbuto at jabarbuto@ualr.edu if you would like to reply to this message. We look forward to working with you.

The Americans with Disabilities Act and You!

Are you majoring in Education, Sociology, Psychology, Social Work or Rehabilitation Counseling? Or, might you interested in civil rights issues? If you answered yes to either question, keep reading. Ark-AHEAD and UALR are hosting a day-long informative workshop regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments (ADAAA) of 2008 and its impact on students, educational institutions and service providers. Ark-AHEAD, an affiliate of the national Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) is an organization for professionals working with people with disabilities in postsecondary education settings in Arkansas. The workshop will be on Friday, October, 15, 2010 featuring Mr. Scott Lissner, ADA Coordinator from The Ohio State University. All are welcome to attend. The registration fee includes lunch and an individual Ark-AHEAD membership through June 2011. To learn more about the upcoming workshop or to secure registration materials, please visit: www.arkahead.org.

New Voice Writing

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) is piloting a new method of providing transcribing services using Dragon NaturallySpeaking® speech-recognition software. Voice Writing (VW) is a method of transcribing that has generally only been used by court reporters. Now, we are training Dragon to help provide transcribing services to students who have a hearing loss. Traditionally, transcribing required a person to manually type each word to make a transcript of a lecture or presentation. Now, transcribers who are voice writing with Dragon simply speak into a special mask containing a microphone and the software translates the speech into printed text. The DRC will continue to explore and apply VW technology in the classroom and we look forward to fully introducing this method of transcribing to you, the campus and the State of Arkansas.

If you want to see Dragon in action, contact Alvin (azhaas@ualr.edu).

UALR Student Attends National Disability Policy Summit

Anmol Bhatia, a graduate student at UALR attended the National Disability Policy Summit this past summer in Washington D.C. to network, collaborate and learn about disability policies and programs in the 21st century on a local and national level. The summit also celebrated the 20 year anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Anmol stated, “It was really exciting to be at the South Lawn, the very place where the ADA was signed into law 20 years earlier.” The summit sought to facilitate discussions for improving the coordination of disability policies, programs, and advocacy efforts and to energize collaborative networks to guide future disability policy regarding the living, learning and earning of people with disabilities in our country. Anmol states, “I found the discussion interesting and the atmosphere open to suggestions from all participants, but the work continues and much more must be done.” Anmol is interested in facilitating a focus group on campus to continue the work and dialogue stimulated at the summit regarding issues and concerns which are critical in shaping disability policy in Arkansas and nationally. If you would like to participate in the focus group, please contact Anmol at anmolpbhatia@yahoo.com or call him at 870-245-8266.

Free Medical Services

Shepherd’s Hope Neighborhood Health Clinic serves the medical, dental and spiritual needs of the working poor who do not have insurance. The clinic is located at 2415 Fair Park Boulevard behind Oak Forest United Methodist Church. The clinic is open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5:30-9:00 p.m. If you are interested in learning more about the clinic’s services, please call Russ at 501.663.9407. To schedule a medical or dental appointment, please call 501.614.9523.

Welcome Students

We hope that everyone had a fruitful spring semester. We look forward to working with you. Please email John Barbuto at jabarbuto@ualr.edu if you would like to reply to this message.

Staff Changes at the DRC

Ashish Bhakta is a graduate rehabilitation counseling student at UALR who joined the DRC this summer to fulfill the practicum and internship requirements for his degree. Ashish will be with the DRC through the end of the fall 2010 semester. Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself to him.

Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship for 2010-2011 Awarded

The winner of the 2010-2011 Stacy Memorial Willis Memorial Scholarship has been chosen. The purpose of the Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship is to fund scholarships for students with disabilities at UALR. It is named for a remarkable young woman who attended UALR, and who made an impact on everyone she met. Learn more about this year’s recipient.

Featured Partner

The DRC regularly features a faculty or staff member who embraces diversity, disability and the concepts of universal design in their professional capacity on campus. This information can be found on the display board outside of our main office, as well as our website. If you know of someone who exemplifies these qualities, nominate by emailing Sharon Downs at sadowns@ualr.edu. We work best when we work together! Learn more about universal design.

Registration Confirmation

When students registered for classes in the past they were obligated to confirm their registration by placing a $100 deposit on their account. This deposit will no longer be required beginning July 19, 2010. After advising and registration is complete, students will have from July 19, 2010 through August 12, 2010 to confirm their registration for the fall 2010 semester. Confirmation can be completed by logging into BOSS. Once within BOSS, please click on the ‘Student Services’ tab and then the ‘Confirm Your Registration’ tab. All unconfirmed registrations will automatically be canceled after August 12, 2010. If you have any questions about this process, please call Student Accounts at 501.569.3450.

Scholarship Information

The DRC regularly gets asked about scholarship opportunities for students who live with disabilities. This website provides useful scholarship information. We have also compiled this list of other scholarships we know about. Although the scholarship information is not exhaustive, we hope it is helpful and usable.

Shifting Thoughts: Disability in the Media

by Melanie Thornton

I’ve been very interested in following the acting career of Michael Patrick Thornton–not because we share the same last name or the same initials (chuckle)–but because I think he is a great actor who, as he would say, “happens to use a wheelchair.” Michael Patrick Thornton is a regular on the ABC television series Private Practice where he plays a snarky geneticist. The character is complex and a bit dark at times pushing the limits as he applies what he is learning through his genetic research. His presence on the series offers a unique opportunity to reframe disability. The writers don’t always get it right but there have been some great topics covered. In one particularly memorable episode, Dr. Gabriel Fife, Thornton’s character, is in a power struggle with Naomi who is his boss. He raises his chair so that he is in a standing position. While it would be ideal if power and standing were not equated, it did challenge the typical perception of a person who uses a chair.

In the season finale, his colleagues struggle with a medical decision to risk losing their granddaughter or risk their daughter being paralyzed. As they weigh out the decision, Dr. Fife joins the discussion with the line, “A chair is not a death sentence,” a perspective that is shared way too seldom in the media. Not only is his character in a position to challenge the popular perceptions of disability, but Michael Patrick Thornton does so in interviews. In an interview with radaronline.com he says, “There needs to be some sort of game changer where a role needs to come along and the disability isn’t the story…it isn’t what I call [the] ‘what happen[ed] to Timmy story’ of triumph of human spirit over adversity, where it’s just another thing that’s there…like a mustache (laughs)..or the kind of car that the character drives.”

While we have a long way to go to challenge the “super human” and “pitiful” stereotypes that people have when it comes to disability, Thornton’s current role and his visibility moves us in the right direction.

Check out these blogs and links for more information:

http://www.leftybydefault.com/2010/03/28/pushing-the-boundaries/

http://media-dis-n-dat.blogspot.com/2010/03/disabled-actor-michael-patrick-thornton.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Patrick_Thornton

Focus Group on Disability Policy

Anmol Bhatia will be participating in the National Disability Policy Summit 2010 held July 25-28, 2010 in Washington D.C. The theme of the Summit is “Living, Learning & Earning”. The purpose of the theme is to launch a national dialogue on disability policies and programs in the 21st century. Anmol would like to form a focus group of people with disabilities and professionals who work with students with disabilities to provide feedback on issues, concerns which are critical for them and contribute ideas to shape disability policy for the future. He will schedule the group to meet in the Donaghey Student Center at UALR the week of the 19th of July. If you would like to participate in the focus group contact Anmol at anmolpbhatia@yahoo.com or call him at 870-245-8266.

Ashish Bhakta is the winner of the 2010-2011 Stacy Willis Memorial Scholarship. Ashish was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended public schools and graduated from Hall High School in 1998 with aspirations of becoming a medical doctor.

He says, “During my undergraduate experience at UALR, I came to the realization that I would rather prevent illness instead of treating it, so I changed my major to Health Sciences with an emphasis in Community Health Promotions.” This shift empowered Ashish to intertwine all of his passions: teaching, networking and advocacy. Ashish earned his undergraduate degree in 2005.

Ashish is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at UALR, which he anticipates completing in December 2010. Post graduation, he plans to pursue his Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) designation and would like to obtain employment with Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.

Additionally, based on Ashish’s continued passion for learning, he is also contemplating pursuing a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Education. Ashish has volunteered at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and was instrumental in starting a Disability Interest Group (DIG) on the UALR campus.

The purpose of DIG is to give students, staff and faculty a chance to come together in an informal manner and openly discuss dynamics of disability and campus life.

Although Ashish did not attend medical school, he says, “The evolution of my academic career has led me to a field of work that will empower me with many professional opportunities and experiences to make a real difference in the lives of many”. Ashish says, “This scholarship is a great gift, and it will enable me to complete the last leg of my academic journey.”

The purpose of the Stacy Willis Endowed Scholarship is to fund scholarships for students with disabilities at UALR. It is named for a remarkable young woman who attended UALR, and who made an impact on everyone she met.

Applications for this scholarship are accepted every spring for the following academic year. For more information, visit the DRC website (ualr.edu/disability) any time.

We’re in the home stretch of the semester. Here’s some information for you about accommodations, our new Featured Partner, and other interesting tidbits. Please peruse this issue and the links, and email me at sadowns@ualr.edu if you would like to reply to this message.

– Sharon Downs, Director

Accommodations Reframed

Providing individual disability-related accommodations is something UALR has done for as long as the Americans with Disabilities Act has been in place, and even before then. But something we’ve learned along the way is that often it’s the environment in which students interact that is the disabling factor. We in the Disability Resource Center are working to help create usable, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable learning environments, and a big part of that happens in the classroom. How you set up your class goes a long way in determining whether individual disability-related accommodations will be needed.

Here is some information to help you know how the accommodation process works, and, if you choose, options you can employ to lay out your class in such a way as to make it more inclusive from the beginning. We will be adding to this list. Please let us know if there is a topic you’d like us to cover!

Accommodations Reframed: Note Taking

Svetlana and the Inacessible Textbook

Our department often asserts that disability resides in the environment, not in the individual. We found a video that illustrates that idea perfectly. Watch this video about Svetlana (or this version which is has an audio description). It’s thought-provoking, and we hope you’ll take the time to view the video and discuss it with your colleagues.

DRC Staff Training in Denver

Melanie Thornton, DRC Associate Director and Director of Project PACE, recently provided leadership training in Denver, helping to spread the word about building accessible environments for our students. Full article: DRC’s Thornton Provides Leadership in National Project

Featured Partner

Catherine Lowry, coordinator of the Information Technology program, is the DRC Featured Partner. She utilizes teaching strategies that reach each and every one of her students. Full article: Catherine Lowry

Welcome Students

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) staff at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock hopes that everyone had an enjoyable spring break. We look forward to continuing to work with you. Please email Sharon Downs at sadowns@ualr.edu if you would like to reply to this message.

Getting Your Digital Books on Time

Requesting books in alternate formats is an integral part to student success each semester. Although the DRC has good working relationships with textbook publishers and organizations, we at times do not receive responses to our requests for extended periods of time. Therefore, to ensure students are prepared for class at the beginning of each semester, the DRC staff asks students to submit their requests for books in alternate format ten (10) weeks prior to the start of each semester.

If you request your books in late April, the DRC staff will have ample time to acquire and convert them. This will help you be fully prepared by the start of the summer term.

However, if you submit your request for books in alternate format in May, we cannot ensure the acquisition and conversion of your texts by the start of the summer semester.

With this in mind, please be timely in your requests for books in alternate format.

Request Books in Alternate Format:

• Go to: www.ualr.edu/disability
• Select Request Books in Alternate Format link
• Fill out the form completely and select SUBMIT at the bottom

Requests will be sent to a DRC staff member via email who will begin processing them right away.

REMINDER: Please request your books at least ten (10) weeks prior to the start of each semester.

Request Faculty Notification Letters:

• Go to: www.ualr.edu/disability
• Select the Faculty Notification Letters link
• Fill out the form completely, and select REQUEST LETTERS at the bottom

Requests will be printed by a DRC staff member right away.

REMINDER: Requests received from online students will be sent directly to faculty, via campus mail. All other requests should be picked up at the DRC by the student.

Free Cell Phones and Service*

In our digitally-driven society where cell phones and laptops are as common as carrying a credit card, REACHOUT WIRELESS™ exists to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to customers on limited budgets. To obtain assistance from REACHOUT WIRELESS™, potential customers must meet certain eligibility requirements such as receiving governmental assistance or have a total household income that is at or below the federal poverty level. The specifics of what determines a potential customer’s eligibility are specific to each state. REACHOUT WIRELESS™ service is limited to one per household, and cannot be combined with any other Lifeline and Link-Up offering. Learn more about REACHOUT WIRELESS.*

* Please note, the above-mentioned resource is provided for informational purposes only. Its inclusion in this edition of the Inside Scoop does not constitute an endorsement by UALR or the DRC.

DRC and Social Networking

Social networking sites have offered society many avenues to simultaneously access and share information. Therefore, to ensure the UALR campus and local community are up-to-date on the happenings of the DRC, we are now on MySpace and Facebook. If you have not already, please visit our pages and join our Facebook group and our MySpace group.

MyStudyBar

Learning styles are very diverse and individualistic. Regardless of learning style, technology has empowered us all to learn more efficiently. Therefore, to ensure that all learners are aware of free open source tools to enhance access and learning, the DRC wants you to know about MyStudyBar*. This tool is essentially a floating toolbar which is similar to some of the popular commercial products, particularly the literacy support programs. To a great extent MyStudyBar also offers a similar range of tools, including basic screen reading, screen masking, talking dictionary, mind mapping, text-to-speech and the ability to save text to MP3.

Please note, the screen reading software within MyStudyBar is NOT as sophisticated as JAWS and users should not expect to use MyStudyBar and JAWS interchangeably. Learn more about MyStudyBar.

*Retrieved from: http://inclusive.ning.com/group/assistivetechnology/forum/topics/mystudy-bar

Interested in a Career with the I.R.S.?

The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) has an array of exceptional employment opportunities. The I.R.S. prides itself on recruiting diverse employees with unique abilities. Moreover, the I.R.S. has a strong commitment to recruit and hire employees who live with disabilities. Learn more about the culture of the I.R.S., their perspective of disability in the workplace and their recruitment and employment processes.

Disability Interest Group (D.I.G.)

The purpose of the group is to give students, staff and faculty a chance to come together in an informal manner and openly discuss dynamics of disability and campus life. D.I.G. will meet on the third Tuesday of every month during the spring semester. All are welcome to attend. We hope to see you at the next meeting on April 20th at 1:00 in DSC 201T, during which a recruiter from the Internal Revenue Service will be on campus to discuss employment opportunities for students and graduates with disabilities.

From the Desk of Melanie Thornton

Disabling Environments

In the last issue of The Inside Scoop, I shared a brief perspective on disability and design. For this issue, I’d like to share another video that brings home the point that the problem of disability does not reside in the individual, but in the design of everyday things… such as textbooks.

Svetlana and the Inaccessible Textbook