Changes in Services for Students with Disabilities

Disability Services will become - Accessible Learning Services

After consultation with both internal stakeholders and a review of other
institutions, Disability Services will be changing their name to
Accessible Learning Services as of June 1st, 2010. All forms, materials
and website information will be changed to accurately reflect the new
name. More information on this change will be forthcoming to the
Sheridan Community.

In addition to the name change our office would like to welcome two new
full-time staff people to the Davis Campus.

Theresa Cheng was the successful candidate for the Disability Services
Advisor at the Davis Campus. I am pleased that Theresa will be able to
continue to be with us on on a full-time basis at Sheridan. Theresa has
been working part-time in the role for almost the last two years. She
has a strong commitment to students and I look forward to her continuing
her work with our Davis team. Theresa holds a Bachelors Degree in
Psychology from the University of Toronto, and is currently working on
her Learning Strategist Certificate from Cambrian College. Her previous
work experience included time with Epilepsy Mississauga and the Yee Hong
Long Term Care Centre.

Sabrina Lakhani has accepted the Clerk- Receptionist role at the Davis
Campus. Some of you may remember Sabrina when she worked at the
Trafalgar Campus in Disability Services/Counselling. In addition to
working at Sheridan, Sabrina has worked at George Brown College and
TD/Waterhouse Canada in support functions. Sabrina holds a Advanced
Financial Planning Diploma from George Brown

Please join me in welcoming both Theresa and Sabrina.

Paralympics 2010: A legacy certain to inspire

Record-setting Games for Canada deliver a message of acceptance, inclusion and excellence. See more about the paralympics.
http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/783153--paralympics-2010-a-legacy-certain-to-inspire

Seven Principles of Universal Instructional Design

Seven Principles of Universal Instructional Design

Compiled from North Carolina State University's Principles of Universal Design and Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

1.Determine the essential components of the course
Identify the knowledge and skills students must attain to successfully complete the course.

2.Provide clear expectations and feedback
Be sure your expectations and feedback convey the essential components of the course.

3.Explore ways to incorporate natural supports for learning
Some disability-related accommodations benefit all students; explore ways to infuse these natural supports in your courses.

4.Provide multimodal instructional methods
Students learn in a variety of ways; seek opportunities to use all seven of James' and Galbraith's learning styles.

5.Provide a variety of ways for demonstrating knowledge
Create alternative ways for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills (e.g. option of writing a research paper or completing a presentation).

6.Use technology to enhance learning opportunities
Put materials on-line, arrange for course listservs, select software that is compatible with screen readers.

7.Encourage faculty-student contact
Invite students to use e-mail and your available office hours to ask questions and solicit feedback.

Adapted - Ryerson University

HEQCO Report

I would encourage all to the read the new HEQCO report relased today. Talks about both disability participation and trends.

http://www.heqco.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/TARRP.pdf

Social Inclusion in Ontario

For those who are interested in the issues of social inclusion:

http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/page/community%20living%20leaders/ezlist_item_21b8bd04-9f6d-4165-bd24-c597645fe7e6.aspx

New Book of Interest! - Absent Citzens Disability Politcs and Policy in Canada

Disability exists in the shadows of public awareness and at the periphery of policy making. People with disabilities are, in many respects, missing from the theories and practices of social rights, political participation, employment, and civic membership.

Absent Citizens brings to light these chronic deficiencies in Canadian society and emphasizes the effects that these omissions have on the lives of citizens with disabilities. Drawing together elements from feminist studies, political science, public administration, sociology, and urban studies, Michael J. Prince examines mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion, public attitudes on disability, and policy-making processes in the context of disability.

Absent Citizens also considers social activism and civic engagements by people with disabilities and disability community organizations, highlighting presence rather than absence and advocating both inquiry and action to ameliorate the marginalization of an often overlooked segment of the Canadian population

Inclusive Education Works!

This article talks about research on inclusive education, more importantly the positive benefits that those with and without disabilities receive from being in the same classroom - together.

http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/page/community%20living%20leaders/ezlist_item_e82e8296-4807-41c1-8747-5f5f58fb3720.aspx

Canada makes rights of disabled a foreign policy focus

Promoting the rights of disabled people around the world will become a key foreign policy focus for Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said at the United Nations Thursday.

Cannon made the declaration after delivering Canada's ratification of the world body's Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

For more information go to:
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Canada+makes+rights+disabled+foreign+policy+focus/2674655/story.html

'You just don't look disabled' - Beyond Disabilities

People come up to Aimee Mullins all the time and say, "you know, I have to tell you, you just don't look disabled."

The record-setting athlete, actress and model says, "And it's sweet because I know that they're confused, and they're telling me this because they know I'm missing both legs from the shin down, but they're presented with this package of a highly capable young woman. This has happened all over the world. I tell them it's interesting because I don't feel disabled."

She believes that people are not born disabled. "It's society that disables an individual by not investing in enough creativity to allow for someone to show us the quality that makes them rare and valuable and capable."

Mullins was born without fibula bones and was expected to use a wheelchair to get around. Her legs were amputated below the knees when she was a year old. She learned to walk, bike, swim and play sports using prosthetics.

While a student at Georgetown University, she competed in the NCAA Division I, using pioneering carbon-fiber prosthetic devices designed to imitate the hind legs of a cheetah. At the Paralympics in 1996, she set world records in several track events, drawing attention that landed her on magazine covers and in one media

for more info go to:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/09/mullins.beyond.disability/index.html?hpt=Mid

Paralympic Games 2010 start this weekend!

The Paralympic Games start on March 12th. Be sure to bookmark the following site:

Persons with Disabilities Online

A great resource for information is Persons with Disabilities Online which is a federal government initiative. This provides links to information and services for people with disabilities all across Canada.

http://www.pwd-online.gc.ca

You Tube Auto-Captioning!

Popular online video sharing service YouTube, has made available a nifty auto-caption feature to all its users, which will enable them to watch their favorite YouTube videos in the language of their choice, but for now, the service only offers auto-caption for videos in English.

YouTube, which was acquired by search engine giant Google in 2006, has emerged as the most popular video sharing service on the world wide web and has over a billion page views every day.

According to a statement released by the company, YouTube's auto-caption feature is based on the text-to-speech algorithms that runs on Google Voice, which automatically generates captions for the video being played.

Google claims that the auto-caption feature will be able to support 50 languages that will broaden the already massive user base enjoyed by the company.

Interestingly, the addition of the feature, which went into beta testing in November last year, will allow people with hearing impairments to enjoy YouTube's large selection of videos and also allow people to watch videos in crowded places.

Article continues after advert However, the feature is not entirely accurate and users have reported a few minor glitches with the way the feature displays the text although we suspect that Google will come up with a crowdsourcing functionality that, like Google Translate, allows users to correct the errors themselves.

Faculty/Staff Guides

As part of our commitment to make learning accessible for students with
disabilities, we have re-developed our faculty/staff page to better
inform and provide support around accommodations and support of students
with disabilities. The site now features the following:

- A Down loadable Handbook for all Faculty/Staff
- Tips and Presentations
- Fact Sheets on Disability Issues
- Accessible Learning Blog

http://www.sheridaninstitute.ca/Services/Student%20Learning%20Services/Disability%20Services/Faculty-Staff/Guide%20to%20Disabilities%20and%20Academic%20Accommodations.aspx

We encourage ongoing and open communication on disability related
issues. Please feel free to contact our offices if you require any
assistance or support.

Questions and Comments

Faculty and staff are sometimes unclear as to what they should or could be doing to assist those with disabilities in tehir classrooms/offices. Sometimes this is a result of not knowing the process for accommodation or may be they might feel uncomfortable addressing concerns. Staff in Disability Services, are awlays available to consult or help!

Stages of Autism Conference in Hamilton -April 19th and 20th

The 1st ever Stages of Autism: Adolescence & Beyond Conferences saw 300 delegates and our 2nd Conference grew to almost 500 in attendance and included parents, educators, healthcare practitioners & world renowned specialist in the field of Autism from across Canada, US & Europe. We are once again producing another highly informative and multifaceted conference with a superb line-up of top notch speakers and early registration is greatly encouraged!For more info

http://woodview.ca/Conference/index.html

Temple Grandin - TED Talks

Temple Grandin sees her autism as a gift, not a disability. The professor at Colorado State University, who has become a prominent animal rights activist, spoke at the recent TED Conference in California about how people's brains work in different ways -- and how that's something that should be appreciated, not stigmatized.

http://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html

UWO - Ombudperson's Report

The University of Western Ontario recently released their annual ombudsperson's report. The report highlighted some of the issues students were facing at Western regarding their academic experience and accommodation. Certainly provides food for thought for all in terms of working with students with disabilities.

I encourage you to read the full report at:
http://www.uwo.ca/ombuds/reports/AR2008-09.pdf