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You must be the change you want to see in the
world. -Mahatma Gandhi
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A Conversation to facilitate with Faculty and
Staff
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Re-thinking the Disability Paradigm

• Randall Ward, M.A., LPC
• Director Disability Resource Center
• Eastern Michigan University

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Ground Rules forConversations

• Create a safe and open environment to grapple
  with, and mull over concepts.
• Recognize differing opinions come from different
  backgrounds, but all are with good intentions.
• A willingness to examine what it is we think we
  know, and challenge ourselves to see where we can
  think differently.
• Allow ourselves to freely add to the pool of
  meaning.

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Small Group Discussion

• 1. What do Faculty often request that we cover?
• 2. What does administration ask us to review?

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Sometimes when we take a risk the rewards exceed
our expectations.

• Invited to present at the end of a week long
  faculty development event hosted by Academic
  Affairs.
• 1 of 3 panel members, the other 2 were faculty.
• We were at the end of a long week for selected
  faculty whose focus was redesigning a course.
• Earlier in the week the traditionally
  identified diversity centers presented.
• Did not know about the faculty feedback that
  would arrive later.

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The Take Away For Me

• Randalls talk brought home the issue of what we
  face at college level because the students come
  to us with their K-12 experiences.
• I find the idea of shifting from a medical
  model of disability to a social justice model
  to be provocative and compelling.
• Wards presentation was a wonderful and
  effective introduction to the social construction
  of disability and quite thought-provoking.
• the changing paradigm and that the deficit
  model of disability is inappropriate

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Faculty and Staff are Ready for this Conversation.

• Let me share with you what I shared with them.

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Social Construct

• By Definition Any phenomenon invented or
  constructed by participants in a particular
  culture or society, existing because people agree
  to behave as if it exists or follow certain
  conventional rules (Wikipedia).
• Acting/thinking without challenging or
  questioning why the construct is shaped as it is.

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Historically the Disability Social Construct
reflects the Medical Model.

• Disability is a deficiency or abnormality.
• Being disabled is negative or less than.
• Disability resides in the individual.
• The remedy for disability-related problems is
  cure or normalization of the individual.
• The agent of remedy is the professional who
  affects the arrangements between the individual
  and society with a focus on the person.

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A Media Lens of Disability

• madd best friend 1 - YouTube

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An Advertisement
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Medical Model leads to a Social Welfare Approach

• Sort, label, and determine eligibility.
• Retrofit activities to fit needs
  (accommodations).
• Offer segregated or parallel services.
• Disabled students are needy clients.
• Disabled students have to ask (self-advocate) to
  be included in a system (classroom) or society
  that does not fit the individual otherwise.

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A History with Lots of Viewers

• Jerry Lewis speaks about the disabled and
  Jerrys Orphans.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v5tM4tTUMwGE

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Lets explore a Different Model

• Social Justice and Civil Rights Model
• Based on the concepts of human rights and
  equality.
• Demands that people have equal rights and
  opportunities.
• Full inclusion and participation.
• Freedom from discrimination.

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By Reframing the Concept of Disability, we are
called to see that

• Disability is a difference.
• Disability, in itself, is neutral.
• Disability is derived from the interaction
  between the individual and society/environment.
• The environment is the focus of remedy and the
  agent of intervention can be anyone who can
  affect the design of an environment.

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Social-Political Model of Disability

• Human variation is natural and vital in the
  development of dynamic communities.
• Disability is a social/political category that
  includes people with a variety of conditions who
  are bound together by common experiences
  (oppression and marginalization).
• Inclusion and full participation are a matter of
  social justice and civil rights.

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Continued

• Design is powerful and profoundly influences our
  daily lives.
• Good design is essential for achieving inclusion
  and full participation.
• Creating usable, equitable, sustainable, and
  inclusive environments is a shared responsibility.

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The Faculty-Student Interface

• Faculty are the Designers of the classroom
  experience.
• Students sign up for classes without a lot of
  information about the design and delivery of
  course content.
• Students rely on what other students have said
  about our classes. How reliable is that?
• At this stage, we rely on accommodations that are
  developed with DRC staff and students and result
  in a Letter of Accommodation.

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The Student Lens

• A Study conducted to gain insight from SWDs
  regarding Barriers to Using DS Office.
• Marshak, L. et al. (2010). Exploring barriers to
  college student use of disability services and
  accommodations. Journal of Postsecondary
  Education and Disability, 22(3), 151-165.

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Student Feedback Regarding Barriers to
Approaching DS Office

• Identity Issues
• Desire to shed stigma of high school identity.
• Desire to not integrate the presence of
  disability into their identity.
• Desire for self-sufficiency.
• Insufficient Knowledge
• Question fairness of receiving accommodations.

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• Insufficient Knowledge (cont.)
• Confusion about accessibility and ODS services.
• Lack of training in how to explain their
  disability to others.
• Desire to Avoid Negative Social Reactions
• Fear of resentment of other students for special
  treatment.
• Not wanting to be singled out.

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Barriers Continued

• Perceived Quality and Usefulness of Services
• Expediency of service delivery.
• Lack of compatibility with accommodations.
• Negative Experiences with Professors

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Where Does This lead Us?

• We work on multiple planes.
• Faculty and staff are key partners.
• Students come to us influenced by their K-12
  experiences.
• The DRC is responsible for student
  accommodations, and approach this recognizing
  design and delivery of course content is crucial.
• The 3 parties need to dialogue with each other in
  an effort to design a more accessible educational
  environment.
• We can think in terms of Universal Design.

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What Have Some of You Experienced?

• Opportunities?
• How Might Our Work Look Different Going Forward!
• Approach you have taken?
• Concerns?

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What Opportunities Do We Have to Influence our
Campus Environment?

• New Faculty training through Faculty Development.
• TA and GA Orientation.
• Develop a Faculty Advisory Council.
• Academic Advisers
• Diversity Events
• Individual Teachable Moments.
• At the Academic Department Level.
• Friendly Faculty and Faculty Requests.
• Disability Studies Book Club.

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Council for the Advancement of Standards in
Higher Education

• Are we using the CAS standards to help us shape
  our campus culture?

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Questions Comments

• Thank you for your Time.