A Welcoming Campus is Accessible to All

Marla Herron, Kathy Rose-Mockry, & Dot Nary

Presentation ObjectivesUnderstand the prevalence of those with disabilities at KU and in American society

Identify 3 common types of barriers that face people with disabilities – architectural, attitudinal and communication - and recognize examples of each

Recognize the role of Student Success Staff in addressing these barriers

Why Does This Matter to Student Success Professionals?

To ensure equal opportunity in fulfilling KU’s mission of education, research and service to Kansans

To benefit from the talent and potential of people with disabilities

To promote diversity on campusTo comply with state and federal regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

A New Resource: KU Disability Network

Goals: to facilitate communication about disability issues in the KU community, raise awareness, and provide support

http://www.registrar.ku.edu/kudisability network

disnet@ku.edu

Students with Disabilities at KU--2006

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mb

er o

f S

tud

ents

ADHD

Learning

Medical

Psychiatric

Blind/Low vision

Deaf/HoH

Brain Injury

Dexterity

Mobility

Type of Disability

Disability Prevalence--National

Typically estimated that one person in five over the age of 5 has a disability (20%)

Numbers are increasing due to several phenomena: advances in medical technology, longer life spans, veterans surviving combat

Disability Prevalence--Kansas

14% uninstitutionalized people of age 5 and over have at least one disability (352,606 Kansans)

12.1% of working-age adults have a disability

Census Bureau Website http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/2005acs.html

What Hinders Us from Achieving a Welcoming Climate?

3 common types of barriers

Architectural

Attitudinal

Communication

Barrier Removal

What is the problem?

What is the solution(s)?

Whose responsibility is it to implement the solution(s)?

Being a good ally – What are some options?

Create a welcoming workplace climate by Including people with disabilities in recruitment efforts and hiring practices

Creating a barrier-free, inclusive workplace

Facilitating discussion about diversity awareness/promotion efforts

Being a good ally – What are some options? (cont.)

Be aware of campus policies related to disability, inclusion

Make programs and meetings accessible (e.g., meeting space, program materials, ability to participate)

Being a good ally – What are some options? (cont.)

Be aware of disability issues across the lifespan– empower and support

Understand the power of languageHelp others to make connections and locate resources—serve as a “bridge”

KU Campus Resources

Academic Achievement and Access Center

Human Resources/Equal OpportunityAbleHawksSpecial Education DepartmentKU Professionals for DisabilityArchitectural Barriers CommitteeResearch and Training Center on Independent Living, Lifespan Institute

“Congress [has] acknowledged that society's accumulated myths

and fears about disability and disease are as handicapping

as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairment.”

Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.  480 U.S. 284

“Disability used to signal the end of active life. Now it is a common

characteristic of a normal lifespan. Sooner or later it will occur in the lives of most people, surely in the life of every family.”

Justin Dart, 1995

“We can go nowhere until you can go everywhere.”

Gloria Steinem, addressing a group of disability activists