Consideration for students with disabilities

Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders

April 9-12, 2014Lynnett Van Slyke, CRC

Director Disability Resources and Services

University of Pittsburgh

Disability LawsSection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • prohibits discrimination of handicapped individuals from any

entity receiving federal funds

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) • prohibits discrimination against any qualified individual with

a disability. Defines who is an individual with a disability and mandates appropriate aids or services

The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)• revises the definition of “disability” to

more broadly encompass impairments that substantially limit a major life activity.

Disability Laws

How does the College meet its obligations under the ADAAA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act?

• Modifying policies and practices of the college.• Reduced course load• Extending clinical rotation (reducing days in the clinic)

• By providing auxiliary aids and services/accommodations.• Interpreters• Assistive technology

How does the College meet its obligations under the ADAAA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act?

• Removing architectural barriers• Installing power doors• Assigning student to accessible clinical site

• Establishing procedures for effective communication• Clearly established policies and procedures for

requesting accommodations

The Process• Student

– Meet the academic/technical standards of the program– Contact the disability office and schedule an intake

appointment– Submit appropriate documentation to disability office– Request academic accommodations– Participate in the interactive process (faculty, DS provider,

clinic supervisor)– Contact disability office if accommodations are not being

implemented

The Process• Disability Services Responsibility

– Determine disability status– Maintain appropriate updated documentation– Engage in a conversation regarding academic

accommodations– Engage the appropriate faculty in the interactive process to

determine reasonable accommodations– Educate clinical faculty about the implementation of

reasonable accommodations and other relevant disability matters

The Process• Faculty Responsibility

– Refer student to disability office– Participate in the interactive process to determine

reasonable accommodations – Assist with implementation of reasonable accommodations– Hold student accountable to academic/clinical standards of

the program

STUDENT

DISABILITY OFFICE

CLINICAL FACULTY

ACCOMMODATION

Meghan Wilson's impossible dream to be doctor comes trueParalyzed 17 years ago, she gets her M.D. from Pitt Monday.

May 19, 2013 Pittsburgh Post Gazette

                                                               

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Meghan Wilson chats with her personal aide, Laura Leigh Watson, 20, on their way to a meeting at the School of Medicine in April

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/meghan-wilsons-impossible-dream-to-be-doctor-comes-true-688258/#ixzz2UtWEtQp5

• Student who is low vision (birth) is admitted into the SOM – Admitted in 2000, no technical standards – Multiple problems with technology – Established precedent that SOM procures technology (magnifier for ENT care)– Agree to loan technology to UPMC for residency

• Student who is an individual with a spinal cord injury (C-4/5) is admitted into the SOM– Established technical standards are waived (2005)– University is committed to non standard degree program– Student agrees to pay for all required intermediary services*– Clinical faculty determine what procedures/courses can be done by intermediary or waived

• Student who is blind (acquired) is admitted DPT– Technical standards were not established (2009)– Significant problems with came into play for accessing images in textbooks, etc. School takes

on responsibility for hiring pictorial describer– No ability to make EMR’s accessible– Student could not effectively/safely execute procedures on patients – Student is dismissed from program– OCR investigated no discrimination

• Student who is congenital dominate arm amputee is admitted into SON Nurse Anesthesia masters degree program– Student did not disclose disability – Multiple problems with technology – Long delays in waiting for CDC and other regulatory agencies approval for prosthetic

equipment in OR– Hospital staff not willing to work with student

What we learned

1. Disability office must be actively engaged in the process.

2. Disability office must actively and continuously educate the health sciences community about the rights of students with disabilities.

3. Department faculty must continually be engaged in the process.

4. Clinical faculty and staff at clinical sites must be actively engaged in the process

5. The interactive process must continue at all levels