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“Traditionally, disabled students in Montreal go to

Concordia, which is a very accessible university,” said Miller.

Accessibility can be in- terpreted as the degree to which an environment allows or limits a person to function independently. When dele- gates at the founding confer- ence of NEADS tried to es- tablish the concerns of the disabled, they looked at the limited accessibility to edu- cation for the disabled and tried to draw up specific recommendations that would improve it.

The delegates looked at the of each disability group and pointed

specific needs

out necessary improvements to the post-secondary educa- tion systems to accomodate these Hearing- impaired students attempted construct the “perfect environment” for learning which included faculty, staff, and technology geared to- wards students with hear- ing problems. The. dele- gates recommended that uni- versities budget for sign lan- guage interpreters, tele-type machines for the deaf, and

students.

to

computer print-out caption- ing for lecture material as well as specialized personel.

Learning disabled stu- dents have an “invisible” dis- ability which many

people confuse with mental retarda- tion or extremely low intel- ligence. Since most learn- ing disabled students are of average “s sug-

average above intelligence,

gested that universities need

or delegates

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to develop definitive diagnos- tic tests to detect disabilities early, perhaps in high school. Then universities can inform their professors on the spe- cial needs of the learning disabled and modify course requirements to accomodate them. Visually blind students counted im- proved access to brailled and

impaired and

taped publications and the establishment of a paid na- tional reader service as two projects that would post secondary’ education manageable. The CNIB Na- tional Library and special li- braries for the blind at Trent University and the Univer- sity of British Columbia can presently provide inter- library loans for blind uni- versity students but it is costly and often inefficient.

Mobility impaired dents probably receive the most public attention due’ to their visible disabilities and they recommend im- proved physical accessibility to universities which allows them to integrate themselves into the academic commu- nity. They were concerned that when universities make an effort to accomodate the disabled, they tend to spe- cialize their programs and facilities to one disability group, which limits opportu- nities for students with other disabilities.

But the delegates also suggested general programs that would benefit all disabled students. They strongly recommended a full time coordinator for disabled student services at each university to look after the specific needs at a partic- ular campus.

make

stu-

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At the University of Cal- gary, the coordinator works disabled

dents to the campus and the

to introduce stu-

services available to them.

The position was funded un- der a provincial government

‘grant bu. the coordinator’s

success has prompted the ad- ministration to take on her salary once the grant runs out.

~ Concordia’s utation as one of Canada’s

rep-

most accessible schools is due in part to the efforts of their full time disabled student services coordinator. Many attribute the high physical accesibility and ‘special ser- vices to the work of coor- dinator Ann Kerby. She works with several local and national disabled consumer groups to address the needs of all disability groups.

But while coordinators make valuable contributions to the post ‘secondary edu- cation of the disabled, they stress the involvement of the disabled students them- selves in improving accessi- bility. For example, the Uni- versity of Calgary disabled services coordinator is trying

to encourage disabled stu-

dents to take issues into their own hands, instead of relying totally on the coordinator. Larry McCloskey, the co- ordinator for the disabled at Carleton University, was

active inthe formation of NEADS, the national dis- abled student network be-

cause he thinks that the dis- abled need to voice their con- cerns.

“In the true spirit of

the consumer movement, dis- |

abled students will represent themselves. As a university

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employee who works with disabled

students, it has alaways seemed to me that the best way to serve my client popu- lation is to ask and to be told by those who know,” said Mceloskey.

While financial consider-

ations and physical obsta- cles create formidable bar- the and post secondary -educa- tion, disabled students feel

they are most hindered by

riers ‘between disabled

the negative attitudes people have towards their disability.

“The chances for higher education decreases with dis- ability. The disabled are under-educated and have a 80-90% unemployment rate. And since their chances of getting jobs would improve with education, it is more im- portant that disabled people get education than any other group,” said Frank Smith of NEADS.

While Smith said em- ployment is one important reason to improve access to education for the disabled, he doesn’t think it’s the only reason.

Disabled students often find themselves channeled into a vocational program de- signed to make them “pro- ductive” members of their society. Counsellors government education de- partments often urge dis- abled students into mar- ketable progrmas of study such as typing, welding or another trade.

“Education for the dis- abled is often tied into em- ployment which benefits so- ciety but not necessarily the disabled person,” said Smith.

SSS

' keep fighting for accessiblity.

with

‘disabled students take their

_ the barriers their society has

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If disabled students want to study at the university level, they are encouraged to take commerce or edu- cation instead of a general arts or science degree. They are rarely given funding to study at the graduate level or to pursue a career as a academic. University admin- istrations and governments give the disabled the dis- tinct impression that educa- tion for its own sake is a lux- ury that they should not ex- pect.

These attitudes make it increasingly important for

education into their hands. The disabled dent community

own stu- needs to But before educators and ad- ministrators will make those changes to the learning en- vironment, disabled students have to make their needs well known. The disabled com- munity has to break down

created out of ignorance or fear by sensitizing people to the realities of disabled life.

“NEADS is not just an office in Ottawa. The orga- nization is run by a student board of directors which re- flects the diversity of the or- ganization itself. There are representatives of all differ- ent regions of Canada and from all disability groups.” said Frank Smith.

“Large groups like NEADS can do a lot but stu- dents on particular campuses need to get together and tell people what they need,” said Frank Smith. ; .

THE END...

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