Comments on: Accommodation is Not “Special Treatment”

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:49:30 +0000

meloukhia,

What an excellent post. I love the sidewalk example you gave where people walking arm in arm break up to let someone pass. I love the way you worded the entire post to stress what ACCOMMODATION really means, and I really loved the fact that you explained things until your dad had a light bulb moment.

This closing was perfect:

“Accommodation is the key to the front door. And everyone’s entitled to have a key to the front door, people”.

Indeed.

Jeanne
Jeanne´s last blog ..Shopping From Home… Update

By: harlemjd

harlemjd — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:25:38 +0000

How is making doors wide enough for wheelchairs (to use one accessability need)any different from makeing them tall enough for everyone to get through? Or how is making sure there are ramps any different from making sure steps aren’t too tall for people to use them? OR putting electric lights or windows in a school for the blind so that the sighted teachers/guests/maintenance workers can see?

By: liz

liz — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:21:01 +0000

Thank you enormously. I really appreciate your feedback!

By: Kassiane

Kassiane — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:04:20 +0000

With 1.7 million for classrooms, I’d change the lights from godawful florescents to something that doesn’t flicker, and/or get netbooks with text to speech & screen readers & large print all ready to go (many linux variants have those packages & linux is usually free). You can get a LOT of netbooks for 1.7 million.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:21:08 +0000

Everest isn’t a bad analogy in a small way. The guides that live in the area can go much further up, I think, without resting and without extra oxygen. Does that mean no one should be allowed to climb Everest if they need to make camp sooner or carry extra oxygen?

By: Adrian

Adrian — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:03:47 +0000

Liz at 8 asks about the most efficient use of 1.7 million dollars for outfitting elementary school classrooms with assistive technology. I think a lot of that depends on your starting point. Some schools have very limited computer hardware, perhaps only in libraries and specialized computer classrooms. Others have networked computers with audio capability in every classroom, before they start working on accessibility per se. 1.7 million can get you a LOT of text-to-speech capability, audio notetaking, and voice recognition software for people with difficulty using their hands. Scanners and large monitors are also useful, but perhaps 1/class rather than 1/student.

Because you are looking at capital expenditure, rather than ongoing funding, ergonomics is tricky. Adaptive equipment needs to FIT, both the needs of the child and the size of the child. There might be some value in having a box of different sizes and types of pointing devices and keyboards, so a teacher can change them if a child is having trouble.

If the classrooms aren’t physically accessible, that would need to be addressed first. Kids who can’t get into the room can’t learn there. You may be able to get things like ramps, lighting, and ventilation paid for with another line of the budget, but they are critical.

By: ASDKids2

ASDKids2 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:24:36 +0000

Great post. I too love the analogy of people walking on the sidewalk, because it so beautifully illustrates that accommodating is what people naturally do for those they perceive as part of their community. The sidewalk is for everyone, so naturally, we move aside so as not to impede others.

By: ADHD PhD

ADHD PhD — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:16:06 +0000

Liz — I don’t know if this would be more of a media rather than an accessibility thing, but one of the first things I thought of would be to give teachers a small wireless microphone to clip on their shirt, and then pipe the sound to speakers in different parts of the room. My middle school classrooms had a system like that; and it made it much easier to hear and pay attention, especially when the teacher was moving around the room.

By: Joanna

Joanna — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:26:07 +0000

Thanks for this reminder about the importance of talking about accomodations to my students. I always put our university’s statement about access, rights and resources for students with disabilities in my syllabus and talk about it on the first day. On the other hand, I have hesitated to tell them that I have an invisible chronic illness and that sometimes I may take more time grading their papers because I am ill. I believe that being open about it would be a good thing, yet I also know that it can be viewed as “making excuses” or used against me in evaluations. I am going to consult the Disability Center on campus about whether or not I should include a statement about MY need for accomodation in the syllabus.

By: liz

liz — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:15:58 +0000

I have a question about classroom assistive technologies: If you had 1.7 million dollars to spend on assistive technologies for elementary school classrooms and needed to outfit as many classrooms as possible, what technology would you choose? This is a one-time expenditure, so it can’t be used for salary (except for training on the use of the technology) “The funds must improve student achievement for students with disabilities.”

So what would you spend the money on?