PVCC Puma Press: December 2002

Second year PVCC student Jamie Foster is poised to succeed. A certified EMT, Jamie works part-time on campus, attends classes and is an active campus club member.

Foster also has epilepsy, a language-based learning disability and cerebral palsy that limits mobility on the left side of her body.

Like Foster, 300 PVCC students currently claim a disability, and seek assistance from the Disability Resource Center, says Donna Young, DRC Manager.

The DRC, helps students with disabilities ranging from physical to mental impairment. According to the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the disability must substantially limit one or more life activities.

Learning is considered a major life activity, says Young.

At PVCC, once a student submits documentation verifying a disability, the DRC can help, based on the American Disabilities Act of 1990.

The ADA was not created to give students with disabilities preferred treatment, but to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities and to create equal opportunity for learning and equal treatment.

There is a difference between equal and "special" treatment, explains Young. The DRC aims to create a learning environment in which all students are "equal," says Young. "It’s not special," she says. "No one gets an advantage."

Students with disabilities have adjustments to make when transitioning from high school to college, says Young. The environment for students with disabilities entering college shifts. The K-12 curriculum is often times adapted to fit the needs of disabled students because all are entitled to free public education in those grades. At the college level, students are no longer entitled to education; they must be eligible. Being eligible means students with disabilities must complete the same curriculum required of all students. DRC provides the accommodations to create equal access to education.

For Jamie, this means she’s allowed extra time on exams, a note taker in class, and access to books on tape. For others, it may mean an interpreter, Braille books, a scribe or reader. The DRC supplies services to create an equal learning environment, depending on a student’s need. However, one service the DRC doesn’t supply is free education.

Students with disabilities are still subject to the same costs and academic expectations of students without disabilities. If a blind student requests a text in Braille, the student must first buy the text from the campus bookstore. The DRC will then take the book and have it translated into Braille.

PVCC also holds students with disabilities to the same code of conduct as students without disabilities. Instructors have the right to remove a disruptive student from class, for example, regardless of a disability.

For Donna Rebadow, PVCC psychology faculty, students with disabilities present challenges and rewards. Her first student with a disability was deaf. The DRC supplied an interpreter, and Rebadow learned to be conscious of the student’s needs.

"I was amazed at how this changed everything that I did in the classroom that semester," she says. “I wrote on the board more, I made more overhead projection sheets, more handouts and talked a lot slower and waited for the interpreter to finish signing before I would start new material."

Rebadow sees improved support for students at PVCC, but thinks more can be done. She says PVCC must focus on safety and accessibility for students with disabilities. She would also like to see adaptive computers in each classroom and more awareness among students.

Improvements are in the works, according to Young, who’s been the DRC Manager for only one year. Young’s goals are to expand the DRC scope, including:

Accessible disability information and resources. Policies and procedures are available on the website and through the DRC student handbook. PVCC has also assigned an ADA 504 Coordinator to manage all disability grievances. Students needing to submit a grievance can see Richard Conchos, the ADA 504 Coordinator and Director of Student Development.
Adaptive technology resources for students. Young is researching statistics and technology to provide disabled students with more equipment. Currently, PVCC has adaptive computer stations in the library, computer commons and in the DRC. The stations host voice recognition, screen readers and text enlargement programs. Young also wants to incorporate scanning equipment, special keyboards, track balls, close circuit television and FM systems for the hearing impaired at these locations. Currently there is a closed circuit TV in the Library and the Learning Support Center. The DRC also has FM systems available.
A high school outreach program. Young is developing relationships with local high schools, North Canyon, Paradise Valley, Cactus Shadows and Horizon. Young hopes the interaction will help students transition from High School to college. Presentations for teachers and parents focus on the differences between high school and college. Campus tours give parents and students a look at PVCC before they attend.

Young says the enrollment of students with disabilities will continue to increase as more options become available. Attendance has already grown by approximately 200 students in one year. "We are averaging three new students per week," she says. Ten years ago, people with disabilities stopped going to school after high school, she says. "People are seeing that students can go on, all the way through Ph.D. programs and be very successful."

In turn, Young says, more students become educated, join the workforce and become mentors to other with disabilities.

Young’s opinion resonates in Jamie’s life. Jamie, who works part-time for the DRC, sees herself encouraging other students with disabilities. "You must be a teacher and push others to be advocates for themselves and not to be afraid," she says.