The LIGHT Center, T-90, College of the Redwoods (476-4290) - September 25, 2000

The Americans with Disabilities Act. I don’t think anyone would argue about the impact this legislation has had on the lives of people with disabilities. Less often do we really consider the impact it has had on the lives of the non-disabled too. It has functioned to substantially increase the awareness and knowledge the general public has about the impact of a disability. This is especially true as it pertains to physical accessibility. Designated parking stalls, ramps leading up to public buildings etc. serve to remind us daily of the obstacles people with physical disabilities face.

ADA is not without its critics. Currently the legislation is being discussed in Congress…still or is it again. The same holds true for Title V of the California Community College System. It too outlines what services and accommodations are to be provided to a student with a disability. It is the guideline that CR must follow to be in compliance with state regulations. Does that mandate that everyone agrees with it?

The biggest criticism I hear about Title V and the provision of services and accommodations to students surrounds the perception that the student is being given an advantage not available to other students. That somehow the student is being "babied" or "hand-held" and thus gets an easy ride through the college experience. There is also the argument that if the student is provided with the services and accommodations entitled to her/him through Title V, she/he is going to fail in the "real world" work situation without them. My feeling is that this argument will never be resolved, and moreover it is not our job to try to "predict" a student’s performance when out of the school setting. All we can really do is equip that student to our best ability, with the skills and knowledge they will need for success in a work setting. That success has to include safety, academic, and skill based ability.

The concept of "babying" students through their education has a name. Anyone trained in the area of learning disability or disability more generally, knows the "learned helplessness" phenomenon all too well. In the early years of service provision to learning disabled students, it was found that the students left the educational setting ill-equipped to function in either post-secondary institutions or in the work environment. The premise was that this was due to being provided with support services and various other interventions. Thus, there was a major shift in the nature of intervention provided to students with a learning disability. The emphasis was put on adaptive strategy training rather than "tutoring", self-advocacy rather than enabling the student. The goal of providing accommodations and programs for students with a disability today is much different than in the past. Accommodations must be directly linked to some functional limitation resulting from the disability. Therefore, if the disability does not suggest the need for a specific accommodation, it will not be provided.

Today, the goal of intervention and provision of services is to equip the student with a disability with the necessary skills to function independently and successfully in an educational and/or employment setting. Title V states that we must provide needed specialized services or instruction in order to mitigate any disability-related limitations. These to are "level the playing field", not to reduce the requirements of the course, or water it down in any way. For example:

This may be given to a student with a verified disability that has

• Concentration Problems due to pain, ADD/ADHD, auditory processing and/or figure-ground problems,
• Physical limitations that slow down the reading or writing components of an exam,
• Reading disability reducing the ability to read accurately and rapidly while under pressure,
• Diagnosed anxiety conditions that interfere with ability to perform on timed tasks.

There are a variety of other services and accommodations available to students with a verified disability.

Please send any comments to trish-blair@redwoods.edu