IU offers ample help for students with disabilities

Jim Bieneman, a freshman from South Bend, sprained his ankle while playing basketball at the Student Recreational Sports Center last month. Left on crutches for weeks, he feared he wouldn't get to class on time.\nBieneman called the IU Disabled Student Services and asked for help. The DSS van service drove Bieneman to every class for the duration of his injury.\nWithout the van service, Bieneman said he wouldn't have been able to make it to class.\nThe van service is one of many services IU provides for students with disabilities. Disability awareness is a growing issue on campus. The services are here, and they are available. \nDisabled Student Services\nThe federal definition of a disability, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, is "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities."\nMartha Jacques has been director of the DSS here at IU for three years. She describes the Bloomington campus as moderately accessible for physically disabled students because it is very hilly and the handicapped entrances to buildings are difficult to find.\n"We are trying to get automatic doors on all the buildings on campus," Jacques said. "The priority is to get students to class."\nThe van service is an excellent example of how the DSS helps students get to class. If a student has an acute injury or a chronic physical condition, the DSS van service drives students to their classes. \n"We usually need to see a doctor's note to determine how long they will need to use the van service," Jacques said. DSS van service drivers are paid students.\nDSS also works to improve the lives of students with learning disabilities. All students are welcome to use the Learning Disability Center. The center provides help with note taking, test taking, study skills and more. \n"We have all levels of students, undergraduates, graduates and even Ph.D. students," said Jody Ferguson, director of the Learning Disability Center. "It is our job to make sure we provide services so their disability doesn't lower their grades."\nThe DSS provides free screenings for students who feel they might have a learning disability such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or dyslexia. This free screening is a preliminary test that can give the student an idea as to whether or not they have a learning disability. Students might be referred elsewhere in Bloomington, or they can choose to go home for medical attention. In order to receive full support, students must provide the DSS with documentation of their learning disability.\nTo serve students as efficiently as possible, the DSS works closely with other organizations on campus.\n"We often refer people to the Career Center, Academic Support Center and Counseling Services," Ferguson said. \nFerguson also stressed that the DSS does not ensure success, but the services to succeed are certainly available.\n"A lot of things differ from high school to college," Ferguson said. "You can't wait until the end of the semester to say 'you can't fail me because I have a learning disability.' Accessibility can't be applied retroactively."\nStudents for Improving Disability Awareness (SIDA)\nThe student organization SIDA has recently been reinstated as part of IU's Student Activities Office. \nSenior Aimee Herring, the group's new president, said the group was originally founded in the '70s, and has been sporadically supported since that time.\n"(Our mission is) to educate people and make them more aware that disabilities are prevalent on this campus, that they are here, and they are real," Herring said. "There is a definite culture that goes along with being disabled."\nHerring first became interested in reinstating SIDA at IU while working as a driver for DSS. She also became more determined to improve disability awareness after a student-run investigation surveying accessibility on campus this past summer. \n"The investigation was prompted by hearing stories from students and faculty," she said. \nHerring recalled a time last year when two deaf faculty members were left inside a building during fire drills because there were no visual alarms.\n"IU is doing close to the bare minimum under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) standards to accommodate people with disabilities," Herring said. "I would hate to see students choose not to come to IU due to the lack of accessibility."\nThe SIDA holds meetings throughout the school year. The first mass call-out meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Landes Room inside Read Hall. \nAdaptive Technology Center (ATC)\nThe Adaptive Technology Center is fairly new on campus. Director Margaret Londergan founded the ATC three years ago. She said after many years of working with computers at IU, she realized that students with disabilities had difficulties accessing the labs.\n"(We want) to provide assistance for students, faculty and staff with disabilities through adaptive technology as well as raise awareness," Londergan said.\nThe ATC has only two full-time staff members with a handful of student workers. They work very closely with the School of Optometry, the DSS and the Student Academic Support Center. The majority of students who use the ATC are referred by the DSS, but anyone is welcome to browse the equipment. Documentation of a disability is not necessary, but the ATC will not lend the materials to anyone who walks through the door.\nThe ATC offers many resources such as foot mice for people who have difficulty using their hands, special chairs for people with back injuries, electronically adjustable tables for people in wheelchairs and enhanced and enlarged monitors. One of the most high-tech resources is the Braille embosser.\n"We can convert a 700 page book to Braille in about an hour," Londergan said. "We have had people from all over the country come to see our resources here at IU. I would say we have one of the best programs in the nation."\nIf students prefer to work at their own pace in their own home environment, software and laptops can be checked out through the ATC. \n"This is a great program because students can study in their pajamas with the help they need," Londergan said.\nThe ATC is located on the first floor of the Main Library. For more information call 856-4112 or visit http://www.indiana.edu/~iuadapts.\nFor more information on physical and learning disabilities at IU go to http://campuslife.indiana.edu/DSS.