Fall 2004 Disability Services Newsletter

Disability Services Celebrates 30 Years of Service

Disability Services celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Research by the DS staff actually uncovered correspondence that suggests the office was initially formed in 1973. However, we have the assurance of Homer Page that he was selected as the first director of Disability Services in August of 1974. Homer remained as director for 14 and a half years.

Whichever date is correct made little difference to the crowd of university staff, faculty, and students who gathered on Friday, October 22, 2004 in the University Memorial Center to celebrate. There was a fine assortment of finger food, wine, and beverages for the attendees. The DS staff had assembled over 10 display boards, including one that depicted a student activist named Wynn Vaughn. In 1987 Vaughn got out of his wheelchair and crawled up and down the stairs in Macky Auditorium to demonstrate the need for an elevator that would allow access for all.

Another board displayed various articles about the successful Assistive Technology conferences offered by DS for the past six years and previews of the seventh conference which was held November 9-12, 2004. Many student leaders attended the celebration, including what has become the most active disability leadership group in many years.

Homer Page entranced the audience with many wonderful stories of students he had met over the years and described the thrill often felt by disability service providers of being the learner, and the student the teacher. Ruth Fink, director from 1989 to 1997, was unable to attend due to very recent shoulder surgery  but sent her esteemed husband, Robert Fink, former Dean of the College of Music, to read a message she wrote for the occasion. Overall, the event provided a time to relish our rich and reflect on the numerous accomplishments of the department and the students we have served.

Discover Your Abilities Student Organization

As it enters its second year, the Discover Your Abilities Student Organization (DYA) is focusing on recruiting new students into the group. The development of model initiatives is another objective. The DYA student leaders seeks to join other student groups, establish ongoing community and campus projects, and initiate a DYA web site featuring news, events, and links. DYA members meet regularly throughout the academic year to share information on their activities. If you would like more information about DYA, contact Hillary Jorgensen at Hillary.Jor-gensen@colorado.edu.

Our New Staff, Cindy Bedell

I am very honored to come aboard with Disability Services. Working as a rehabilitation counselor for the past 18 years has given me the opportunity to participate as a resource team member for many people with a wide variety of abilities, disabilities, and goals. My professional experience also includes two years as a community mental health therapist. I hold a master’s degree and certification in rehabilitation counseling, while my undergraduate degree is in speech pathology. I particularly enjoy using a coaching model to assist in creative strategizing and utilizing interests and abilities to achieve academic goals. My personal interests are quite broad. After having lived in South America as a child, I continued to pursue my interests in the Spanish language and Latin American culture. On a sunny winter day you may find me snowshoeing or cross country skiing (with minimal finesse but lots of enthusiasm). I like to dance, hike, and read. I am in third year Chi Kung training. My dog, Barkley, insists he deserves the rest of my free time and undivided attention.

Presidents Leadership Class

This fall, representatives of the Presidents Leadership Class (PLC) contacted Disability Services. PLC is trying to broaden the diversity of its class membership, and student leaders with disabilities have been identified as potential candidates.

Together, PLC and DS staff members are working to reach out to prospective gifted and talented high school seniors with disabilties so that qualifying students may apply to the prestigious CU-Boulder program.

The staff is also looking at new ways to reach special education students for this unique, four-year program focused on leadership development.

PLC is one of the nation's oldest and most distinguished collegiate leadership programs. PLC provides a prestigous merit-based scholarship as well as four years of academically and experientially focused leadership training that fosters both intellectual and personal growth. For more information, call (303) 492-4PLC, e-mail plc@colorado.edu, or visit the PLC website at www.colorado.edu/academics/plc.

From the Director

As the academic year unfolds, new students can be bombarded with information from many directions, and trying to juggle the transition to higher education can feel unmanageable for many. Anxieties run high for some students and for some parents as well. The staff works hard to provide assistance to our students, whether it be academic strategy development, adjusting a schedule, helping them learn new procedures, advocacy with faculty, or just letting them talk with someone who understands their issues.

You might be interested to know that DS conducted over 130 new student intakes by the second week of September. As of mid-spring 2004, DS had approximately 740 students registered with the office. Taking into account that many students have graduated or left CU-Boulder for various reasons, DS is proud to be serving a great number of students at the university. It is impressive that students with disabilities are being proactive. Most importantly, we appreciate students' understanding and patience when scheduling appointments with their specialists during this busy time. Just a reminder to students – check out the disability student group for companionship, networking, and activism.

How CU Changed My Interest in Sports

My name is John Eisinger and I am from Minnesota. Throughout high school I found the Nordic ski team to be a great way to use the other side of my mind as well as a great way to socialize. I joined the team my sophomore year, and by my senior year I had won my section title and gone to the state for the second time. When I moved to Colorado for college, I found that they did not have a ski team that I could compete on. For about a year I tried a few different club sports teams, trying to find the same nitch I had back in Minnesota. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I came across the cycling team. CU cycling has provided me with the same comfort and success the Nordic ski team did during my high school years. I have made a lot of great friendships, along with the priceless experience of competing in Madison, Wisconsin for the national title last spring.

New Mentoring Project for Interpreters

This fall the CU-Boulder Interpreting Services Department, along with Disability Services, embarked on an exciting new venture – the Induction and Mentoring Project. This project is being spearheaded by LeWana Clark, a student in a Master Mentorship Program for interpreters at Northeastern University, in conjunction with Barbara-Jean Slopey, the Interpreter Coordinator on the CU campus.

The premise behind the project is twofold: to help find new interpreters become acclimated to working in a post-secondary environment as a part of the CU interpreting team, and to increase the overall quality of services provided by the CU team.

Although LeWana Clark considers herself a fluent user of American Sign Language (ASL), she acquired ASL as a second language. The same is true for participants, referred to as scholars, in the project. It is therefore imperative that scholars have access to a native user of ASL, or ASL Sign Master, who understands the fine nuances of using a visual language. The project team is fortunate to have such a person already on the staff in the CU Disability Services department. Karen Boyd, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Specialist, is taking graduate courses in Linguistics at CU and is well-versed in discussing the specific lexical, semantic, syntactic, and grammatical features and functions of ASL. Her insight into the linguistic features of ASL, combined with her experience and perspective as a consumer of interpreting services, make her an invaluable part of this project.

Under the direction of Barbara-Jean, the quality of interpreter services on campus continues to improve. Members of the team are encouraged to talk about their work, to work as a team in and out of the classroom, and to challenge themselves to continually strive for a higher standard. The mentoring project encourages just that, and Barbara-Jean hopes that it will serve as a model project for other post-secondary institutions across the country.

Two Fantastic Deaf Awareness Speakers