Jane Jarrow

Angie, How the Disability Service provider is received -- and PERCEIVED -- at the institution is often a function of how willingly the administration is to follow through on the federal mandates. Do they do so because they MUST, or do they really believe that this is appropriate? If it is the former, the disability service provider may feel very uncertain as to whether there will be adequate support from the top of the need for the accommodations being prescribed. Active faculty/staff who stick by them and say, "Of COURSE we should be doing this" can go a long way… >>>

Thomas, I am assuming you didn't mean to be funny in suggesting a blind individual doing "color" for the baseball broadcast -- but it IS funny! GRIN You are right, of course. There are some positions that are simply not feasible for someone because of disability, just as there may be some positions that are not feasible for someone because of *talent*, no matter how badly they want it. But as you note -- saying "no" to an on air broadcast job is not the same as saying "no" to the field of broadcasting. There are other roles that might… >>>

Vickey, I think you are on the right track here. The idea is that ALL students may or may not be successful in their pursuits, and what the laws demand is that students with disabilities have the same right to TRY. It is not appropriate for others to decide that the student with a disability shouldn't make this decision or that one. It MAY be appropropriate for others to say, "let's talk about the ramifications of this decision for YOU" (just as you would any other student you were advising). In the end, though, the choice should be theirs. Dr.… >>>

Angie, I actually know a blind massage therapist who has been very successful for a very long time. The question you raise is a tough one. How can you be honest (and be careful about being in line with Federal mandates re: successful completion) while, at the same time, not excluding someone on the basis of disability. Part of the answer may lie in having the program develop realistic technical standards. That is easier said than done... not all the technical standards out there are realistic AND legal (under terms of the ADA), but if you can work with the… >>>