No Challenge Too Great
Disability Services Level the Playing Field
by Susie P. Gonzalez
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Taylor Woodard gets around campus on a scooter—actually, she’s gone through a series of scooters during her four years at Trinity—and is not easily understood when she speaks. Meanwhile, Kath-ryn Lookadoo seemingly glides to class but flips open her laptop when it’s time to take an essay exam, which, by the way, might require an additional 30 minutes or more to complete. Both seniors are registered with Trinity’s Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS) and both say Trinity was the right choice for their college experience.
Unlike Woodard, whose disability affects her mobility and oral communication skills, Lookadoo’s reading disorder is considered a “hidden disability.” That’s how most of the 100 students or so who register every year with the Disability Services Office are categorized, according to coordinator Gavin Steiger. Hidden disabilities range from atten-tion deficit hyperactivity disorders to learning disorders to chronic health impairments such as digestive disorders or a neurological disease that is not obvious to a casual observer. Of the 102 students registered with the DSS office this academic year, only four have conditions that are readily apparent.
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For example, a first-year student uses a manual wheelchair, in part, to make sure she gets exercise. She first encountered—and conquered— Cardiac Hill as a high school senior during a campus visit for Trinity In Focus. Undeterred, she decided to keep the non-motorized wheelchair after she was accepted for enrollment. In past years, students have come to campus with problems ranging from hearing impairments to congenital defects such as no arms. All may request free accommodations to help their academic career—including extended test time, note-taking services, sign language interpreters, and a range of computer software to aid vision or hearing capabilities. Such accommodations are enabling students with disabilities to thrive and succeed both on campus and after graduation.
May 2008 graduate Renae Goettel, who double majored in communication and sociology, is legally blind. She relied on her guide dog, Lucy, who served as an icebreaker for Goettel to meet other students and faculty. Lucy even “walked the stage” with Goettel at commencement complete with her own mini mortarboard. Goettel chose Trinity for two reasons—because of its academic excellence and because it was in the same city as the Spurs, her favorite NBA team. She is now the business communications coordinator for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, which she describes as her “dream job.” Goettel said Trinity was a good fit for her, even though the DSS office was staffed by a part-time coordinator when she arrived. She became her own advocate by meeting with professors and discussing her class and testing needs. “It was good for me to be immersed in a completely sighted environment,” she says, adding that she attended high school at the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver, Wash., where she acquired such skills as riding a city bus and learning to read Braille.
Comfortable with her independence, she stepped outside her comfort zone at Trinity by pledging a sorority and writing sports stories for the Trinitonian. The faculty was wonderful, she says, in helping her to learn without lowering their standards. Other supportive staffers were in the DSS office, residential life, physical plant, Aramark, and the mail center. “To go to Trinity and be immersed was more like what life is going to be like—sort of like what it is now. Everyone made a big effort to make sure I was comfortable and had what I needed to succeed academically.”
While Steiger says he enjoys seeing students succeed, the focus of his office, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, is access—specifically, equal access and participation in both curricular and co-curricular activities and services. Equal access is considered a civil rights issue more than an academic concern, he explains, adding, “My hope is that because they have greater access, their success rate will go up.”
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Visual impairment did not deter Renae Goettel from earning a degree with double major last spring and landing her "dream job" with the San Antonio Spurs. Her guide dog, Lucy, was a constant companion. |
The first record of disabled students at Trinity was in the 1994-95 academic year, when three students came forward to identify themselves. The number, which grew to 63 by the 2003-2004 year, has reached an average of 100 students each academic year. When visiting the DSS office, students can get letters stating the nature of their disability and the accommodations they will need to accomplish their course work. “Some students do well, and some students have challenges advocating for themselves. I stress to them that they need to be responsible,” says Steiger, who joined the staff in 2007 as Trinity’s first full-time DSS coordinator.
Lookadoo, a senior from Dallas who is majoring in communication and Spanish, has known she learns differently since the fourth grade, when her mother noticed some difficulty with her school work. At first, Lookadoo used word processors to type essays, but by high school, she had graduated to a laptop computer, which she still uses for written or verbal communication. “Everything is OK in my head, but when I try to talk, it’s like it went through a blender.” It takes her twice as long as other students to prepare for an oral presentation or write a paper, and she visits the DSS office once a semester to obtain letters explaining her reading disorder to professors. Some have questioned how she will use the laptop during exams and essay tests, but she assures them she abides by Trinity’s academic honor code. “It is helpful that they trust me,” Lookadoo says.
At Trinity, she has been a crew member for Tiger TV, where she has learned potentially marketable skills such as running the camera and making television packages. She also volunteers with TUVAC, is in a sorority, leads a group for first-year members of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and is president of Mortar Board, a prestigious honor society.
Her learning disorder has created awareness among classmates who now recognize that intelligence is not related to ability. Some of her friends have questioned the fairness of her getting extra time for class work. “It’s important to find an environment where you can succeed,” she says. On the flip side, some friends didn’t realize they had a learning disorder until they got to college and met Lookadoo. She identified with those who became frustrated when they knew what they were supposed to be doing but weren’t able to do it. “That’s a sign post that you need help,” she says, “and the good news is that dealing with a learning difference gets easier.”
Woodard, who has a 3.8 grade point average and is an officer of numerous honor societies, also chose Trinity because of its academic excellence. Her family did ask about disability accommodations when she applied, but the rigor and depth of coursework sealed her decision to come to Trinity. Once here, she found the campus easy to navigate on a scooter and professors who have bent over backwards to accommodate her. “I doubt if there is a campus where they are more cooperative,” she says, also lauding support staff in the Commons at Coates University Center, the health center, and physical plant for their caring attention to her individual needs. “Any family thinking of sending a student here should be assured that their disabled student will be individually looked after beyond their wildest expectations.”
She grew up on a ranch near Junction, Texas, population 2,500, so it was a bit of a culture shock to come to the urban setting of Trinity. But San Antonio was just another stop on her way to the Big Apple. Woodard completed an internship during the summer of 2008 at JP Morgan Chase in the financial district of Manhattan, where she will return after graduating in May for a two-year position as an analyst. A business administration major, Woodard said she felt prepared for a New York internship because of the challenging environment that Trinity presents. “It’s where excellence was the everyday standard, where creativity was fostered, as well as demanded, and where your written communication skills were utilized and developed year after year.” She said she felt fully prepared to work in groups, create and deliver presentations, and doggedly pursue answers to problems—always meeting deadlines and working with a variety of personalities. “Trinity has been a totally wonderful experience—well, other than those nasty exams—and I couldn’t have made a better choice.”
After women, people with disabilities comprise the second largest under-represented group in employment demographics, according to Steiger, who notes that disabilities affect people indiscriminately—women, men, young, old, and all minority groups.
Offering assistive technology to students can take many forms and much of Steiger’s time. Last year, three students requested alternate textbooks, such as audio books, but two graduated (one was Goettel) and one is studying abroad this semester, so his focus has changed slightly. He has purchased computer software that will convert text to speech or speech to text, helpful tools for students who are blind or have a learning disorder affecting written expression. Such programs will be available in the spring of 2009 on Trinity’s computer network for anyone to use.
Steiger, who is often asked how to help students with disabilities, suggests following the Starbucks approach. “When someone enters the coffee shop, they don’t say, ‘Please tell me the source of your caffeine withdrawal.’ They ask, ‘May I help you?’ The same is true with students who come to DSS,” he says. “Just ask whether you can push in a chair or open a door. Maybe they need help reaching something on a shelf. They will either say, ‘I’m fine’ or they’ll accept your offer to help.”