Yuba College Not Accessible?
Despite ADA, Campus Obstacles Remain
Nic Boren
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: News
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She is diagnosed with Progressive Spastic Dystonia which causes her muscles to twist and contract involuntarily into awkward positions. Her limbs are spastic, tight and not easily moved apart. It is almost impossible for her to open her fingers and she has to move around campus with an electric wheelchair.
When interviewed about the accommodations available to her on campus, she replied, "For the most part, this campus has accommodated me well." Bettie uses the test proctoring and note taking assistance that DSPS provides.
Accommodations are given as they pertain to the individual's own disability. When the disabled student makes contact with the DSPS office can be schedule the student with the accommodation that meets their needs.
Joanna Frost the DSPS program specialist remarked "Students have to make the initial contact to receive the service we provide. Accommodations depend on the students' individual disability and a disability specialist will match the accommodation based on the functional limitations of the students' disability."
DSPS at Yuba Community College provides the disabled student with a number of options for services. This includes programs that provide interpreters for deaf students or scribes for students unable to take notes and test proctoring. They can convert all sorts of files to Mp3 format including Books, CDs, brail books, and other alternate forms of media.
Multiple types of adaptive software that DSPS has available help visually impaired students and students unable type work on the computers, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, a software program that will type as the student speaks.
The availability of these computers on campus is very low, with the DSPS office, EOPS, and the Library being the only places on campus containing a computer with the software. However, DSPS has a "smart cart" a portable cart containing a computer will all the adaptive software loaded on it. That can be wheeled to any classroom in need of its services.
For students in wheelchairs like Bettie Plouffe, the classrooms themselves present problem. "I have no desk to sit at in my psychology class, and I have to end up balancing all of my books, paper, and binder on my lap. Then to top it all off I have to balance them on my uneven legs and try to take notes. It is not very good for me to have to balance things and struggle to see things on lecture screen at the same time. It's not very helpful for wheelchair-bound individuals."
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JaxS
JaxS
posted 4/08/08 @ 12:52 AM PST
I was just curious as to whether or not this story was proofread or not; on the headline in the paper, the girl's name is spelled "Betty" but within the article it's "Bettie". (Continued…)
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