Being a Progressive Disability Services Professional Identifying Ways to Lead Your Campus Toward Proactive & Sustainable Access Dr. Amanda Kraus

What is “progressive” practice in Disability Services? Values-driven Proactive versus reactive Sustainable versus consumable Collaborative versus siloh-ed

Operationalizing our values - Where and how do we situate the work? Disability Studies Universal Design Social Justice Operationalizing our values - Where and how do we situate the work?

Disability Studies Prevalent Re-framed Due to a physiological difference, diagnosis, injury or impairment, individual is at a deficit, must be cured or pitied. The environment disables people with impairments by its design. The individual is the problem. The environment is the problem. Disabled by impairment. Disabled by design. Fear, separate, less-than. Access is a right, not a special need. What is disability

Make the shift! The environment disables people with impairments by it’s design. Your office serves the designers - faculty, administrators, policymakers, not students or disabled individuals.

A Social Justice Approach Access and equity are not special needs. Include disability when talking about other minority or subordinated groups – committees, events, programming… Be aware of power and privilege dynamics when building relationships with the disability community and constituents.

Universal Design Anticipate difference Identify and remove barriers Reduce or eliminate accommodations More welcoming and inclusive The design of products or environments to be usable by the most people to the greatest extend possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Accessible ≠ Equitable How do you dialogue about accessibility versus equity?

How to talk about Universal Design Good design is a process Welcoming environment Works better for everyone Reduces the need to “disclose,” or “request” More sustainable Shared, equitable experiences More efficient

How do we apply these ideas in practice?

We should lead our colleagues to understand a progressive concept of disability and campus access. We represent disabled students as qualified and valuable, not needy and burdensome. We set the tone.

What do you hear on your campuses with respect to disabled students?

Ways to show leadership in (or redirect) conversation Where do we locate the “problem”? What is an institutional responsibility and what is an individual, or student, responsibility? How do we ensure that disabled students have a similar, if not identical, experience to that of their disabled peers?

Reflect on your process for accommodations… who bears the responsibility

Professional Language Use language that reflects our values in conversation, on websites, in emails, in passing… Job titles Website Administrative processes Formal and informal communication

Talking about the Inaccessible Exam Disempowering Progressive The student needs more time… Because of her disability, she... We must accommodate the student... Impact: Student is needy... Accommodations are a nice thing to do... Student should develop better strategies... The exam is inaccessible… Because of the design of the exam... We must accommodate design of exam... Impact: Design of the exam is problematic... Creating an equitable experience is the right thing to do... More students will benefit if we redesign...

Make strategic connections How an we address access systemically? Intentionally connect with colleagues: Campus Master Plan General Counsel RFP Senior Diversity Officer Diversity Committees Faculty-Senate University Service Dean of Students

Who do you collaborate with on campus to achieve accessibility? Any surprise connections? How did you develop this relationship? How do you cultivate?

Be a leader and a resource Offer trainings Volunteer for committees and service Speak with authority and fluency The disability perspective is valuable and good access impacts everyone!

Finally, commit to ongoing reflection Ask for feedback Check yourselves and your colleagues Re-read accommodations letter, emails, websites, etc. Seek professional development

Share What are some barriers to progressive practice? What are some examples of progressive practice?

Elevator Speech You are in an elevator with a University administrator and they ask what you do. How would a progressive professional respond?

Action Items *With limited people power Short Term Long(er) Term Review website for language Assess job titles Identify 1 connection to make on campus Take 1 colleague to lunch Identify a committee on which to serve Reflect on fluency Changes systems or processes to emphasize accessibility and UD Develop trainings or educational resources