10 Signpost Tuesday, May 31, 1983 Center is a harbor for disabled students 9 V, 1 v H I I Many people have heard about the Center for Disabled Students but it is likely that most do not fully realize what the Center does. Weber's Center for Disabled Students is one of the most exceptional programs of its kind in the state of Utah. This service officially started July 1, 1977. The Dean of Women at that time was Jan Tyler. She wanted to see that handicapped students received an equal education and she arranged for a grant which, among other things, provided for the education of up to 25 disabled students. In this way, the Center for Disabled Students was born. Originally it began with seven students. Today it serves 132. There are many disabilities which the students have, but generally, they fall into three main categories: those who are blind or visually handicapped; those who are deaf or hard of hearing; and those students who have varying degrees of paralysis. The Center renders many services to these students. The main function of the Center is to serve as a medium through which information is channeled to the students. For example, if someone is assisting a quadraplegic to write a paper, that person writes only what the student tells him. Some of these services are: providing readers, interpreters, tutors, counseling, registration assistance, parking facilities, and machines which aid the students in their studies. Carol Allen is coordinator of the reader services. This deals mostly with the visually-impaired students. Her job entails great responsibility. She arranges to have readers record textbooks or assists students in taking tests by reading the questions and writing the students' answers. Sometimes Carol works directly with students as she gives examinations and records some textbooks when other readers are not available. This, however, is npt her main responsibility. When hearing-impaired .students register for college, the Communications Specialist, Ginnie Wright, informs them of the services which are available and the students will then request the help they desire. For example, some students do not need an interpreter because they can understand what is being said with the help of a hearing aid. For some students who are deaf, it is impossible to hear all of the vital information the teacher is dispensing. They need the help of interpreters, some of whom use sign language and others of whom are oral interpreters, depending on student needs. Note-takers are sometimes necessary because some students cannot take notes on their own while they are watching a teacher or an interpreter. When interpreters are requested, they are with the student for communication purposes. The students also use tutors who help them with their studies. Occasionally, tutors with special skills will be hired; however, all tutors must know American Sign Language. Without the cooperation, help, and direction of the staff at the Center, students who are disabled would find navigation around the campus impossible. Weber State's campus is beautiful. However, there are many stairs. Helen Jensen, who works in the Center and is a quadraplegic says, "We couldn't get around campus without those ramps." The Center was responsible for the installation of ramps, and when buildings are being constructed, the staff at the Center makes certain that ramps are included in the plans. The Center also helps mobility-impaired students by making sure that all classes are held in accessible rooms. As Sharon Roderick says, "They moved a whole health class one time for a wheelchair client because he couldn't get downstairs in the gym." Another valuable service provided by the Center is registration help. Registration is difficult enough for the average student, but for the handicapped student, it is extremely difficult to manage with the interminable lines and the struggles to straigten out schedules. A person from the Center handles the registration for the disabled students. Students can also be helped by the new Kurzweil Reading Machine which translates print into speech. The Kurzweil was presented to the college as a gift by the Xerox Corp. in 1982 and is a great help to visually impaired students. Sharon Roderick, who works at the Center and is legally blind, feels that readers recording the textbooks for the students has been the most valuable service for her. She also feels that the readers who work with the students individually offer a valuable service to all. Sharon says that she believes that one of the main functions of the Center is helping the students communicate with their professors. She says that if a student cannot solve a problem by himself, then he is free to go to the Center and ask for help. The Center has also helped to integrate students who are disabled into classes such as karate, swimming, and strength-training. Helen Jensen, another student-aid who works at the Center, is able to get around campus very well in her electric wheel-chair which operates on two 12-volt batteries. Helen is an English major who began college in 1979 and hopes to write children's literature. She operates the wheelchair with her mouth and when she wants to turn, she turns the stick around in her teeth. She must do everything with her mouth. She tells how the Center has helped her, "I think it has helped me to learn to cope with handicapped people and with my own handicap and I think they have done a lot with me scholastic-wise. They've helped me take tests. They've helped me do the things that I was unable to do physically look up things from the library there's always someone there who can help me with something. I even had a girl the other day help me wrap my Mother's-day gift." When asked what she feels are the greatest obstacles for her, she replies that the biggest problems are the elevators because, many times, it is difficult for her to reach the buttons. It is also hard when elevators are so small that it is almost impossible to turn around in them. Brian Smith, another student who works at the Center, expresses his feelings about the Center's role when he says that the Center is a backup help to the students and gives them a place they can refer their teachers to. He also says that it is a "harbor" for the students. The Center for n;abled Students not only is staffed tstanding people, but has t-' the administration, facult' .nts of Weber State Col lege, ut this help and cooperation, the Center could not have progressed as far as it has. One example of a teacher who went the "extra mile" with the student is given by Sharon Roderick. She says that an instructor borrowed the Center's dymo-tape machine and brailed a graph so that one of the visually-impaired students could see how the lines on the graph went. During the years since the Center began, 37 students have graduated with varying degrees. This year there will be seven. Because of the services offered by the Center, it has been much easier for handicapped students to attend college, to graduate and be able to make a greater contribution to society. Signature reporter