Learning with Disabilities: Information Success

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Learning with Disabilities Information
Success! An Abilities United Service Project
Abilities
Lisa J. Douglas Maurissa DAngelo Amelia J.
Greene Mark A. Burwinkel Megan E. Greenlee
United
Overview Wright State University has a long and
successful history of working to improve the
learning experience for students with
disabilities. Campus organizations, courses that
focus on success despite a disability, and
nationally recognized research programs are all
part of a university-wide vision to make
education accessible. Abilities United (AU) is
a student organization for persons with
disabilities. Working in conjunction with the
Office of Disabilities and the new IGERT Ph.D.
Technology-based Learning with Disabilities
program, AU is currently developing a
community-based outreach program that will inform
students, parents, and teachers about the
availability and use of adaptive technology.  The
common goal is to bridge the gap between
disability, assistive technologies, and the
pedagogy of individualized learning. Called
Information Success!, the aim of this service
project is to provide area schools with a packet
that includes information about the availability
of adaptive technology, goal-setting strategies,
and self-advocating.
I think there is a need to inform high school
teachers of what kinds of reading and writing
programs are available for students with learning
disabilities. But more importantly, if the
students know what is out there in the way of
adaptive technology, they really have a shot at
getting a great education.
Mark
Burwinkel
In school, I often had the feeling that no one
heard or saw me because I was different. I was
never able to reach things as simple as the latch
on my locker, food in the lunch line, or even
classroom countertops.  I thought it was just how
life was. When I came to WSU, it was interesting
to see how things are adapted for me automatic
doors openers and counters that adjust to MY
height rather than a normal person height.  I
really

IGERT
want other students with physical disabilities to
know that with even simple adaptive technology,
education, and life, before college can be a more
positive experience.
Megan
Greenlee, AU president
Several of the IGERT fellows have volunteered
with AU to be a part of the Information
Success! project. IGERT fellows will be
assisting in the creation and production of the
packet and also will be involved in interacting
with teachers, parents, and especially the
students once the project is up and running.
IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Traineeship) is a nationally recognized
research fellowship that has a unique focus at
Wright State Technology-based Learning with
Disabilities. This fellowship program, funded
by the National Science Foundation, seeks to
train Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the
interdisciplinary background and the technical,
professional, and personal skills needed to
address issues related both to learning and
physical disabilities (cf. IGERT.org). Fellows
study in one of four doctoral concentrations
Human Factors/Industrial Organizational
Psychology, Engineering Computer Science,
Engineering, or Biomedical Sciences. The IGERT
program incorporates three interconnected
research efforts understanding the basic
biology, nature and development of human
abilities, exploring the opportunities afforded
by advanced technologies, and addressing the
practical problems of the design of
human-technology systems that broaden and enhance
learning experiences. The main focus of IGERT is
problem-centered research, but in order to fully
understand the barriers that persons with
disabilities face every day, IGERT fellows spend
time outside the laboratory interacting with
students on campus who are facing the challenges
of disability. This experience gives IGERT
students an opportunity to gain insight and
understanding about the technological challenges
of living in a modern society. Their association
with AU will no doubt be successful for everyone
involved.
No one in my high school seemed to know there
was technology available to help me with my
learning disability. I felt I wasnt really
given a chance to succeed in high school and was
ill-prepared for college level coursework. When I
came to WSU, I was amazed there was so
Office of Disability Services
The inspiration for the Information Success!
service project came from an innovative course
offered at Wright State University Adaptive
Computer Technology. Katherine Myers, MRC, ATP,
the associate director of Disability Services
(ODS), developed the combination lecture and lab
course to help students with disabilities learn
to be both independent and productive adults to
be successful!. Her course incorporates not only
the breadth of available adaptive technology, but
she spends time helping students learn how to
define goals, which technologies they need to
help them achieve these goals, and how to be
assertive with issues like technology fit and
alternative funding. During this past year, AU
members noticed that most of the students taking
Adaptive Computer Technology had no exposure to
adaptive technology at the junior or high school
level. Class dialogue included the frustration
of this lack of knowledge and the repercussions
for students who may never attend college. If
students did receive help for their disabilities
before coming to Wright State, many said that the
assistive technology they were given did not
address their individual needs. This is called
poor technology fit. AU members began to
formulate the idea of an outreach service
project. They felt the information developed for
the Adaptive Computer Technology course should be
shared with junior and high school students, as
well as their parents and teachers. With the
help of the Office of Disability Services, and
some of the IGERT fellows, AU is incorporating
Mrs. Myers resourceful ideas into Information
Success! Planned packet sections include
technology search strategies for the internet,
and specific product information, including
company contacts for training and support. Other
sections will include information on how students
can identify their own goals and needs, what
technologies can help facilitate those needs, and
some ideas about where to look for basic and
alternative financial assistance.
much adaptive technology available. It was a
relief but at the same time, I was very
disappointed that no one was able to help me in
junior or senior high school. I want other
students with disabilities to know they can
succeed in education and how technology can help
them before they go to college.

Amelia Greene, AU secretary
Abilities United
Abilities United is a relatively new organization
on Wright States campus dedicated to the
representation and advocacy for students with
disabilities. AU is open to all students, and
serves as a forum for building a sense of
community that promotes diversity and
accessibility on campus. AU has begun work on
Information Success!, an informational and
comprehensive packet to be disseminated to area
schools. AU wants all students with
disabilities to have a basic understanding of
adaptive technology, including where to find it
and how to fund it. However, perhaps the most
important message that AU hopes to get across is
that students need to learn to self-advocate.
Students with disabilities may have a better
chance at success if they can define their
educational and life goals, understand their own
individual technology needs, and effectively
communicate their goals and needs to others. AU
hopes Information Success! will be a valuable
resource for addressing these issues.
More Information
If you would like to obtain further information
about or lend support to the Information
Success! project, please email Lisa Douglas at
douglas.13_at_wright.edu or Amelia Greene at
greene.25_at_wright.edu. For further information
about the Adaptive Computer Technology course,
email Katherine Myers at katherine.myers_at_wright.ed
u. For detailed information about our IGERT
program, please go to www.wright.edu/lwd or visit
the national recruitment program at IGERT.org.
We would like to thank Megan Purtel, Katie
Katulak, Jill Williams and all the AU members for
their continued efforts to make Information
Success! a valuable and worthwhile project.