Education Commons^™

Umaine Disabilities Insider, Spring 2014, University Of Maine Disability Support Services

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

How many times have you heard someone remark that everyone seems to have ADHD or ADD? According to the American Psychiatric Association, 5 percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD (sometimes called ADD), and according to the National Institutes of Health, 4.1 percent of adults have the disorder. Perhaps it’s true that our fast paced society and the abundance of technology and electronic stimuli have impacted the attention span of many youth and adults, but even so, Attention Deficit is a valid disorder that significantly impacts the individuals who are diagnosed with it. There is a difference between being occasionally …

Umaine Disabilities Insider. Late Spring 2014, University Of Maine Disability Support Services

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Students with disabilities must be able to access course materials in an equally effective manner. Designing course materials with accessibility in mind allows the University to meet its obligations to students with disabilities.

When making decisions about course accessibility, please consider a variety of aspects of instruction, including selecting accessible texts and other readings (don’t forget Web-based content such as documents and other files), and ensuring that any videos posted online are captioned. These are just some of the important aspects of creating a course that is inclusive to all students.

Umaine Disabilities Insider, August 27, 2012, University Of Maine Disability Support Services

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, the number of students with disabilities attending college has increased steadily. At UMaine we have seen this trend first hand. DSS has tracked our student data for a number of years and over the past decade the number of students with documented disabilities served by DSS has increased 82.7%. During the 2001-02 school year we assisted 214 students with disabilities. Last year we worked with 391 students.

Umaine Disabilities Insider, February 27, 2012, University Of Maine Disability Support Services

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Faculty often question why they aren't always informed when there is a student with a disability enrolled in their class. When students request accommodations some of those accommodations directly need faculty involvement, for example, the accommodation of extended time on a test. For these accommodations a request letter would be brought to the faculty by the student. However, there are accommodations that do not typically require faculty action. Obtaining a peer notetaker is one example where DSS would do the work without informing faculty about the student. The student may be receiving mentoring to assist them with college transition and …