The Advocate - Volume 4, Issue 3 Fall 2011

Welcome to Austin Peay!

The Office of Disability Services' (ODS) primary mission is to ensure access for students with disabilities to all curricular and co-curricular opportunities offered by Austin Peay State University.

The Office of Disability Services would like to welcome you to campus and invite you to join with us in promoting disability awareness.

We have various programs throughout the year as well as a student organization, Lambda Epsilon Zeta Nu, hereafter referred to as Zeta Nu. We are currently seeking officers and members for Zeta Nu. Please take time to check out our webpage for in depth information. http://www.apsu.edu/disability

There are also opportunities to volunteer in our office, especially as a note-taker. Please give our Accommodation Specialist, Katherine Bennett, a call or stop by to visit with any questions you may have for this program.

Meet our staff:

Interim Director: Lynette Taylor

Adaptive Technology Coordinator: Philip Voorhees

Accommodation Specialist: Katherine Bennett

Administrative Assistant II: April Williams

Information Central:

Common questions when transitioning from high school to Austin Peay University with a disability:

Do I have to inform Austin Peay that I have a disability?

No. However, if you would like for us to provide reasonable accommodations, you must submit a request for reasonable accommodations and identify yourself as having a disability to ODS. In any event, your disclosure of a disability is always voluntary.

What accommodations might Austin Peay provide?

Accommodations may include academic adjustments and auxiliary aids to ensure equal educational opportunities. Some examples of accommodations: priority registration, note takers, recording lectures, extended time for testing and our Universal Access Workstation initiative. In providing accommodations, Austin Peay is not altering or modifying any essential requirements. For example, although you may receive extra time on an exam, the substantive content of the test will not be changed.

Will Austin Peay charge me for receiving accommodations?

No, in addition, we will not charge students with disabilities more for participating in programs or activities than student’s who do not have disabilities are charged.   

"No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit."                  - Helen Keller

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month

During the month of October, we wanted to inform students at Austin Peay that October is also known as National Disability Employment Awareness month. The official theme for 2011 will be, “profit by investing in workers with disabilities.” This year’s slogan is designed to inform the public of the intellectual contributions and unique talents disabled employees can offer potential employers.

For more information on Disability Employment Awareness Month go to National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2011.

Disability Employment Awareness Month Regional Highlight:

Nashville Area Employment Consortium and the Tennessee Business Leadership Network Awards Luncheon. Though not open to the public, this event demonstrates that companies in the greater Nashville area are encouraged and rewarded for providing a supportive and humane work environment for employees with disabilities.

Date: October 25, 2011

Time: 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

Location: Nashville Airport Marriott, 600 Marriott Drive. 

Disability Employment Awareness Month National Highlight:

JAN (Job Accommodation Network) Information:  

JAN is the leading online job search resource for individuals with disabilities. JAN offers consultants that are able to give one-on-one guidance on workplace accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related legislation, and self-employment or entrepreneurial opportunities.  For more JAN information: http://askjan.org/index.html

Important Dates:

September 6, 2011, STAR Access Bus Tour and Zeta Nu cook-out. 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the MUC plaza.

September 8, 2011, Campus Involvement Fair 11:00 am-1:00 pm at the MUC Plaza

October 2, 2011, Mudbowl 1:00-6:00 PM at the Intramural Fields

October 3, 2011, AP Leadership: “Dealing with Change” 11:00 am in the MUC Lobby

October 12, 2011, Movie: Soul Surfer 11:00 am in MUC 303

October 17-18, 2011, Fall Break

October 24-29, 2011, Homecoming Week: “Jurassic Peay.” For more information visit: www.apsu.edu/sll/gpc

October 31, 2011, GPC Halloween Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in MUC 303 and 305. Doors open at 7:00 pm. 

November 11, 2011, Veterans Day -- No Classes

November 24-27, 2011, Thanksgiving -- University Closed

December 16, 2011, Commencement

December 26-January 2, year end break -- University Closed

Famous people with disabilities:

September

Dr. Samuel Johnson - Samuel Johnson LL.D. MA (September 18 1709 - 13 December 1784), often referred to simply as Dr Johnson, is one of England's best known literary figures, an essayist, biographer, lexicographer and critic of English Literature. He was also a great wit and prose stylist known for his aphorisms. Johnson had poor eyesight, was hard of hearing, and had a scarred face as a result of childhood scrofula. He also had a number of tics and other involuntary movements, the symptoms described by Boswell suggest that Johnson had Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Read more: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/tourettes-famous.shtml#ixzz1WioqQtVa

October

Carrie Fisher - Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. Carrie Fisher is the child of two Hollywood stars Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. Her younger brother is Todd Fisher and her half-sisters are actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher, whose mother is actress Connie Stevens. Fisher published a Suzanne Vale sequel novel, The Best Awful There Is in 2004. Since Postcards from the Edge, Vale has married, become a parent, and divorced. She also is undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder. 
Read more: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/mooddisorders-famous.shtml#ixzz1Wis3eZc5

November

Neil Young - (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) A musician known for his meaningful lyrics and also a spokesman for environmental issues, Neil Young has been labeled one of the greatest guitarists of his time. When he was young his parents divorced and Neil was confronted with many diseases simultaneously and the obstacles he faced included Epilepsy, Polio, and Diabetes yet he managed overcome many of his health related obstacles. Since then, Neil Young has been a peacekeeper through music and is ever present in the fight for justice.
Read more: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/epilepsy-famous.shtml#ixzz1WirpMbuQ

December

Emily Dickinson - (December 10, 1830 - May 15, 1886) Emily Dickinson was born in a successful family with strong community ties. Dickinson chose to publish fewer than a dozen out of her nearly eighteen hundred poems. After her death in 1866, her younger sister Lavinia discovered her cache of poems and published her first collection of poems in 1890 with the help of both Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd. Critics now consider Emily Dickinson to be a major American poet. Emily Dickinson had Meniere’s disease, a disease that can cause profound hearing loss.  Read more: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/menieres-famous.shtml#ixzz1WiwAPBlY

Tech Corner

ODS provides individual, group and open Assistive Technology orientations for AT available on campus. For open orientation dates and times go to the Announcements and Events link on the ODS web site. For individual and group orientations please contact the Adaptive Technology Coordinator at ods@apsu.edu to schedule a date and time.