Jennie Bourgeois

*** posted from Deaf Network of Texas***

Going To College
http://www.going-to-college.org/
This new website contains information about living college life with a disability. It is designed for high school students. The site provides video clips, activities, and resources that can help them get a head start in planning for college. Video interviews with college students with disabilities offer a way to hear firsthand from students with disabilities who have been successful. Modules include activities that will help students explore more about themselves, learn what to expect from college, and equip them with important considerations and tasks to complete when planning for college.

Resource Guide on Higher Education for People with Disabilities
http://www.txddc.state.tx.us/resources/publications/collegehtml.asp

Key Laws link to Disability Laws – General
http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/resources/higher_education/

The Next Step Higher Ed Video
http://www.txddc.state.tx.us/resources/publications/NextStepVideo.asp

TEA Special Education Division
512-463-9414
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/

Secondary Transition guidance:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/transition.html

College – Financial Aid
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Contact info:  512-427-6100
Texas Financial Aid Center:  888-311-8881texasprojectfirst.org/AgePostGraduation.html
Websites: http://www.hhloans.com/cfbin/tofa.cfm?Kind=E
(Exemptions)  http://www.collegefortexans.com/cfbin/tofa.cfm?Kind=E
(Deaf/Blind Waiver and others) http://www.collegefortexans.com/cfbin/tofa.cfm?Kind=W

A Resource Guide for Special Education Students on Transition Services:
http://www.transitionintexas.org/transitionintexas/site/default.asp

AHEAD in Texas   (Association of Higher Education and Disability)
http://www.texasahead.org/work_force/education.html

Project FIRST (Family, Information, Resources, Support and Training)
http://texasprojectfirst.org/AgePostGraduation.html

Advocacy, Inc.
(800) 252-9108
http://www.advocacyinc.org/

The ARC of Texas
800-252-9729
http://www.thearcoftexas.org/

Partners Resource Network
http://partnerstx.org
800-866-4726
Partners@PartnersTx.org

Job Accommodation Network
Office of Disability Employment Policy
http://www.jan.wvu.edu/

U.S. Department of Education
Office of Special Education Programs (IDEA)
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home

Office for Civil Rights
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

Customer Service Team
550 12 Street, SW
Washington, D.C.  20202-1100
800-421-3481
877-521-2172 (TDD)
202-245-6840 (fax)
OCR@ed.gov

Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
1999 Bryan Street, Suite 2600
Dallas, TX  75201
972-437-5923
214-880-2456 (TDD)
214-880-3082 (fax)
OCR_Dallas@ed.gov

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
http://www.rfbd.org
866-732-3585
*recorded textbooks

Vcampus, The e-Learning Solution Provider!
http://www.vcampus.com/webuol/index.cfm
800-915-9298
1850 Centennial Park Drive, Ste.200
Reston, VA  20191
*Provides online courses through several accredited colleges and universities that allow for starting a degree from scratch or finishing up a degree.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://www.nichcy.org
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013-1492
800-695-0285 (Voice/TT)
202-884-8200 (Voice/TT)
*NICHCY Briefing Paper is intended to serve as a guide to help parents and educators know what ADD is, what to look for, and what to do. NICHCY is one of four clearinghouses established by Congress to provide specialized information on disabilities

The Higher Education Act
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/library.html

Parent Tips For Transition Planning
http://www.pacer.org/publications/pdfs/ALL14.pdf
Information on transition planning (TP) which helps to prepare young people for their futures. TP is required in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) for students with a disability by age 16. Provides tips on how to prepare a student for transitioning from school to further education, employment and independent living. This link opens a PDF document.

The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities

The Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities is within the office of the Governor. The Committee’s mission is to further opportunities for persons with disabilities to enjoy full and equal access to lives of independence, productivity, and self-determination. The Committee is composed of 12 members appointed by the governor, and of nonvoting ex officio members. The appointed members are appointed for staggered terms of two years. At least seven of the appointed members must be persons with disabilities. The Committee serves as a central source of information and education on the abilities, rights, problems, and needs of persons with disabilities. The staff of the Governor’s Committee supports and manages the work of the Committee. The Committee’s enabling statute is in the Human Resources Code, Chapter 115.

Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities
P.O. Box 12428  Austin, TX 78711
512-463-5739 (voice),
512-463-5746 (TTY)
Dial 711 or your relay provider of choice
This document is available in alternate formats on request.
http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/
November 30, 2009

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WEBSITE: http://www.accessibleemergencyinfo.com

THe Northeast Texas Public Health District in cooperation with the Department of State Health Services have translated 18 Emergency Preparedness Topics into Videos with ASL translators, downloadable braille and large print documents, and pdf file downloadable documents.

Please visit http://www.accessibleemergencyinfo.com for more information and become better prepared for emergencies in your area.  Surveys are requested to verify how well the information is serving your population, please take a moment to complette the survey before and after viewing the video information.

CONTACT PERSON NAME: Stephanie Walker
CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS: accessibleemergencyinfo@gmail.com
CONTACT TELEPHONE #: (903) 729-7780

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The National Federation of the Blind will announce today that Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison are holding off on expansions of Kindle offerings for students until the reading device is more accessible to the visually impaired, the Associated Press announced. “These universities are saying, ‘Our policy is nondiscrimination, so we’re not going to adopt a technology we know for sure discriminates against blind students,’ ” said a spokesman for the federation. While devices like Kindle have the potential to be valuable tools for the blind, the federation has said that the set-up currently used by Kindle effectively blocks access. A spokesman for Amazon, which produces Kindle, told the wire service that the company was working on improvements. The federation in June sued Arizona State University, saying that its distribution of Kindles to students discriminated against blind people.

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By Michelle Diament

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Raymond Castile photo — At the FACT office in St. Charles, advocacy supervisor Lynn Foust goes over 13-year-old Melissa Zatorski’s school files with her mother, Julie Zatorski.

By Raymond Castile
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 3:13 AM CDT

Julie Zatorski did not believe a learning disability could just disappear.

So she was baffled when a middle school removed her daughter, Melissa Zatorski, from a special education program last year and placed her in a regular seventh-grade classroom.

“They threw her in the shark tank,” said Zatorski, 51. “Her grades plummeted and her self-esteem went down.”

Melissa, 13, had an individualized education program (IEP) that called for basic math courses. The school took Melissa off her IEP after its own testing showed she no longer had learning disabilities, said Zatorski, of St. Peters.

She contacted Family Advocacy and Community Training (FACT), a nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. FACT’s advocacy program educates parents about their public school rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

FACT had already helped Zatorski with her son, Daniel, who has autism.

“It’s very intimidating to be a parent by yourself in a room full of school administrators,” Zatorski said. “They are sitting around, spouting jargon. It is almost like you need an interpreter. But FACT case workers can speak their language.”

Lynn Foust, FACT advocacy supervisor, took Melissa’s case. Foust collected the girl’s school files, reviewed her records, and met with school officials.

“I know the federal regulations in my sleep.” Foust said. “I know the IEP process. If they start using acronyms, I can tell the parent what they mean, what they are proposing, what they are refusing. I also teach the parent advocacy skills, so eventually they can advocate on their own.”

An independent test revealed Melissa still had multiple learning disabilities, but the school refused to accept the results, Zatorski said. Foust helped convince the school to retest Melissa. The school’s second test confirmed the independent test results. The school restored Melissa’s IEP and put her back in special education classes.

“It makes a big difference,” Zatorski said. “Her self-esteem has gone up. She is doing better on her grades.”

Foust said she does not want to create an antagonistic relationship between parents and school officials.

“I need to strengthen the relationship between the school and the parent,” Foust said. “After the file is closed, that child still has to go to that school.”

Denise Gould, FACT executive director, said parents ultimately are their children’s best advocates. They just need help navigating the maze of school procedures and government regulations. FACT conducts workshops to teach parents about the special education process and trains them to communicate more effectively with educators, Gould said.

Audrey Yarbrough and Judy Young founded FACT in 1987. Yarbrough said she was frustrated with trying to obtain school services for her two sons with learning disabilities.

“I was hearing that my sons were not trying, not fitting in,” Yarbrough said. “I was told I was the only parent asking these kinds of questions at school.”

In 1984, Yarbrough started a support group for parents of children with learning disabilities.

“I thought starting a support group would verify whether I was crazy, or if other parents had the same issues,” she said.

In one year, the group grew from eight parents to more than 100. Two years later, the support group had evolved into FACT.

The organization employs 15 staff members. Three years ago, it moved into its current offices at 800 Friedens Road, suite 200, in St. Charles.

FACT also runs the Partnership with Families program in partnership with Crider Health Center. The program focuses on children in danger of being removed from their home and placed in foster care, residential homes or the juvenile justice system. FACT works to keep the families intact, sending “parent partners” to the families’ homes.

The FACT People First program teaches adults with developmental disabilities to impact their communities and push for change in state and federal laws.

“Everyone who works at FACT is the parent of a child with developmental disabilities or emotional disorders, so we have walked a mile in those shoes,” said Gould, 54.

Gould, of St. Peters, began her walk 25 years ago with the birth of her son, David Gould.

“We immediately knew something was wrong,” Denise Gould said. “He wouldn’t feed, wouldn’t suck. He would vomit 10 or 12 times a day. He spent his first 18 months in and out of the hospital.”

David’s symptoms puzzled doctors, who could offer no diagnosis besides “failure to thrive,” Gould said. It took four years for doctors to diagnose more specific conditions, including oral apraxia, an inability to coordinate oral muscle movements. David also had learning disabilities, Tourette syndrome and a seizure disorder. Functionally non-verbal, he communicated using sign language and computer devices.

“The doctor said we need to put him in an institution and get on with our lives,” Gould said. “We didn’t want to do that.”

Gould wanted David to attend public school with his neighborhood friends, children who understood him and looked out for him. But the school district wanted to place David in a special state school. Gould turned to FACT and Yarbrough for help.

“Audrey taught me strategies and how to use my voice in effective ways to communicate with schools,” Gould said. “She told me what David’s rights were and she went with me to the school. That made me feel empowered and supported. She was my guide.”

The school hired additional staff to work with David, keeping him in regular education classrooms. David graduated with the rest of his class in 2003. He now has a hotel job and lives on his own.

“He has a full life and many friends,” Gould said. “Now he can advocate for himself. That is the outcome of successful educators and advocacy.”

For more information, visit www.factmo.org or call 636-949-2425, ext. 256.

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U.S. Department of Labor Steps Up Efforts to Serve Workers with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) joined President Obama today in underscoring the administration’s commitment to serving every American worker, including the 54 million people across the nation living with disabilities.

Read the Press Release (see link below)

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20091228.htm

U.S. Department of Labor Holds ‘National Listening Session’ for Public Input on Reauthorization of Workforce Investment Act

ODEP Assistant Kathy Martinez and Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Jane Oates heard comments from workforce investment systems personnel, representatives of the disability community, leaders of nonprofit organizations, academic professionals and members of the general public. Approximately 700 people attended in person, by webinar and via conference call.

Read the Press Release (see link below)

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/odep/ODEP20091211.htm

Workforce3 One Unveils a New Disability and Employment Resource Web Page

In connection with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Workforce3 One unveiled a new Disability and Employment Resource web page to provide employment-related resources for the workforce system. The purposes of this page are to disseminate promising practices to promote the positive employment outcomes of people with disabilities and expand the capacity of the One-Stop Career Center system to serve customers with disabilities.

http://disability.workforce3one.org/

These stories and more are now available from the Office of Disability Employment Policy home page. Go to http://www.dol.gov/odep/

Visit us on the web at http://www.dol.gov

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From THE WHITE HOUSE
<http://jfactivist.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed3f13788330120a5b27c88970b-pi>

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release September 30, 2009
NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH, 2009

- – - – - – -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Fair access to employment is a fundamental right of every American,
including the 54 million people in this country living with disabilities. A
job can provide financial stability, help maximize our potential, and allow
us to achieve our dreams. As Americans, we possess a range of vocational
opportunities to make the most of our talents and succeed in a chosen
career; those with disabilities are entitled to the same opportunities.

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recommit ourselves
to implementing effective policies and practices that increase employment
opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

In the past half-century, we have made great strides toward providing equal
employment opportunities in America, but much work remains to be done. As
part of that continuing effort, we must seek to provide opportunities for
individuals with disabilities. Only then can Americans with disabilities
achieve full participation in the workforce and reach the height of their
ambition.

My Administration is committed to promoting positive change for every
American, including those with disabilities. The Federal Government and its
contractors can lead the way by implementing effective employment policies
and practices that increase opportunities and help workers achieve their
full potential. Across this country, millions of people with disabilities
are working or want to work. We must ensure they have access to the support
and services they need to succeed.

Recognizing the need for equal employment opportunities, we must also
strengthen and expand the educational opportunities for individuals with
disabilities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act substantially
increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and
provided more than $500 million for vocational rehabilitation services,
including job training, education, and placement. If we are to build a world
free from unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination, we must
ensure that every American receives an education that prepares him or her
for future success.

Each day, Americans with disabilities play a critical role in forging and
shaping the identity of our Nation. Their contributions touch us all through
personal experience or through that of a family member, neighbor, friend, or
colleague. We grow stronger as a Nation when Americans feel the dignity
conferred by having the ability to support themselves and their families
through productive work. This month, we rededicate ourselves to fostering an
inclusive work culture that welcomes the skills and talents of all qualified
employees.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of
the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009, as National Disability
Employment Awareness Month. I call on all Americans to celebrate the
contributions of individuals with disabilities to our workplaces and
communities, and to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities
to create a better, more inclusive America, one in which every person is
rightly recognized for his or her abilities and accomplishments.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

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NEWS RELEASE
NCD #09–588
September 30, 2009
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004

WASHINGTON—The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released a report entitled The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities, calling for immediate health care reform for people with disabilities.

According to NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, “NCD undertook this study in 2007 to focus the nation’s attention on the health care disparities experienced by people with disabilities, and to provide information and recommendations that can help to eliminate health care inequities for people with disabilities.“

The report provides a road map for eliminating the pervasive barriers to health care for people with disabilities, which will improve the quality of life, productivity, and well-being of greater numbers of Americans as the population ages.

Some of the recommendations include:

●        Congress should amend the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act to broaden the definition of “health disparity population” found in 42 U.S.C. § 287c-31(d) to encompass “populations for which there is a significant disparity in the quality, outcomes, cost, or use of health care services o r access to or satisfaction with such services as compared to the general population,” as specified in 42 U.S.C. § 299a-1(d).
●        Congress should establish a technical assistance system through which states, health plans, clinics, hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, individual medical practitioners, equipment manufacturers, people with disabilities, and others can easily obtain centralized information on universal standards of care and related practical resources for ensuring full access to culturally competent health care services for people with disabilities.
●        The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) must step up monitoring and enforcement of the ADA and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act for health care facilities and programs. DOJ must focus additional resources on compliance monitoring and investigation of Title III complaints concerning programmatic access violations of the ADA and Section 504 by health care providers.
●        Congress should ensure that reform of the health care system in the United States responds to the basic needs of people with disabilities by making certain that health care coverage is available and affordable to all people with disabilities without pre-existing condition limitations.
According to NCD Health Care Committee Co-Chair Anne M. Rader, “People with disabilities bear a disproportionate burden of poor health compared with the general population and use preventive services at a lower rate than people who do not have disabilities.”

For many, health care in the United States is not always available or affordable, and gaps in coverage can present insurmountable obstacles to obtaining appropriate care and maintaining good health. Lack of health care provider education and disability cultural awareness and competency also creates significant barriers for people with disabilities when they try t o access care.

The root causes of these longstanding health and health care inequities involve multiple, complex factors that are embedded in the historical evolution of the nation’s health care structure, and the parallel research and public health emphasis on disability prevention and cure. One especially serious outcome of this evolutionary process is a highly fragmented health care delivery system, which is unable to reconcile the competing interests of cost containment and patient-centered care, which is an important tool for achieving culturally competent care for people with disabilities.

According to NCD Health Care Committee Co-Chair Victoria Ray Carlson, “Immediate action must be taken where existing research reveals the clear need for such strategies as enhanced health care provider education, greater clinical research, enhanced payment systems, and the removal of policy and procedural barriers and other physical barriers to receiving quality health care services.”

There is no simple solution to the complex and entrenched problems people with disabilities experience when they seek health care. Key elements of any move toward reform must include action by Congress, Federal agencies that have a role in health care, professional medical associations, organizations of medical educators, accreditation organizations, the public health community, and the disability community.

For more information or to receive a copy of the report, please contact NCD’s Mark S. Quigley, at mquigley@ncd.gov or by telephone at 202-272-2004.

# # #

Mark S. Quigley
Director of External Affairs
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2008
202-272-2022 fax
www.ncd.gov

You also may want to join more than 2,000 subscribers who receive the latest news from NCD via its listserv. Please sign up at http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/ and click on On-line mailing list archives, then select NCD-NEWS-L and complete the short subscription form.

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Status Update: On September 16, 2009, the Commission voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [HTML] |  [PDF] to conform its ADA regulations to the Amendments Act of 2008. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2009. The Commission has also issued a question and answer guide on the NPRM. Below is a summary of the changes made by the Amendments Act, which became effective on January 1, 2009. You may continue to check this space for periodic updates.

---

On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADA Amendments Act” or “Act”). The Act emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis.

The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC’s ADA regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

The Act retains the ADA’s basic definition of “disability” as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. Most significantly, the Act:

• directs EEOC to revise that portion of its regulations defining the term “substantially limits”;
• expands the definition of “major life activities” by including two non-exhaustive lists:
  • the first list includes many activities that the EEOC has recognized (e.g., walking) as well as activities that EEOC has not specifically recognized (e.g., reading, bending, and communicating);
  • the second list includes major bodily functions (e.g., “functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions”);
• states that mitigating measures other than “ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses” shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability;
• clarifies that an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active;
• changes the definition of “regarded as” so that it no longer requires a showing that the employer perceived the individual to be substantially limited in a major life activity, and instead says that an applicant or employee is “regarded as” disabled if he or she is subject to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire or termination) based on an impairment that is not transitory and minor;
• provides that individuals covered only under the “regarded as” prong are not entitled to reasonable accommodation.

EEOC will be evaluating the impact of these changes on its enforcement guidances and other publications addressing the ADA.

Effective Date:

The ADA Amendments Act is effective as of January 1, 2009.

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