Help! I need to get to the Oregon Disability Megaconference

I am presenting at the ODMC and am short the remaining registration fee. Please help if you can.

The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 21

Happy Anniversary everyone! Today the Americans with Disabilities Act is 21 years old. For some of us that means every year of their lives have been covered by the ADA. This, does not mean it has all been smooth sailing. We still need to work at getting just the simplest needs met. Those of us who were born 21 years ago can now legally drink, vote and do all of the things that are rights of passage in the U.S., but they are still not given equal education, employment or access.

The image to the left is the ADAPT Free Our People symble, breaking chains on the arms over the head of the universal wheelchair access symble.

"The American with Disabilities Act was a wide-sweeping civil rights legislation giving protections to individuals with disabilities. Equal opportunity was established for employment, transportation, telecommunications, public accommodations and the state and federal government's services." Borrowed from the Museum of DisABILITY History. The Society Timeline is a welth of information and I suggest everyone read it and know our history.

The Image to the right is of an ADAPT activist crawling up the capitals steps to get the ADA past in 1989.

I was recently interviewed for a video project in the journalism school at the University of Oregon.

Update

I have updated the "Liked Links" page with a lot of interesting articles and websites. If you have questions about disability culture, access issues, laws, or service dogs check it out. One of the articles is writen by Anais Keenon a fellow AccessABILITY Student Union member.

Also, I have added a button to the yahoo group for the Willamette Valley Assistance Dog Club. I co-founded the WVADC with Melissa Mitchell and we are growing fast. We are the third ADC in the nation. You can find us and like us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Willamette-Valley-Assistance-Dog-Club/109121329176664

Advocacy Hotline

The following is a very exciting new tool.

Guide Dog Association Launches Innovative Hotline:The National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), has launched aninnovative new service. The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline not only offersinformation about the legal rights of individuals who use service animals, itoffers the option to speak with an advocate who is trained to resolve accessdenials. According to the new federal guidelines that took effect on March 15,2011, a service animal is "any dog that is individually trained to do work orperform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability" (28 CFR Part35.104 & 28 CFR Part 36.104). The new regulations specifically state, "Otherspeciesof animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not serviceanimals for the purposes of this definition." In an effort to Further clarifyits intent, the Department of Justice specifically states, "The crime deterrenteffects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support,well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for thepurposes of this definition.""We find that most access problems are the result of a lack ofinformation," says Michael Hingson, the Association's vice president, who servesas project manager for the hotline. "This hotline is an excellent resource foraccurate information."The NAGDU Education & Advocacy Hotline currently offers generalinformation about service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA), as well as specific guidance concerning restaurants, taxicabs, and healthcare facilities. Callers needing immediate assistance can connect directly to alive trained advocate. Future plans for the hotline includesummaries of each of the state laws concerning service animals, moreindustry-specific information, and guidance in a variety of languages, such asMandarin and Arabic. The hotline is available anytime by calling, toll- free,(866) - 972 - 3647.

Department of Justice Office of Public AffairsFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Justice Department Reaches ADA Settlement to Make Law School Application Processes Accessible to Blind ApplicantsAgreement also reached with Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today its participation in two related settlement agreements involving the accessibility of the Law School Admission Council’s (LSAC) online application service, which is used by law schools nationwide for their application processes. As a result of these agreements, LSAC’s online application service, and the online application process of the nation's law schools, will be accessible to individuals who are blind.

Under the first agreement, which resolves a lawsuit filed against LSAC by the National Federation of the Blind, LSAC will take critical steps to ensure that its online application website, http://www.lsac.org/ , will be fully accessible to individuals who use screen readers by the beginning of the fall 2012 application cycle. Application through the LSAC website offers several convenient features to applicants—including LSAC’s “Common Information Form;” bundling of applications into the required LSAC Credential Assembly Service, which eliminates the need to obtain multiple transcripts, letters of recommendations and evaluations for applicants to more than one school; and online payment of the application fee. The department is a signatory to this agreement, which signifies that the steps the LSAC will undertake for its website will satisfy, in part, the law schools’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make their application processes equally accessible to individuals who are blind.

The second agreement is between the department and Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. It requires the law school to modify its own website to notify potential applicants of a process they may use to apply to the law school until the LSAC electronic application process has been made fully accessible. Specifically, the notice will state that LSAC currently provides telephone assistance free of charge to individuals completing applications. The law school will also post current policies of non-discrimination on the basis of disability on its application website. Finally, the law school will cease using the LSAC electronic application process for the fall 2012 application cycle if the LSAC website is not fully accessible under the terms reached in the agreement involving the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), LSAC and the department.

The agreement is the result of an investigation following a complaint from the NFB about the school’s use of the LSAC website. The department is working with other law schools to reach similar agreements. “Increased use of the Internet or other electronic technologies may enhance convenience for law schools and applicants alike, but the rights of individuals with disabilities may not be violated in the process,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “In this case, blind students were denied an equal opportunity to apply to law school. The ADA requires equal access to educational opportunities, and the Civil Rights Division is committed to vigorous enforcement of the ADA.” In passing the ADA and the recent ADA Amendments Act, Congress found that individuals with disabilities were uniquely disadvantaged in critical areas, including education. The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and covers discrimination by private educational facilities, including law schools and other post-graduate institutions. Those interested in seeking information about ADA rights and responsibilities may access the department’s ADA website at http://www.ada.gov/ or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD). For the full agreements, visit www.ada.gov/LSAC.htm and www.ada.gov/john-marshall-lawsch.htm .11-519Civil Rights Division

Toby Olson, Executive SecretaryGovernor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment360-486-5891360-407-2647 FAX360-486-5897 TTY

Americans with Disabilities Act Update

As of yesterday, the ides of March, the revision to the ADA went into effect. Among them is a more clear definition regarding what is a service animal.

Old Definition:
ADA Title III: Implementing Regulation
36.104 Definitions

Service animal means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.

New Definition Effective March 15, 2011
Title III: Final Rule Amending 28 CFR Pt. 36: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities

Definition
Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

The most significant Change to the definition is that dogs are now the only recognized animal with the exception of miniature horses in some instances. The clarification of the role of a service animal can preform excluding protection or emotional support is a great step towards better understanding and acceptance.

The Dept. of Justice issued the following corrections to both title II and Title III. Linked below:

• Highlights of the Final Rule to Amend the Department of Justice’s Regulation Implementing Title II of the ADA
  
• Title II: Corrections to the Final Rule (HTML) Title II: Corrections (PDF) (as published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2011). This document corrects typographical errors and one substantive error reflected in certain sections of the rule relating to service animals. These corrections should be read together with the final rule published on September 15, 2010.
  
• Highlights of the Final Rule to Amend the Department of Justice’s Regulation Implementing Title III of the ADA
  
• Title III: Corrections to the Final Rule (HTML) Title III: Corrections (PDF) (as published in the Federal Register on March 11, 2011). This document corrects an inadvertent error in an instruction, the omission of some language in the rule, and an error reflected in certain sections of the rule relating to service animals. These corrections should be read together with the final rule published on September 15, 2010.
  
• New DOJ Small Business Brief
  

The 15th was also personally an important day for both Cammy and I. We have been together for 5 years.

To take the test or not to take the test?

To make a long story short, I was about to work out the accommodations with the TLC to take a practice test. I score on an average scale, which I think is not bad at all. With some studying and and practice at increasing my speed I will do much better. It is the speed that counts and is the most difficult for me. I understand how to go about solving the scenarios, but when you are under a time crunch you overlook obvious clues or spend to much time on one and not enough on another.
The complication this mouth was the accommodations for the real test and that is where think got frustration. On January 8 I sent the LSAC a packet of materials that was about four inches thick. It contained Visual reports, past accommodations reports, SAT scores, letter from Disability Services, and other such documents. The LSAC's deadline was the 11th and on the 10th I received an email stating that I was missing Evaluation form E1. Thinking about it that was a form I gave to my doctor to fill out and he sent it back to me blank. So, I faxed it to his office and asked them PLEASE to fill it out and fax it to the LSAC. I then called the next day to make sure this had been done and the office staff assured me that it had. Yeah, weathered that one, except the LSAC never got it. Now at this point I was pounding the top of my desk because it was to late to get accommodations for the February 12 test.
So, that was not very short but I am looking at it this was, I have more time to study and do better on the June test.

Purpose, what is it good for!

Stereotypes, are they not fun? Sometimes it irks me to think of myself as living up to one of those, sometimes amusing but more often hurtful predisposed views. There are a lot of blind lawyers out there which on one had can be welcome. Seeing more people with disabilities in the workforce increases the level of awareness of accessibility and abilities. In the image to the right Matt Murdock (aka Deardevil) is a lawyer in his mundane life and is here seen in court with a white cane and dark glasses. Hollywood gives us a fine example of what a blind person should be able to do, Be a superhero with great legal skills.

I came across a law school that had an application designed to be more accessible to people with visual impairments. There it was "click here for Visual Impaired Applications" I was flabbergasted. In instances such as this one it makes some of the process easier. However, on the other hand, doing what is expected of me has never been the most concerning to me. I was always the one who did the things no one else would do or at least equally as well as the others. But here it is, the role that could have been assigned to me. You could be a piano tuner or peddel on the street corner, be a shrink or go into law. How do stereotypes come about? For the first two in the above list they were very common in the earlier twentieth century and the last to are very prevalent recently. Why, what changed in society to shift the focus of ability form one to another? Are people who are blind just more lawful? That statement should be met by derisive laughter. Maybe we are so organized and the field of law demands a high level of organization we are drawn to it. Again laughter of the absurd kind inserted here. In Germany PWAB are encouraged to go into massage which is very tactile so you really do not need to see. But, this philosophy of a set path based on one of the five senses is not an answer that I will except. Now I am not belittling being blind and a masseuse, not at all, but I am not interested for myself. I have been told , by a complete stranger nun the less, that I should be a masseuse and argued quite a lot with me when I politely replied that it was not for me. So, where does that leave me? I have and have always had a deep felt duty to work for some over arching stereotype rending, society changing purpose. And here I am ranting.

What I CAN do: Part I

This last weekend I spoke with two people who said very similar statements. “I would not be as capable as you are if I had a disability.” I am paraphrasing but coming from different people in such a short time in varying circumstances set my mind to ponder. I, at the time commented that “you do not know what you are able to do until you are set the task.” or ”No one know innately how to be adaptable.” evolutions since of humor has not allowed for that yet. One of the individuals conceded that you could go on with life if she was shown how, which is the right attitude I think. As I said this it got me thinking, of the various form disabilities take and the accommodations that can be arranged. I am going through some frustrations with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) around my own accommodations for the LSAT. The medical model of accessibility has been the prevailing understanding for decades. However, I found in the following quote from Micheal Waterstone an associate dean and professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, presents a well stated example of a more sociopolitical model of disability as the medical model is re-examined.

“doctors serve as gatekeepers to benefits: fear of fraud. But starting in the 1960s, another more empowering view of disability began to emerge. Fed up with medical professionals exerting control over their lives, people with disabilities urged a new and different view of disability.
Under this view, it is not entirely an individuals impairments (meaning what is different within their body or mind from a "norm") that create a disabling condition; rather, it is society's response to those impairments. To use a simple example, if an individual who uses a wheelchair approaches a building that only has stairs to the entrance, is the individual "disabled" because they are in a wheelchair, or because a building has been built without a ramp? Many disability rights advocates would urge the latter understanding. “

If you would like to read the intire article it can be found here http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_16200411
More to come on this subject.

Test Prep

I am thrilled that I have received such a welcome. It is very encouraging when situations like the following occurs.
There is a lot of time and effort given to the accommodations process but what happens when the preparation for the test itself is not included. I am referring to the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) of course. I am taking a prep course the the university's Teaching and Learning Center. It is a basic overview of the kinds of problems on the test and strategies on how to go about solving them. At the end of the course is a practice test, which is a great idea due to the rather alien nature of the format. The one element that is repeated like a catechism is “practice under the same condition that the test will be taken under.” Very good advice on the whole. However, when I approached Jenifer, the instructor, after class last night and put it before her that I am to have more time and a reader on the real test, her reactions was disappointing. Now, I am not unused to having to come to some kind of compromise, far from it, and I was all ready to do it here. Jenifer thought maybe taking the practice test at Disability Services would work, which is not a bad idea. “I am not a student any more” I said “and I am not sure they would accommodate a practice test anyway.” She conceded the point ans said she would think on it. I am a non confrontational person by nature (on my own behalf usually) but if everyone is encouraged to have an authentic experience of the test I should as well. Reading the problems myself and hearing someone else do it in a timed format, make for a very different feel.
Problems of this kind are not forefront in the minds of the student nor are they thought to much about by the people who teach you how to be your own advocate. It is all about the REAL thing. Think how much better students would do on the test if they were allowed the same conditions the same predictable circumstances like the rest of the class has learned to expect.

The Begining

One thing that has interested me for a long time has been the laws around service dogs. Since I first knew I wanted to be partnered with a dog with legal protections I started to learn all I could about them. Education of oneself and others (such as my family) is very important when starting off on such a life-changing endeavor. This draw to the service dog world helped to make me more conscious of disability rights outside of my own. Becoming more and more aware of the cross-disability community has shaped my vocation focus. The law is where I belong. Advocating is something that has seemingly come very naturally to and for me. It is time I use those skills to extend the reach of others. This blog is to show the methods I used to get from this point I just described, to working through all of the logistical, accommodations, applications and emotional processes that come with going to law school and being a person who is blind and has a learning disability.