Resources
Tips for Interacting with Persons Who Have Disabilities
Academic Assistance and Tutoring
- Inclusion in the classroom—Guidelines for instructors to insure compliance with the ADA. Also includes syllabi guidelines and sample statements
. - Learning Center—Provides writing assistance for all courses not labeled "writing intensive,"assists students with math in a lab setting, offers help sessions and test reviews, and helps students with reading comprehension and study skills. The Center also has considerable expertise in working with students with disabilities.
- Library Services—Assists library users with disabilities.
- Universal Design for Learning
Accommodations
- Academic Support Center—Helps with classroom and related academic accommodation issues involving technology (e.g. assistive listening devices).
- Disability Services—Provides accommodations and support services within the resources of the University. Assists college departments in providing access to services and programs in the most integrated setting possible.
- Interpreters
- TTY/TDD Phones—Check the campus accessibility map for locations of TTY/TDD phones.
FOR FURTHER READING
Assessment and Evaluation
- Assessment and Consultation Clinic—Conducts fee-based LD and AD/HD assessments for students and others. Through a contract with the Missouri Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (MDVR), the Clinic also reviews all learning disability (LD) assessments done for clients or prospective clients of MDVR.
Counseling
- Counseling Center—Provides counseling to employees and students, including employee assistance, psychological counseling, and the like; works with many people who have disabilities.
Emergency Preparedness
- Disaster Readiness Tips for People with Disabilities (mobility, sensory, developmental/cognitive, owners of service animals)
Employment
Event Planning
- Guidelines for event planning—Tips for planning accessible events. Covers locations, parking, providing notice of opportunity to request accommodations based on disability, interpreters, lodging accommodations and sample statements to include in event promotional materials, tickets and programs.
Facilities and Housing
- Residential Life—Has day-to-day responsibility for MU residence halls and apartments. Residential Life, for example, works with:
- students who are deaf or hard of hearing and may need doorbell lights, emergency alarm lights, telephone amplifiers, and wake-up systems,
- students who have service animals, and
- students with severe disabilities who need personal assistance services in the residence halls.
- Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.
- Snow removal—During the winter months, accumulation of snow and/or ice on streets and sidewalks can impede or preclude the travel of students across campus. To report areas requiring attention by campus snow removal crews, contact the following. On weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., contact Campus Facilities at 882-8211. After 10 p.m. or on weekends, contact the Campus Power Plant at 882-3333. Staff there will help locate assistance. Please note that some walkways and streets are not controlled by the University, but fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Columbia. Therefore, due to MU's lack of control, there may be greater difficulty in resolving accessibility problems attributable to snow and ice accumulation on those streets and walkways.
Parking and Transportation
- Campus Accessibility Map—Provides locations of accessible and automatic entrances, accessible parking, ramps, elevators, chair lifts, curb cuts, crosswalks, emergency phones, TTY's, access barriers, bus stops, barrier-free sidewalks, and more.
- Parking permits and information for persons with disabilities
- Commencement information for guests with disabilities
- Lift-equipped bus—During the fall and spring semesters, MU provides a lift-equipped bus for students with permanent and temporary mobility impairments. Limited availability.
Publications
- Guidelines for publications—Includes sample statements for providing accommodations, notice of non-discrimination, and availability of information in accessible formats.
Recreation
- Recreational Services—Offers various programs, classes, and activities. Accessible equipment is available.
Technology
- Adaptive Computing Technology Center—Provides technology assessments to help students, faculty and staff find technologies that are right for them; digital textbooks, ergonomic evaluations; training, website accessibility checks, adaptive workstations, an d equipment and software loans.
- HITEC Group International—supplier of assistive devices providing technology for the home, workplace and public facilities.
- Trace Center at the University of Wisconsin—Trace's mission statement is "to prevent the barriers and capitalize on the opportunities presented by current and emerging information and telecommunication technologies, in order to create a world that is as accessible and usable as possible for as many people as possible."
Travel
- Access Able Travel Source—"Access Able is the premier site for travel access information on the Web, or anywhere else for that fact. Our success has been helped by hundreds of disability organizations, businesses and individuals around the world."
- Mobility International USA (MIUSA)—"As a US-based national non-profit organization, the mission of Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is to empower people with disabilities around the world through international exchange, information, technical assistance and training, and to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in international exchange and development programs."
- DisabledTravelers.com—Provides information on accessible travel, including a blog.
Universal Design
- Center for Universal Design—"The Center for Universal Design is a national research, information, and technical assistance center that evaluates, develops, and promotes universal design in housing, public and commercial facilities, and related products."
- WGBH National Center for Accessible Media—"The CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) is a research and development facility that works to make media accessible to underserved populations such as disabled persons, minority language users, and people with low literacy skills."
- Adaptive Environments—"A non-profit organization, AE was founded in 1978 to address the environmental issues that confront people with disabilities and elderly people. Adaptive Environments promotes accessibility as well as universal design through education programs, technical assistance, training, consulting, publications and design advocacy."
- Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)—CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals, especially those with disabilities, through Universal Design for Learning.
- Trace Center—Trace's mission statement is "to prevent the barriers and capitalize on the opportunities presented by current and emerging information and telecommunication technologies, in order to create a world that is as accessible and usable as possible for as many people as possible."