University Accessibility and Accommodations

Throughout its history, Fitchburg State University has gone through numerous transitions in order to become accessible to students with disabilities. With the addition of ramps, bridges, and elevators, students with impairments are able to access multiple buildings without experiencing any difficulties. Even though Fitchburg State wasn’t always “wheelchair friendly”, the university, in recent years, made it a top priority to provide accessibilities and accommodations to those who were disabled. On-campus programs, such as Disability Services, have been extremely supportive to students with disabilities; they provide practical help and emotional support to those who need it. Although Disability Services is the most well-known program at Fitchburg that aids students with disabilities, there are other organizations with similar roles.

Along with making Fitchburg State more wheelchair friendly, there have also been accommodations for testing, equipment, learning, commuting, and resident hall accommodations. There is a popular program called IEP used for children who need special education accommodations. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program which was created in 1975 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IEP was created so that every student has an equal opportunity to learn if they have a learning or physical disability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires certain information to be included in an IEP such as the best way the child learns. IEP forms differ based on the state but they have relatively similar information. The IEP should also include support systems for the child and the child’s educational goals. In most IEP’s there is a Behavioral Plan. This is an agreement between the student, parents/guardians, and staff of the school. A psychologist must sign off or be apart of the IEP for it to pass as well.

At Fitchburg State University, Disability Services provide technology for those who need it. This includes Braille, Dragon, Capti Voice, Jaws, and ZoomText. These devices have software that will read aloud, type for you through voice activation, and magnifies texts for those who are visually impaired. Fitchburg State also provides sign language interpreters for any class or event as long as you fill out a registration form ahead of time.  America Printing House for the Blind provides note takers, screen readers, speech synthesizers, and talking software. Fitchburg State University offers counseling services which could be helpful to those with disabilities. The Counseling Service offers individual and couples counseling, outreach workshops, crisis intervention, and a program to help those who want or need help from the counseling service understand it better. The Counseling Services Office is located in the Hammond Building on the third floor. They are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Those with disabilities can have a harder time adjusting to the school. It could be because of learning issues, time management, or fitting into social standards. Counseling is good because it can help anyone learn coping mechanisms and handle the transition to college. Many counselors are familiar with the history of disability and social stigmas of having a disability so they are trained with knowledge to help those with disabilities.

In history, those with disabilities have often been stigmatized by society. This can include stereotyping, social avoidance, blame, discrimination, and hate-crimes. The highest percentage of people living with disabilities is highest in the south. Sixty-one million people in America currently live with a diagnosed psychological or physical disability. It seems like a very large number of people have a disability yet they can get ridiculed or pitied doing everyday activities. 13.7% of those who are disabled have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs, 10.8% have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions (cognition), 6.8% have difficulty doing errands alone,10.5% have difficulty seeing or hearing and 3.7% have difficulty dressing or bathing (self-care). Because those who are disabled may have difficulty doing certain things, they can be put down for it but it does not mean daily activities are impossible for them. I think counseling and other support systems are very important for those who are disabled because they can be put down and it can make college much harder.

There are many parking spaces for those who are disabled. Out of the twenty-five parking lots on campus, almost everyone of them have accessible parking spaces for the disabled. There are two shuttles that run on campus most of the day that is accessible for wheelchairs. The shuttles run from the Wallace Civic Center to the Train Station on main street and has a stop in front of every building. There are two different shuttle sizes, both of which are wheelchair accessible.

Fitchburg State University’s decision to renovate its entire campus for students with disabilities was a step in the right direction. There’s more handicapped bathrooms, more sustainable bridges, more safer elevators, and even more parking spaces available for students with disabilities. By providing accessibility and accommodation services to people with impairments, Fitchburg State University has shown to be a true supporter for the disabled community.

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