{"id":2251,"date":"2015-11-19T20:25:55","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T04:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernjournal\/?p=2251"},"modified":"2015-11-19T20:25:55","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T04:25:55","slug":"faculty-workshop-given-by-ods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/faculty-workshop-given-by-ods\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Workshop Given by ODS"},"content":{"rendered":"
By: Emily Pate \r\nStaff Writer<\/pre>\n
Malissa Larson, Director of the Office of Disability Services (ODS) here at Western gave a presentation to Western faculty on working with students who have disabilities, Friday Nov. 13, 2015.<\/p>\n
Though geared towards faculty and staff, much of what Larson said is also important for students to keep in mind. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll the students we\u2019re working with are qualified to be here,\u201d Larson said. To her, this was the most important thing for faculty to remember.<\/p>\n
The ODS\u2019s website defines a disability as \u201can impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. Examples of major life activities include walking, listening, reading, and learning.\u201d <\/p>\n
There are approximately 400 Western students currently registered with the ODS. <\/p>\n
For both students and faculty, using the correct terminology is critical. The same with any identity, the individual should guide us in what language to use in relation to them. <\/p>\n
The correct term to use, Larson said, is individuals with disabilities. Larson explained that other, more widely used terms, such as handicapped or disabled, have a long negative stigma attached to them, and do not acknowledge the person, only the disability. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs with any underrepresented group, the language changes over time,\u201d Larson said. It is the responsibility of each person to educate themselves on the current, appropriate language. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important for students to know that the majority [of individuals with a disability] have an invisible disability,\u201d Larson said. \u201cSo their friend, their classmate, their roommate may have a disability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t a major, minor, or graduate program that we aren\u2019t involved in. There\u2019s no program that doesn\u2019t include an individual with a disability,\u201d she continued.
\nShe advised faculty to \u201cwork with every individual as if they\u2019ve got something going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the presentation, Larson stressed how gaining knowledge about underrepresented groups can benefit Western as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love it if more and more faculty were trained,\u201d Larson said. \u201cWe want our campus to be inclusive and welcoming. And awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a place of higher learning, I think it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility to learn about what other people are experiencing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
About responsibility, Larson also stated, \u201cWhen there\u2019s two people involved, they\u2019re equally responsible for communication.\u201d <\/p>\n
One of the ways students can offer aid is to be note takers. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for note takers,\u201d Larson said. \u201cI encourage students to always come in and apply.\u201d Students can apply at the Office of Disability Services at APSC 405.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Emily Pate Staff Writer Malissa Larson, Director of the Office of Disability Services (ODS) here at Western gave a presentation to Western faculty on working with students who have disabilities, Friday Nov. 13, 2015. Though geared towards faculty and staff, much of what Larson said is also important for students to keep in mind. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":823,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-life"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/823"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}