Winter 2006 UCLA

NEW HORIZONS

UCLA Office for Students with Disabilities

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1. A Word from the Director: Kathy's Korner by Kathy Molini
2. Searching for Scholarships
3. Schedule to Request Proctor Test-Taking Accommodation, OSD Resource Room
4. 2004-2005 Annual Report
5. Construction Update
6. Disabled Student Union Wants You!
7. Alternative Formats Available
8. Have You Moved?
9. Educational Testing Services
10. ETS Documentation Updates and Other Information from the 2005 International Dyslxeia Conference.
11. ADA/504 Compliance Office
12. Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Disability
13. Contacting OSD

A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR

Kathy's Korner

I  hope your Winter Break was wonderful and that you are getting a good start to the Winter Quarter. We are here to help, so let us know if you need our assistance. The following is information I would like to draw your attention to.

Scholarships Benefit Students with Disabilities

During academic year 2004-05, many students with disabilities applied for and received a significant amount of money in scholarship awards from scholarships designated specifically for students with disabilities. Many long-standing awards such as the Gordon Hein, Will Rogers, Samuel Oschin, Nancy Orford, and Nadia Powers continued to be available to students. Some newer scholarship awards were the Lemons Scholarship, the Douglas Martin Scholarship and the M. Stuart Lynn Scholarship. In 2005-06, the Lemons Foundation has continued to support OSD students and we have received a new scholarship from Mr. Ron Conway. Students initiate their requests at the OSD. OSD then works with the Office of Financial Aid to review applications and to disburse the funds to the recipients. Awards are made for a variety of requests. Students continue to appreciate the generosity of each of these donors whose support is critical to their success. For more information on scholarships, please see the section on scholar-ships in this newsletter.

New OSD Staff Member

Rogerio Pedro recently joined our staff as an Administrative Assistant. Roger graduated with a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Public Administration and Computer Science. He speaks several languages and is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His dream was working at UCLA, and it became true in October 2005.

You will find him working back and forth between our Murphy office and the Powell Resource Room.

Proctoring Service

As you know, it is very important for you to make your request for proctoring as soon as possible, so the Resource Room staff and your professors/TA’s can make the necessary arrangements. Please check the schedule of days and times on page 2 in this newsletter.

Have a great quarter!

Searching For Scholarships?

Check out our website scholarship/internship section at: http://www.osd.ucla.edu/scholarships.htm

The Scholarship Resource Center is another great source for scholarships. The search for scholarships can be complicated and confusing, but the Scholarship Resource Center (SRC) is here to help guide you through the maze. The SRC maintains a scholarship database and library, and provides workshops and counseling. The SRC is located at 233 Covel Commons (206-2875).

The SRC also offers the U.S. National and British Merit Scholarships and workshops to provide UCLA students information about national scholarships such as the Rhodes, Churchill, and Truman Scholarship programs.

A great way to become familiar with the process is to sign up for one of the Free Scholarship Search Workshops. Check the SRC website for times and locations.

www.college.ucla.edu/up/src

SCHEDULE TO REQUEST PROCTOR TEST-TAKING ACCOMMODATIONS, OSD RESOURCE ROOM

Week 0
Jan 04 Wednesday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Jan 05 Thursday   1:00 PM -  3:00 PM
Jan 06 Friday    11:30 AM -  3:00 PM

Week 1
Jan 09 Monday     7:30 AM - 10:30 AM & 12:00 - 4:00 PM
Jan 10 Tuesday    7:30 AM - 10:30 AM & 12:00 - 6:00 PM
Jan 11 Wednesday  8:00 AM - 11:45 AM & 12:00 - 3:00 PM
Jan 12 Thursday   9:00 AM -  1:00 PM &  3:00 - 5:00 PM
Jan 13 Friday    11:00 AM -  3:00 PM

Week 2
Jan 16 Monday    Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Closed
Jan 17 Tuesday    9:30 AM - 11:00 AM & 12:00 - 4:00 PM
Jan 18 Wednesday  8:30 AM - 12:30 PM &  2:30 - 5:30 PM
Jan 19 Thursday   7:30 AM - 10:30 AM & 12:30 - 5:30 PM
Jan 20 Friday     8:30 AM - 10:00 AM & 12:00 - 4:00 PM

Week 3
Jan 23 Monday     8:30 AM - 10:30 AM & 12:00 - 4:00 PM
Jan 24 Tuesday    8:30 AM - 10:00 AM & 12:15 - 6:15 PM
Jan 25 Wednesday  9:00 AM - 11:00 AM & 12:00 - 6:15 PM
Jan 26 Thursday   8:00 AM - 11:30 AM & 12:30 - 5:00 PM
Jan 27 Friday    10:00 AM -  5:00 PM
      

The OSD Resource Room is located in 181 Powell on the 1^st floor. To enter, you may go up the steps across from Kinsey or enter on the ground floor and use the elevator. There are two ground floor entrances: there is one accessible by ramp on the east side of the Library that has an automatic door and is nearest the elevator going up to the 1^st floor. The other entrance is behind Powell and across from Moore. You can take the stairs up to the 1^st floor or enter by way of the door located on the southwest corner of the building and go down the hall to the elevator.

OSD Resource Room Information
Powell 181
Phone: (310) 825-2651
FAX (310) 267-2008

Resource Room Staff:
Linda Stolt, Assistant Director/Proctor Coordinator
Tony Buffo, Alternative Format/Asst. Proctor Coordinator
A.J. Mason, Resource Room Assistant

The 2004-05 Annual Report is available in OSD and on our web page.

www.osd.ucla.edu

Construction Update

Check out the Capital Programs frequently updated web site for construction impacts: www.capital.ucla.edu. Click on “Construction Impacts” under Projects.

If you have specific questions about specific construction projects or access to any building or area on campus, please call the OSD for detailed information.

Disabled Student Union Wants You!

The mission of the Disabled Student Union (DSU) is to ensure full accessibility of educational opportunity for students with disabilities at UCLA. The DSU also offers disabled peer support and plans programs and events aimed at raising the campus consciousness about disability-related issues. If interested in becoming involved, please contact Lindsay Spann at dsunion@ucla.edu.

Alternative Formats Available

New Horizons is available in Braille, on tape cassette and on the OSD web site. Contact the OSD to request a copy in an alternative format.

Returning Students…
HAVE YOU MOVED?

Please remember to let the OSD know each time you change your address in order to continue to receive important mailings regarding priority enrollment, proctoring, van transportation, etc.

Changing your address with the Registrar’s Office DOES NOT change your address with OSD.

You can call the office, e-mail us, or come in and fill out a “change of address” slip.

ETS
Listening, Learning, Leading,

Many of you will be taking the GRE, GMAT, PRAXIS, TOEFL, or some other high-stakes examination this year. To help you prepare more effectively, the Office of Disability Policy at Educational Testing Services (ETS) has developed a new brochure, Tips for Test Takers with Disabilities.” This brochure can be found on the ETS Office of Disability Policy website at www.ets.org/disability/tips.html

ETS Documentation Updates and Other Information from the 2005 International Dyslxeia Conference.

Information presented by Loring Brinkerhoff, Disability Accommodations Specialist, Educational Testing Service

Loring C. Brinckerhoff is employed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) as their Disability Accommodations Specialist. He also serves as a higher education and disability consultant to Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), Harvard Medical School, and Stanford University.

Sharon Teruya attended the International Dyslexia Association Conference in November of 2005. She attended presentations by Dr. Brinkerhoff and spoke to him individually regarding documentation and testing accommodations. The following information may be helpful for students to give to psychologists who administer their LD/psychoeducational testing in order to qualify for graduate testing accommodations.

If a student has 1) provided comprehensive report that meets ETS Documentation Criteria using ADULT measures and 2) has a recent history of receiving effective accommodations in the postsecondary setting through the DSP office, or on the job… then a diagnostic re-evaluation is no longer necessary for basic accommodations even if the documentation is over 5 years old.

Each request for accommodations is given to two different psychologist DSP professionals to review. If they both agree the accommodation is given. If there is disagreement between the two report evaluators then the request goes to Loring Brinkerhoff for arbitration.

Your documentation must include a diagnosis. “Processing Disorder” or “Learning Difference” is not a diagnosis.

Discrepancy model with 1.5 SD is still the “norm”.

Intra-test scatter demonstrated in testing results is not necessarily enough to gain accommodations.

If a person’s lowest score is still within average range, being granted accommodations is not likely. A narrative explaining why this person may need accommodations even if there is no “low” score must be included in the report for any consideration.

Significant impairment which qualifies for the ADA guidelines regarding a major life activity is needed. The specific functional limitations should be clearly documented with findings from the assessment.

The intent of Congress is to limit the “over-identification of the disabled” and promote post-high school outcomes. A major life activity is defined as one that is of “central importance to most people in daily living.” (Jeannie Kincaid, Esq., Disability Law Specialist)

Test report can include a Compuscore printout from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests.

What Dr. Brinkerhoff calls “plain vanilla accommodations” are: 50% more time on exams and extra breaks. These are the most commonly requested and granted accommodations.

Being able to take a paper and pencil test instead of using the computer is not being looked upon as a reasonable accommodation since education evaluation is becoming more dependent upon use of a computer.

Taking a multiple choice test is NOT a major life activity.

Accommodations history becomes the “tipping point” for future accommodations.

The test taker will be asked to submit a personal statement describing their disability.

WAIS-III may be “preferred” over the exclusive use over the WJ-III Cognitive.

The length of the testing report does not matter as much as how efficiently the case is made for accommodations. A long report may be a disadvantage at times. One may want to write two separate reports, one for parents and one for ETS.

ADA/ 504 Compliance Office

1. Monitors and coordinates compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which prohibits discrimination based on disability in all University activities;
2. Offers guidance and evaluates efforts to provide access to campus facilities and programs;
3. Develops procedures to identify and correct access deficiencies;
4. Disseminates information regarding compliance-related issues and recommends appropriate remedial actions;
5. Coordinates the implementation of the ADA Transition Plan; and
6. Fields complaints alleging campus noncompliance with the ADA and Section 504.

The Compliance Office is located in Murphy Hall, Room A-239.
For more information please contact:
(Voice) 310-825-2242,
(TTY) 310-206-3349,
(FAX) 310-825-3688 or
E-mail khwinge@saonet.ucla.edu

Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Disability

The CACD was established in 1982 as an advisory group by the Chancellor to create and maintain a more accessible campus environment. The CACD is comprised of student, faculty, staff, alumni, community, and ex-officio members. The Committee’s charge is to analyze and identify problems, propose solutions, and make recommendations on matters of particular concern to persons with disabilities.

Meeting Times: The 2^nd Tuesday of each month
(except August and December) 2-4 pm Faculty Center.

For more information contact the ADA & 504 Compliance Office at (310) 825-2242 (voice) or (310) 206-3349 (tty).

Contacting OSD

George Auletta
Programmer Analyst
gauletta@saonet.ucla.edu
794-5723

Chana Bell
Learning Disabilities Specialist
cbell@saonet.ucla.edu
206-6383

Tony Buffo
Alternative Format/ Assistant Proctor Coordinator
tbuffo@saonet.ucla.edu
825-2651

Dan Levitt
Assistant Director & Coordinator of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Student Program
dlevitt@saonet.ucla.edu
267-2005

Maria Martin
Payroll Administrator
memartin@saonet.ucla.edu
794-5731

A.J. Mason
Resource Room Assistant
amason@saonet.ucla.edu
825-2860

Ed McCloskey
Mobility Assistance Program/Notetaking Services Coordinator
emcclosk@saonet.ucla.edu
267-2004

Kathy Molini
Director
kmolini@saonet.ucla.edu
825-1501

Julie Morris
Coordinator, Learning Disabilities Program
jmorris@saonet.ucla.edu
794-5732

Deb Owen
Budget Analyst/Supervisor of Technology, Planning & Training
dowen@saonet.ucla.edu
825-1501

Roger Pedro
Administrative Assistant
rpedro@saonet.ucla.edu
794-5725

Linda Stolt
Assistant Director/Proctor Services Coordinator
lstolt@saonet.ucla.edu
267-2008

Sharon Teruya
Learning Disabilities Specialist
steruya@saonet.ucla.edu
206-9160

Powell Resource Room
825-2651

FAX
825-9656

TDD
206-6083

Van Line
825-2263

Web page
www.osd.ucla.edu

New Horizons is published quarterly by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). The views expressed in this newsletter by individual contributors are not necessarily the views of the OSD. The OSD welcomes material submitted for publication which may be of interest to its readers such as brief articles, essays, or poetry. We reserve the right to edit the material as needed. Contact the OSD for deadline information.

(310) 825-1501
A-255 Murphy Hall, Box 951426
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1426