AUBURN UNIVERSITY
The program, along with rehabilitation courses, prepares
students to become professionals in the fields of disability studies,
rehabilitation counseling, case management, human services, as well as allied
health fields such as occupational and physical therapy.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
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Taylor and Donald are quick to point out that the team is far from a feel-good program, but rather is a recruiting tool that brings the best and brightest student athletes who are able to meet Auburn’s high academic standards.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
I found a building that had an old ramp on the outside that was made of wood and was rotting,” Caudle says.
“This was a very important building on campus for students.
I brought this up to my professor and told him how dangerous and inaccessible this building was.
I noticed shortly after telling my professor
this, they had torn down the old ramp and built a new one outside of this
building.”
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Caudle experienced transverse myelitis at age 13, which damaged his spinal cord at the T11 level.
He praised the OA for
assisting with technology in classes and housing, arranging extended time on
any exam and providing accessible transportation to the entire campus.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
I didn’t really have much of a sense of freedom in the terms of getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people or trying new things,” said Clayton, who lives off-campus.
“Since moving to Auburn, I have grown as a person and have found my voice.
I’m willing to talk to strangers, challenge
myself with trying new things, and ultimately I am able to give people exposure
to someone with a disability.”
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
She has used a manual wheelchair since 2014, when an accident caused a T9 complete spinal cord injury.
She gives high praise for continual renovations that add more access to buildings, including automatic door openers that can be activated anywhere within a 36-inch range.
Also, extra
accessible restroom stalls have been added, along with upgraded seating access
in auditorium-style classrooms.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Donald says although the AU campus is
hilly, all transit systems are lift-equipped and all academic and residential
buildings have accessible drop-offs.
The year-round pleasant Alabama weather is also welcoming to wheelchair users, and several dorm units feature a suite of four rooms.
“We put in an accessible restroom and made common areas accessible,”
says Donald.
“This way, a student who uses a chair for mobility can have
roommates — nondisabled or disabled — like everybody else.
We didn’t want to
say all students who use wheelchairs must be all grouped together.”
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Trace Donald, director of the Office of Accessibility, manages a team that works closely with administrators, faculty and staff across campus to ensure that students with disabilities receive the same opportunities to succeed as their peers without disabilities.
The OA established the jAUnt door-to-door golf cart service for students, employees and visitors with disabilities.
It also founded the Auburn University
wheelchair basketball program.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
It’s a premier public university with roots dating back to 1856, top-ranked architecture and industrial design departments, as well as impressive rehabilitation counseling and international studies programs.
Approximately 60%
of first-year students receive scholarships.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“I would recommend going to A&M because the disability staff and testing services are some of the most motivated and helpful individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” he says.
“They promptly respond to all my emails and are always willing to help.
They’re constantly trying to be active within the
disability community, and anyone can tell that they truly enjoy what they do.”
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Kaki Kaki, a quadriplegic and a senior in aerospace engineering, uses a manual wheelchair with power assist wheels.
He is pleased with TAMU’s international studies program, through which he spent
a month in Brazil for foreign study, staying in a small town a few hours
outside of São Paulo.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Some buildings have push button entrances, but most have motion-activated sliding doors for ease of access.
Auditorium/stadium
seating-type classrooms have been retrofitted to ensure there is accessible
seating in the front, middle and back sections.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Each one has at least one accessible entrance, accessible parking, and accessible bathrooms on the first floor,” Vacek says.
“Part of the reason I wanted to pledge Delta Zeta was the fact that I found their house to be more accessible and better for me than other houses.
However, they do not have an accessible living situation so I am not able to live in the house.
Disability Resources called ahead and communicated with the Panhellenic
head of recruitment to ensure that everything would be accessible and running
smoothly throughout rush week.”
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Vacek, who wants to go to graduate school to become a history teacher, rehabbed at TIRR in Houston, one of the nation’s leading rehab hospitals.
She says many of her therapists were TAMU grads who
spoke highly of the school, which influenced her decision to enroll there.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“I do it all, and do not allow my disability to define what I can do.
I want to show others that these tasks can still be done in a different and innovative way.”
Sutton says she is also allowed to live in
an on-campus apartment — rather than the required Corps dorms — that
accommodates the space she needs for medical devices and an attendant.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“We have learning communities, one for engineers, another for leadership, other themes — and they are very popular,” says Orr.
“With our system, you can live anywhere you like on campus, at any
price point, and you are not precluded from being in one of the learning
communities because you use a wheelchair.”
Taylor Sutton, a junior majoring in
agricultural leadership and development, serves in TAMU’s Corps of Cadets, has
spinal muscular atrophy and uses a power wheelchair.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Kristie Orr, DDR’s director, oversees 17 staff members and about 15 student workers.
For 22 years, she has advocated for the social model of disability on the TAMU campus — emphasizing that a disability is part of an individual’s identity, not a problem or something to be fixed.
She says there are accessible rooms in more than a dozen residence halls on the TAMU campus, which she favors versus clustering all students with disabilities in only one or two dorms.
For
students who use wheelchairs, this approach opens many doors that in years past
created barriers instead of opportunities.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
A paratransit system that runs on campus is widely praised by wheelchair users.
As the first public university in Texas, founded in 1876 as the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas, the original campus has grown to include several state branches with a wide array of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as global prominence as a research institution.
Students may at first seem overwhelmed with options, but 92% of freshmen
undergraduates at TAMU successfully complete their first-year studies, one of
the highest retention rates in the nation.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The DRC links students who can
critique the accessibility of products with major companies such as Proctor
& Gamble — creating the ability for a graduate to become a consultant who
is paid well for unique expertise.
Besides also offering internship
opportunities to wheelchair users, another influential factor that attracts
students, especially from Florida, is the low in-state tuition charge of
approximately $6,500 yearly.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Most of the city of Gainesville is
intertwined with UF, so essential shopping, services, and medical and
rehabilitation resources are very close to the large campus.
“Our students are brilliant, they are advocates who want to share their experience,” Altamirano says of the DRC-supported student ambassador program.
“The Ambassadors hold panels and educate UF faculty
and partner with physical therapy and occupational therapy practitioners and
students.”
