Response to 4/25 “Disabled Students Lack Support”

I would like to thank Lisa Carmack for sharing her personal experiences as a student with a disability at SF State in her April 25, 2012 editorial “Disabled Students Lack Support.” Coming forward in a public light is not always an easy thing to, but doing so does much to lift up how it feels to live with a disability, as well as raise the importance of comprehensive services and accommodation support for all students, faculty and staff at SF State.

SF State is committed to access and equity for people with disabilities in all areas of campus life: living, working and learning.  We provide highly individualized, one-on-one accommodation support to over 850 students and 200 faculty and staff employees each semester, and the DPRC Staff is dedicated to comprehensive, individualized, thorough service provision. In the two years since Lisa visited us, and in light of the ADA Amendments Act of 2009, the DPRC has revamped our appointment, intake and accessible media referral process, and found ways to improve the quality of our accommodation services and accessible instructional materials delivery.

We hope that these changes have improved the academic experience and the quality of life for students, faculty and staff with disabilities. However, if an oversight occurs, we want to know about it so that it can be addressed right away. We take feedback seriously and appreciate referrals from students, faculty members with students in their classes, and managers and co-workers of employees with disabilities, to name just a few. Please call us at (415) 338-2472 or send us an email at [email protected] if you have any questions at all. We want to hear from you.

Together, we can continue to work to make the experience of all members of our SF State community a positive one.

Sincerely,

Nicole Bohn, Director, Disability Programs and Resource Center