NDC is on the road presenting at not one, but TWO different conferences this week. We are in Washington, D.C., Monday through Wednesday at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) conference, and starting Wednesday, we will be at the OCALICON conference in Columbus, Ohio.
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Access can be a difficult topic for Disability Support Professionals. Beyond the question of legal obligations, what does it mean to say that your campus is “accessible”?
NDC is at the AUCD conference — a gathering of people representing university-based interdisciplinary programs across the country — to encourage participants to take a broader view of accessibility.
NDC staff members Lore Kinast and Sean Maiwald will introduce our new toolkit for disability service providers, which provides information, guidance, and tools to provide better access for deaf students.
Whatever your role in helping to promote #DeafSuccess, NDC offers many free resources, online training courses, and personalized one-on-one assistance to help along the way, including the Campus Accessibility Guide, a self-assessment tool that allows officials to better understand their institution’s strengths and weaknesses when supporting deaf students.
Focusing on the “life-long needs of people with low incidence disabilities,” OCALICON 2019 will feature two presentations from NDC staff members.
Accessible Summer Programs
Research shows that deaf children who are empowered and encouraged are more successful as adults. One way governments, schools, and other organizations can provide such encouragement is through a summer camp.
These camps have proven impacts on deaf youth and NDC will be at OCALICON to teach a crash course on developing a successful program. J.J. Bechhold, co-director of Ohio’s OYO Camp, will share examples in practice.
Deafverse: Fostering Self-Determination through a Game-Based Curriculum
Another proven component to deaf success is a strong sense of self-determination and the ability to advocate for yourself. NDC is helping to foster those traits with Deafverse, an online choose-your-own-adventure game — the first developed for deaf youth.
Beatrice Bachleda and Arlene Ngalle will be at OCALICON to introduce participants to the game and the many supporting activities educators can use to help deaf students build confidence, learn their rights, and develop skills to succeed in their transition from high school to adult life.
Participants will have an opportunity to play a demo, check out the Teacher and Player Strategy Guides, and discuss how to integrate the game into the classroom.
Registration for OCALICON is still open and persons with disabilities get a discounted pass.
Interested in where NDC will be in the future? Check out the Conferences page on our website.
