Volume 59, Issue 12  - November 6, 2006

These students have can-do attitude
By Anna Ramirez
Staff Writer

Diego Lerma/ Collegian

Anabel Martinez, a junior education major, describes her college experience during the “In Our Shoes” panel discussion held Oct. 26 in the Student Union’s Salon Bougainvillea. Also shown are Amanda Rodriguez (left) and Steve Chamberlain, an associate professor in the School Specialties Department.

Four students say they their disabilities are not obstacles in obtaining a college degree.

About three dozen people gathered Oct. 26 in the Student Union’s Salon Gardenia for the “In Our Shoes” panel discussion, which was part of UTB/TSC’s observance of Accessibility Awareness Week.

“We intentionally chose students with different disabilities,” said Steve Chamberlain, an associate professor in the School Specialties Department. “It’s really important to know that an accommodation is not a modification of the curriculum or the content of the course. … One of the things that the students want to point out is that it’s not about watering down the curriculum, it’s about giving the supports they need to be successful.”

Panelist Juan Torres, a music major who uses a wheelchair, said, “It’s normal for us to live like this.”

Asked how his disabilities affect his studies, Torres replied, “I can do a lot of things being with this disability. I can still do everything by myself. But the accommodations here in school help me a lot, like the tables in each room. I feel more comfortable doing my work. Also, the computer lab that we have, when I do my homework, I feel more concentrated.”

Biology major Yameli Navarro has a visual disability.

“If … a professor is using an overhead [projector], I have to be concentrating on one point or one letter and try to focus my eyes,” Navarro said. “If I have a friend or make a friend, I have to borrow their notes.”

Even though she gets accommodations, such as extended time in tests and a note-taker in class, she’d rather take her own notes.

 “If I really wanted it, I could have it but I want to try … everyone has their own way of thinking,” Navarro said.

Nursing major Amanda Rodriguez was diagnosed with a number of disabilities at age 9, including Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder.

“It takes me a while to get the information, but I do understand it,” Rodriguez said.

Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects motor skills. “Sometimes I can be so quiet and all of a sudden I can yell something out, out of the ordinary,” she said.

Special education major Anabel Martinez became deaf when she was a toddler.

Martinez said her accommodations include an interpreter for her classes and extended time during tests and quizzes.