October 2006

Happy fall semester - and welcome to all of our new students with disabilities as well as to our returning students and any of you studying abroad. The semester is now in full-swing, and we hope that you've selected an exciting array of courses. Thanks to all of our donors and volunteers for our successful first blood drive of the year (co-sponsored with SGA) on 9/29 where we had 98 donors, 31 deferrals, and collected 67 pints. We'll look forward to seeing you at our winter blood drive on 12/8/06.

New students: Time to register with ODS

If you have received our 'Welcome to Barnard' letter during the summer -- and/or are receiving this email, please call Frank at 212/854-4634 to make an appointment to register for ODS support services. Registration involves sitting down and completing some basic paperwork with either Okie (all LD and ADD students) or Susan (all others) -- and is recommended as a type of "insurance policy" or disability safety net even if you don't necessarily anticipate needing any classroom or test accommodations this fall. Be pro-active vs. reactive!

Returning students: Time to check-in.

As returning students know, we ask each of you to schedule a brief (15-20 minute) check-in meeting with either Susan or Okie so we can go over your program and discuss any disability-related needs you may have. Although both disabled and nondisabled students are usually best served by their academic advisers during the course-selection process, we are happy to see students at any time for advice and consultation!

WFIR: Writing Fellows In Residence

ODS and the Writing Center (121 Reid) are delighted to announce the continuation of WFIR, our pilot program started in SP'06. Once again, we will have three dedicated fellows available in ODS for 1-1 sessions with students with disabilities. Our WFIRs for this semester (and their usual
time-slots) are:

Sydney Carlock '07:
Monday 10-11am

Arielle Winnik '07:
Wednesday 10:55am-11:55am

Elise Castillo '07:
Thursday 1-2pm

WFIRs can be used on a drop-in basis or by making an appointment by calling ODS at 212/854-4634. In addition, a WFIR may be able to re-arrange her weekly time-slot on a case-by-case basis if you are unable to utilize any of the regular weekly sessions above. Please call ODS for further discussion - and remember that WFIRs are eager to work with you at whatever stage you're in, in the writing process.

Special Interest Housing Suite Wants You!

Our mission is to create an environment of balance, wellness and support on campus. We are concerned with how to best promote healthy living on the mental, physical and emotional levels. It is our goal to create a living environment and a community on campus where individuals are given the support to overcome obstacles and maintain wellness. We also hope to shatter the stigma placed on students living with disability through erasing the label and acknowledging that we all face deep obstacles in our lives, whether we, ourselves, or a loved one, have a chronic illness or disability, or we are simply trying to maintain balance and live a strong, healthy life in college.

Our first program will take place on Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 7:30 pm in the River Lounge (basement)-- 628 West 114th street between Broadway and Riverside Drive. Come enjoy great, healthy, homemade dinner and dessert, and meet other students interested in building a community centered around health and balance. We will be discussing the relationship between nutrition, community, exercise, and how these different aspects of our lives can help us maintain balance amidst the chaos of New York and college life. We will be providing the main food options (they will be kosher and vegetarian) but we invite you to bring your favorite healthy foods to share (these do not need to be kosher or vegetarian). If you have any dietary restrictions, feel free to bring something to share and educate us all, or let us know ahead of time. We are so excited to begin building a community with all of you!

Contact info:
House Coordinator: Tamar Green, 612-280-3313, River room #109, tg2148@barnard.edu

Members: Renna Khuner-Haber (rk2208@barnard.edu)
Alex Polsky (afp2001@columbia.edu)
Rachel Trager (rmt2108@columbia.edu)

Body Talk ODS and the Furman Counseling Center invite all students with chronic illness to join "Body Talk". Body Talk meets Wednesdays from 5-6pm; please call the Counseling Center at 212/854-2092 to set up a meeting for more information. One of the hardest things about living with a chronic illness is the sense of isolation it creates. During this group students exchange stories, advice and strategies that reduce the feelings of isolation. It provides a confidential and supportive forum to talk about the logistics, decisions and emotions that accompany having a chronic illness. For the purpose of this group, chronic illness is defined as any illness (both psychiatric and medical) that presents physical and/or emotional challenges on a daily basis. Group leader: Brook Hersey, Psy.D. (Students can email Brook and put 'group' in the subject line.)

November 2006

Special Edition
Tip sheet on disability and program planning

With the belief that environment shapes disability -- and disability shapes environment, the following suggestions are offered to assist students with disabilities in selecting courses that will be disability-friendly. As always, the first step is in understanding your disability-related needs in the classroom and beyond, what accommodations have been helpful to you in the past, and which accommodations would be appropriate and reasonable for the coursework you and your adviser have selected.

1. Obtain an advance copy of the course syllabus. This will give you an idea about the potential reading load and grade indicators such as papers, tests and attendance requirements. In addition, an advance syllabus can be crucial for students who may use assistive technology or alternate text formats such as books on tape through RFB&D (Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic).

2. Try to find a balance of classes based on your disability-related needs. For example, if you have an LD which includes visual processing problems, select a mix of moderate and lighter reading classes so as not to be overwhelmed.

3. Since one of the essential issues for almost all disability categories is the issue of time, think about your own personal body-clock. Are you a morning person vs. an evening person? If you have a chronic illness, are your pain levels greater at different times of the day? Do you need to schedule on or off-campus clinician appointments? Are you in a support group that has a regular meeting time?

4. Meet and talk with potential professors in advance of the coming semester in order to discuss potential accommodations and whether they would be permitted.

5. Remember that less is more. Think about how many points are reasonable for you -- and try to be realistic about how much you can handle. Review your previous semester/s and what you have learned about your disability-related needs.

6. The shopping around period for classes can present both opportunities and challenges for students with disabilities, depending on your particular disability. Although shopping for classes during the first two weeks of the term can offer you additional course alternatives, getting behind during the first part of the semester can also cause stress and anxiety.

7. Always review course attendance requirements in advance -- especially if you have a chronic illness and anticipate flare-ups at any point during the term. It is important to remember that professors have the right to set "the rules of the road" in their classes, so do not assume
(DNA) that accommodations will be made for mandatory course requirements. Remember that attendance is often a crucial course component in language classes, seminars, science labs and physical education -- and other classes as well.

8. If you have disability-related needs regarding the physical education requirement, contact ODS and the PE Department re: options. Although two semesters are required, students may choose the option of a self-paced activity after they have first completed a regular attendance-based class.

9. If you have a writing-based disability, participate in the ODS/Writing Center WFIR (Writing Fellows in Residence) Program. Dedicated writing fellows with an interest in working with students with disabilities are available in ODS for individual work--either on a drop-in or appointment basis. (Appointments are recommended.)

10. Beginning in SP'07, ODS LD Coordinator Okie Hrycak will be offering drop-in study skills workshops in the following areas: notetaking; test-taking; time management; and reading. Watch for posters and email notices for days and times!

December 2006
 

Happy holidays and best of luck on your remaining coursework and final exams for the fall semester. Please remember to think of your health and wellness holistically by remembering to get enough sleep, exercise and nutrition to sustain yourselves through the next few weeks. Stop by ODS for a cup of herbal tea anytime - and we will be here to assist you until we close for
the holidays on December 22.

Test Accommodations

Frank has just sent a reminder email to all ODS students re: any final plans for final exams. Please remember that the deadline for all final exam test accommodations is this Friday, December 8th at 4pm.

ODS Free Massage Day To offer a little stress management assistance as you go into finals, ODS is delighted to announce our regular "Free Massage Day" next Wednesday, December 13th from 10am to 5pm in the Flex Room in Barnard Hall, tunnel level. Massage therapist Antoinette Rowe will be available for 30 minute massages throughout the day, but you must come to ODS to sign up for a time-slot in advance. The sign-up sheet will be available beginning this Wednesday, 12/6 at 10am in ODS- so come reserve your massage early!

December Blood Drive

Please join us on Friday, 12/8 from 10:30am-3:45pm in the LeFrak Gym for our final blood drive of the semester, co-sponsored by ODS and SGA. No appointment needed - although volunteers should call ODS at 4/4634 to donate one hour of time if you are unable to donate.

Spring 2007

We no doubt say this at the end of every April--but it is once again hard to believe that the spring semester (if not the entire acdemic year) is drawing to a close. All of us in ODS wish all of you the best on all of your remaining work and finals--and hope that you will have a splendid summer that is restorative, relaxing, challenging and fun! As always, we'll be here all summer--so feel free to stop by or give us a call to let us know how you're doing--and of course, whether we can be of assistance to you in any way. Congratulations to our graduating seniors in the Class of 2007--and to the rest of you, we'll see you in September!
 

Please remember the following:

1. Even if you think (DNA: Do Not Assume) that we already have your exams  scheduled in the ODS calendar, please re-confirm any plans you've already made for exam-proctoring in ODS. This is especially important if you will be using a computer or any assistive technology so we have booked the correct room location and equipment for you.

2. If we do not hear from you by our final deadline of Wed May 2 @ 4pm, we will NOT be able to proctor your exam/s. As most of you know and can appreciate, proctoring space in ODS is very limited. To the greatest extent possible, ODS students are expected to take their exams with the rest of their class--with exceptions to this rule made on a case-by-case basis and well in advance of any upcoming test date.

3. All students who are using final exam test accommodations must have a  signed (student/faculty/ODS signatures) TAF on file in ODS by Wed, May 2.  Students without the appropriate and timely TAF will NOT be permitted to  take their exams in ODS.

4. That being said: good luck to all of you on your finals!
 

ODS FREE MASSAGE DAY: COME ONE, COME ALL

An email has just been sent to all ODS-registered students inviting you to  enjoy the wellness benefits of a wonderful, relaxing--and free--30-minute  massage courtesy of ODS with Barnard resident massage therapist Antoinette  Rowe this Wednesday, May 2 from 10am-5pm in the Barnard Flex/Massage Room, tunnel level Barnard Hall. Appointments usually get booked quickly--and
must be signed for in-person here in ODS--so sign up now and enjoy!


FINAL WEEK FOR WFIR: Writing Fellows In Residence

For any of you who may still be working on final papers, our talented and  dedicated WFIRS will be available for three remaining time-slots this week:

Tue May 1: 2-3pm (Soula Harisiadis)
Wed May 2: 11am-12noon (Arielle Winnik)
Thu May 3: 11am-12noon (Emily Finley)

As all three of our current WFIRs are graduating seniors, we wish Soula,  Arielle and Emily all the best and thank them for all of their great work  with ODS and with the Barnard Writing Center. We look forward to working  with Writing Center Director Pam Cobrin on Project OWL next year--and to  continuing the WFIR Program co-sponsored by ODS and the Writing Center.