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SERVING PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES 

Quick Facts | Types of Disabilities | Disability Etiquette | Resources | Adaptive Technology | ADA & Libraries

 

Quick Facts

Did you know that approximately 20%, or 1 out of 5 of the people in your community have a disability?

People with disabilities constitute the largest minority in the country, crossing all socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups. Census 2000 counted 49.7 million people with some type of long lasting condition or disability. [1] They represented 19.3 percent of the 257.2 million people who were aged 5 and older in the civilian noninstitutionalized population - or nearly one person in five (see Table 1). [2] Within this population, Census 2000 found:

  • 9.3 million (3.6 percent) with a sensory disability involving sight or hearing.
  • 21.2 million (8.2 percent) with a condition limiting basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.
  • 12.4 million (4.8 percent) with a physical, mental, or emotional condition causing difficulty in learning, remembering, or concentrating.
  • 6.8 million (2.6 percent) with a physical, mental, or emotional condition causing difficulty in dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home.
  • 18.2 million of those aged 16 and older with a condition that made it difficult to go outside the home to shop or visit a doctor (8.6 percent of the 212.0 million people this age).
  • 21.3 million of those aged 16 to 64 with a condition that affected their ability to work at a job or business (11.9 percent of the 178.7 million people this age).

(Klauber, Julie. "Living well with a disability: how libraries can help." American Libraries 29 (November 1998): 52-55.)

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Types of Disabilities

Section 504 protects qualified individuals with disabilities. Under this law, individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities.

  • People with Mobility Impairments
  • People Who Are Blind or Who Have Vision Impairments
  • People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
  • People with Invisible (Hidden) Disabilities
    (asthma, arthritis, heart disease, environmental illness, AIDS, chronic fatigue, psychiatric or mental illnesses, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and mild mental retardation)
  • People with Mental Retardation
  • People with Psychiatric Disabilities
  • People with Muscular or Neurological Limitation

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Disability Etiquette

From Disability Awareness staff forums, presented by Shared Results
"While the disability is an integral part of who they are, it alone does not define them. Don't make them into disability heroes or victims. Treat them as individuals." www.infotoday.com

  • Live by the motto, "Never assume, always ask."
  • Never pet or speak to a guide dog unless the owner gives permission.
  • Offer assistance only if the person appears to need it or ask for help. When asked, ask how before you act.
  • Always speak directly to the person with a disability -- not a companion, aide or sign language interpreter.
  • Be sensitive to physical contact of the person and any devices. A disabled person's device is part of his/her personal space.
  • Don't make decisions for a person witha disability based on what you think they can do. The person is the best judge of what he/she can or cannot do.
  • Use a normal tone of voice when extending a verbal welcome. Do not raise your voice unless requested.
  • When talking to a person in a wheelchair for more than a minute, sit down in a chair to eye-level.
  • Do not raise your voice to a person who is blind or visually impaired.
  • When greeting a person with a severe loss of vision, always identify yourself and others who may be with you.
  • When introduced to a person with a disability, it is appropriate to offer to shake hands.
  • Listen attentively when you're talking to a person who has a speech impairment. Keep your manner encouraging rather than correcting.
  • To facilitate conversation, be prepared to offer a visual cue to a person who is hearing impaired or an audible cue to a person who is visually impaired.

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Resources

Web sites:

Articles:

Klauber, Julie. "Living well with a disability: how libraries can help." American Libraries 29. 4 (1998): 52-55.

Lenney, Michael and Sercombe, Howard. "Did you see that guy in the wheelchair down the pub? Interactions across difference in a public place." Disability & Society 17.1 (2002): 5-18

Worsnop, Richard L. "Implementing the Disabilities Act." The CQ Researcher Online (1996). 14 April 2004 <http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher>.

Books:

Van Fleet, Connie and Deines-Jones, Courtney. Preparing staff to serve patrons with disabilities: a how to do it manual. New York : Neal- Schuman Publishers, 1995

Turner, Ray. Library patrons with disabilities. San Antonio, TX : White Buffalo Press, 1996

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Adaptive Technology

Tomlinson Library has several Adaptive Techology systems, a PC with Kurzweil 3000, a PC with Dragon Naturally Speaking, a voice recognition software, TDD, and VTEK.

Kurzweil 3000

The Kurzweil 3000 is the software Tomlinson Library uses for patrons with dyslexia, low-vision, blind and ADD.

Part of the package is the OCR scanner, Optical Character Reader, which is where the document or book to be read is scanned for the computer to "read". Kurzweil also "reads" the internet.

For students writing papers, Kurzweil voices outloud the letters and the words typed.

On the third floor of the Library is the VSR, Voice Recognition Software, station. The product is Dragon Naturally Speaking.

Geared towards patrons who have limited mobility, this software allows the user to "speak" into the microphone and the computer dictates what has been said. Used for writing papers, taking tests, creating spreadsheet, and using the Internet.

 


 

VTEK is the Video Magnifier used for magnifying text. This VTEK can magnify up to 40 times its orginal size.

 

A TTY is also known as a TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf).
The TTY consists of a keyboard, which hold somewhere from 20 to 30 character keys, a display screen, and a modem.
TTYs work with other TTYs, ie TTY-TTY. However, the user does not have a TTY or the recipient, then a RELAY service is used. TTY - RELAY - TTY. A RELAY service is a person, who reads the text out loud to the hearing person, the hearing person speaks, the relay operator types the response.


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Comments, questions, etc.
Last updated on 08/22/2008