Wednesday, April 17th
Registration
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Welcome and Introductions
1:00 to 1:30 PM
Session 1: Technology is My Friend, and It Can Be Yours
1:30 to 2:20 PM
Description of Presentation: During this presentation and discussion, I will share how to find textbooks in an alternate format and share some accessible technology tools. Let me show you how technology is my friend and can also be yours.
Presenter: Zachary Singleton, Ph.D.
Zachary has worked in higher education for over 11 years and has been an academic advisor for the last six years. He started as the ADA Coordinator for Black River Technical College in May 2023. Before that, he spent 5.5 years in housing/residence life in various capacities. During his time in housing/residence life, he has served as a leader on multiple projects, including hosting a regional conference for housing directors. He has also led on-campus committees in social media and technology. Before working in higher education, Zachary worked in the K-12 area in the technology field.
Break
2:20 to 2:30 PM
Session 2: Partnering with Students for Recognition and Respect
Description of Presentation: Ms. Brown will facilitate a panel discussing our role in helping students find and strengthen their identity voices. While disability service providers have a responsibility to assist and support students in receiving accommodations, I think we also have a terrific opportunity to help students strengthen their quest for an accessible world. I feel that starts at institutions of higher learning, and we hope that quest will continue as they launch their post-graduate, professional endeavors.
Presenter: Julie Brown, MSE
Julie has been in higher education since 1986. She has worked in Career Services, the office of the Registrar, and for the past 17 years, in disability services. Her education includes a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arkansas State University and a master’s degree in counseling from Indiana University.
Session 3: “Count Me In”: A Student’s Search for Recognition and Respect
3:00 to 3:50 PM
Description of Presentation: Students with disabilities make up 19% of undergraduate students, yet the Dept. of Education requires no recording or reporting of outcomes for these students. Removing barriers for students while improving data collection is essential for improving outcomes in this population.
Presenters: Alison Guthrie, BS and Ashleigh King
Alison Guthrie is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Arizona State University. She was diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome during her first semester of college. She then co-founded a global support group for individuals with rare diseases and volunteers as an Integrated Accessibility Mentor for other students with disabilities. Navigating the challenges of accessibility in higher education motivated Alison to co-found the Higher Education Accessibility Taskforce, working to fill research and legislative gaps that serve as barriers to better access for students with disabilities. Ashleigh King is an associate clinical professor at Arizona State University.
Announcements
3:50 to 4:00 PM
Dinner
5:30 PM
Game Night
7:30 PM
Thursday, April 18th
Registration
7:30 to 8:30 PM
Keynote Presentation –
Back to the Basics: Navigating Determining Reasonable Accommodations,
Appeals Processes and More
8:30 to 11:45 AM
Presenter: Kristie Orr, PhD
Description of Presentation: The ever-changing world of disability work in higher education can be challenging. With new staff entering the field, challenging accommodation requests, and limited resources, it is more important that ever to have consistent processes for determining accommodations, using an interactive process, providing opportunities for appeals and grievances, and more. This session will focus on best practices to assist disability resources professionals at all levels.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Kristie Orr is the Director of Disability Resources at Texas A&M University, past president of AHEAD, and member of the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. She has two degrees from Texas A&M and one from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Kristie loves to provide trainings on her own campus and across the country and appreciates learning as much from the participants as they learn from her. She also provides external reviews for disability resource offices (shameless plug). Outside of work, Kristie enjoys traveling, reading, playing games with her family, and spending as much time as possible with her amazing grandchildren (feel free to ask for pictures).
Presentation of Awards
11:45 AM to Noon
Lunch
Noon to 1:00 PM
Session 4: Access and Accommodation Practices: A Conversation Cafe
1:00 to 2:00 PM
Description of Presentation: Discuss access and accommodations in a cafe style conversation. Choose a conversation you want to join. Rotate to other conversations or stay in with the one that is of most inter-est to you. Topics will include attendance policy modification, emotional support animals, accessible textbooks and more.
Presenter: Melanie Thornton MA, CPAAC
Melanie is the Coordinator of Access and Equity Outreach at the University of Arkansas – Partners for Inclusive Communities. In this role, she provides training and technical assistance to a variety of organizations on topics related to disability, access, inclusion, and leadership. She is passionate about assisting organizations in creating cultures of access and inclusion and assisting professional colleagues in operationalizing social justice perspectives of disability.
Session 5: Approaches to Understanding “Test Anxiety”
2:00 to 2:45 PM
Description of Presentation: How do we properly accommodate for Mental Health, particularly Anxiety? What questions are we asking? What are our recommendations? What do we do? This presentation will be an interactive session, drawing on Ark AHEAD audience participation and borrowing from past presentations and questions we may or may not be considering.
Presenters: Reed Claiborne M.S. and Julie Shelby M.A.
Reed is the director of the UA Little Rock Disability Resource Center. He has served UA Little Rock and the department since 2012. He earned his bachelor’s in speech communication and his master’s in reha-bilitation counseling both from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Reed has a passion for working with students with disabilities and has presented on learning disabilities at conferences and workshops. Before earning his master’s, Reed worked in Boat Manufacturing and coached youth sports.
Julie is the assistant director of the UA Little Rock Disability Resource Center. She began her career at UA Little Rock as a student, earning a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 2002. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in professional and technical writing in 2009. Julie has served the university as a grad assistant, an adjunct instructor of First Year Experience and Composition I and II, and as a TRIO SSS ad-visor. She has specific talents to work with nontraditional, first-generation, and students with disabilities.
Break
2:45 to 3:00 PM
Session 6: Creating a Culture of Inclusion | Practices and Policies 101
3:00 to 4:30 PM
Description of Presentation: Real workplace inclusion demands strategic engagement at all levels. Mere claims of inclusivity won’t suffice. Learn tangible steps to move you closer to full inclusion like inter-viewing techniques, providing multiple methods of input from stakeholders, and utilizing an equity lens.
Presenter: Sharon Downs, MS
Sharon Ann Downs has focused on creating inclusive and welcoming spaces for the last 25 years, espe-cially as relates to disabled and LGBTQ+ populations. She serves as Assistant Vice Chancellor – Inclusion and Wellness in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a found-ing member of the university’s Diversity Council as well as its Safe Zone Committee. She is a Certified Group Facilitator and has done presentations in over twenty states and three countries on good course design, assessment, disability normalization, Liberating Structures, and DEI.
Dinner on Your Own
S’mores and Hot Chocolate by the Fire Pit
8:00 PM
Friday, April 19th
Session 7: The “AAAY’s” of Disability Services: Accommodations, Acronyms, and Assistive Technology
9:00 to 10:30 AM
Description of Presentation: Fonzie liked to say “AAAAAAAY”, and this presentation will look further into 3 A’s of disability: accommodations, acronyms, and assistive technology. It is a session for oldies and newbies alike in the field of disability services and covers some previously requested topics.
Presenters: Beverly Quillin, MS, Bridgette Hardage, MSE, and Erin Poe, M.Ed.
Beverly has worked at Henderson State University for twenty-two years; she currently serves as the Director of the Disability Resource Center and previously worked as an Education Specialist. Beverly teaches adjunct courses within the Sociology Department. She has a master’s degree in counseling with a bachelor’s in social work/sociology. She previously served on the Ark-AHEAD board as past president, president, vice president, secretary and interim treasurer. Prior to working at Henderson, she was with the Department of Human Services, serving in various positions such as Area Manager, Trainer, Program Coordinator, Supervisor, and Family Service Worker. Beverly is passionate about students’ access and success.
Bridgette has worked at Henderson State University for one year as an Education Specialist. She provides access for students and is the technology specialist for our office. She has a master’s degree in special education and came to us from the public school system where she taught for twelve years in special education.
Erin has worked at Henderson State University’s Disability Resource Center as an Education Special-ist for 14 years. In addition to providing access for students, she is the tutor coordinator and publicity person for our department. She has a master’s degree in education and previously worked in the public school system. She is the current president of Ark AHEAD. She has previously served as webmaster, vice president, and member at large.
Break
10:30 to 10:45 AM
Closing Comments/Dismissal
10:45 to 11:15 AM