Abilty, not disability

"I had an experience (in Richardson Towers) where I had to pull my wheelchair up to the door and crawl on my knees to use the restroom," said Melanie Lane, senior psychology major at The University of Memphis.

Lane, who has cerebral palsy - a disease that affects motor skills - is just one of the 741 students with disabilities at The U of M.

Since The University began making campus handicap accessible in the late 1970s, The U of M has built ramps and installed automatic doors in many of its buildings. But even with the improvements, Lane said she still had a difficult time making it to her classes in rooms above the first floor.

"Student Disability Services does a lot of good things for me and the other students, but there are still things that aren't accessible," she said. "For example McCord Hall doesn't have anything but stairs, so it is impossible to get to my professor's office."

Making classrooms and bathrooms more accessible is one of the goals of Student Disability Services. The organization also tries to raise awareness and promote the development and independence of students with disabilities on campus, said Susan Te Paske, director of SDS.

"We are here to provide not only access to buildings and classrooms, but knowledge," she said. "We are here to test the students' abilities, not their disabilities."

Mark Pacini, senior Internet journalism major who also uses a motorized scooter, said SDS provides many benefits to students with disabilities, but entering and exiting buildings is still troublesome, especially when classrooms are above the first floor.

Pacini also said that taking notes at a normal pace is nothing short of a struggle.

Te Paske said SDS tries to provide access for students with disabilities through "universal design."

"Universal design is an architectural concept that means things are designed to fit most people instead of just one group," she said. "This could be something like curb cuts, or even something as simple as having a table and chair in a classroom rather than a desk."

The concept of universal design not only applies to physical buildings and walkways, she said, but also to teaching methods.

Te Paske said U of M faculty try to use different methods of teaching in their classrooms, which benefits both students with disabilities and other students.

"Some people can listen to a lecture and be just fine. Others have to read and others benefit more with a hands-on approach," she said. "Students benefit from all different kinds of teaching methods."

SDS provides many technological advances to students with disabilities.

These include software for enlarging the screen and a program that reads what is on the screen aloud for those with vision problems.

There is also software for those with arm or hand disabilities that can type a student's papers as they speak into a microphone.

Students with disabilities that are also sports fans have something to look forward to this semester. Thanks to $5 million worth of renovations, the 44-year-old Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is more handicap-accessible.

Renovations include assisted listening devices, more handicap seating and accessible bathrooms to comply with ADA regulations, as well as increased visibility.

While some students come to The U of M with disabilities they have had their whole life, some are coming back to school at a later stage in life with a newly developed disability they are just learning to deal with.

"The students we deal with range from ages 16 to 60," she said. "Some are students that come to graduate school that just developed sight or hearing problems, and we are here to help them deal with the disability as it relates to life at The University."

Te Paske said that despite all of the staff she has at SDS, it would be nearly impossible to help every student with everything they need without the help of The University's instructors.

"I'm very positive about the way our staff here at The University deals with students with disabilities," she said. "We here at SDS can't do it alone, and we are fortunate to have so many great instructors here at The U of M."