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Professional Development Grant Response
Aaron Spector
Disability Services Coordinator
My BPC Professional Development Grant took me to the national conference of the Association on Higher Education and Disability in Louisville, Kentucky. The AHEAD conference brought together disability service providers from colleges and universities around the country, along with experts on disability law, representatives from government agencies, and vendors of adaptive technology and support programs for students with disabilities. The multitude of perspectives was refreshing and illuminating for me, since I have been working in relative isolation since entering the disability services field three years ago. It was especially inspiring to hear from lawyers who were involved in landmark disability rights cases that shaped the field and who helped draft regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Topics at the conference sessions ranged from particular student populations to broader campus practices. I attended sessions on the development of support groups for students with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, the management of psychiatric emergencies, and the emergence of wounded warriors from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as a significant group in higher education. I also attended sessions on the intersection of disabilities with academic advising and with campus diversity initiatives.
No matter what topic was under discussion, one common theme throughout the conference was the need for collaboration. It is easy, in our daily routines, to forget that there is a campus and a town beyond our small offices. The AHEAD conference woke me up to the importance of creating and fostering connections outside my office. Presentations and casual conversations throughout the week emphasized that disability service providers must work across organizational lines to achieve the goal of making accessibility a shared value practiced through every aspect of the university - instruction, technology, facilities, financial and administrative services, and student life.
Thank you, BPC, for giving me the opportunity to attend the AHEAD conference this year!
