Accessibility in Aggieland

Justin Romack is a Program Coordinator for Assistive Technology Services in the Department of Disability Resources at Texas A&M University. In this role, he works with students, faculty and staff to achieve equitable access to the Aggie experience for disabled students and works to educate the campus community on its shared responsibility for accessibility and inclusion. Justin enjoys unraveling the complexities of technical accessibility requirements to equip and empower leaders, communicators and creatives to make decisions and develop resources which provide access to all information, opportunities and experiences.

If you plan, produce, or promote programs and resources as part of your work, this workshop hosted by Accessibility in Aggieland is a must-attend session to help guide the accessibility of your events, activities, and materials.

During this session, Dr. Kristie Orr and Justin Romack with Disability Resources share practical tips, strategies, and solutions to make sure disabled participants have equitable access to the programs and resources you develop.

After watching this session, you will be able to:

1. Describe common accessibility barriers in programs, events, and resources.
2. Identify accessibility best practices to consider when planning, promoting, and hosting events.
3. Explain key components of accessible documents for use with your events.

Aimee Ortiz-Day is a certified Person Centered Thinking Trainer and Program Coordinator at the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University (CDD.) She manages several programs that support person centered planning, increase self-advocacy skills and promote the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in their communities. ​

She is the mother of two young men with disabilities who are adventurous, funny, and kind. Her career took a shift in direction from Veterinary Medicine to supporting families and individuals with disabilities after her youngest son was diagnosed with autism in 2008.

Aimee credits Person Centered Thinking for the growth that she has seen in her son’s ability to advocate for himself at school. He participates in his IEP meetings and shares his future goals with his team so that they are all working together to help him reach his vision of a good life.

Dr. Sally Hughes has spent more than three decades in the field of education and has served as a K-12 educator, instructional designer, program developer, professional development specialist, faculty member, and project manager.

She has served in Texas school districts, Texas A&M University, Blinn College, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and currently as the Manager, Instructional Design in TAMU’s Office for Academic Innovation. Her work focuses specifically on digital accessibility in learning. She received her B.S. in Education from University of Texas, her M.Ed. in Educational Technology from Texas A&M University, and her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Lamar University.

She also holds a Certificate in Digital Accessibility Specialization from the Texas Digital Learning Association, and her interests include digital learning environments, quality assurance, digital accessibility, and professional development in these areas.

Outside of her work, Sally enjoys gardening, do-it-yourself home improvement projects, traveling, and spending time outside. She is married to a fellow educator, and they have two adult sons and a new granddaughter.

This presentation will provide basic knowledge of the Texas Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and how the services we have can benefit our customers and employers alike. Once completed you will have a basic knowledge of our youth and adult services, types of assistive technology, and services such as disability awareness training that we provide as we work hand in hand with businesses in the local area in selecting and retaining qualified candidates and employees.

About Jonathan: Jonathan Mize currently works as a Business Relations Coordinator program specialist for Texas Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation Services (TWS-VRS) in Waco serving customers in the Heart of Texas, Central Texas, the Capital area, the Rural Capital area, and the Brazos Valley workforce board areas as part of region III Central Texas.

He has over 25 years of work experience with a variety of public sector agencies that include the Texas Workforce Commission, the former legacy Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services agency,  legacy Texas Commission for the Blind, & Texas Rehabilitation Commission   organizations that includes work as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for DARS-Division for Rehabilitation Services, Transition Counselor for the Texas Commission for the Blind covering the Fort Worth, Abilene, and San Angelo areas and work as an Employment Assistance Specialist for the Texas Commission for the Blind.  Mr. Mize is also a former advisory board member for the Brazos Valley Center on Disability and Development coordinated through Texas A&M University (2008-2010 and a former Bridge to Careers advisory board member with Texas A and M University from 2012-2016.  Mr. Mize currently is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor credentialed for over 25 years and is an Advanced Communicator with Toastmasters International.

Mr. Mize is a Texas panhandle native, born in Canyon, and a graduate of Pampa High School. Mr. Mize has celebrated 24 years of marriage in July married to a Texas A&M University alum class of 96’ and 03’ and is the father of 3; Audrey age 15, Keller age 11, and Reagan age 7.

He received an Associate’s of Science degree from South Plains College, a Bachelor of Science degree- Magna Cum Laude in Rehabilitation and a Masters of Arts degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Stephen F. Austin State University.

About Arthur: Arthur served in the United Stated Army for 24 years, after retiring Arthur sought and achieved a Masters’ degree from the University of Texas A&M in Business Administration. As the Business Relations Coordinator (BRC) for the state of Texas, he provides training to employers in the areas of diversity, accommodations, and inclusion. He also, assist individual customers with disabilities in locating, acquiring, and retaining employment. As the BRC, Arthur works in Austin Travis county area and the surrounding counties assisting employers in meeting their employment goals with qualified candidates.

Litigation in recent years has catapulted accessibility to new heights when it comes to topics of concern within higher education. With an increasing dependence on online resources and applications, strategies to ensure compliance may seem confusing. We’ll examine ways to improve access through application and product selection as well as ways to improve access to faculty websites.  Accessibility planning, best practices and documentation methods will be examined in order to create a clear path toward compliance with state and federal mandates.

Cynthia Kauder has served as the EIR Accessibility Coordinator for Texas A&M University since 2015, where she and her team utilize risk-based assessments to drive accessibility compliance. Recent affiliations include the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) IT Accessibility Working Group; the Texas A&M ADA Committee and the GoWeb Steering Committee; and The Texas A&M University System Council for Academic Technologies and Innovative Education (CATIE) and its Accessibility/Universal Design for Learning Task Force.

Cynthia is a graduate of Texas A&M with marketing and communications experience in the private sector. She has been involved in IT strategic planning at Texas A&M and the Texas A&M Health Science Center, where she played an essential role in directing accessibility efforts for almost five years.

Tracey Foreman has a Masters in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University and has been working in Disability Resources for over 15 years.  She currently serves as an Assistant Director in TAMU Disability Resources where she is an Access Coordinator for students in the Health Science Center and the College of Geosciences.  She also serves on the department leadership team; supervises the Assistive Technology Services area and participates in a variety of campus committees and liaison roles.  Tracey has consulted with various student organizations on proactively planning for accessibility and how to respond to specific accessibility requests.  She also serves as a student organization advisor.

The COVID pandemic has promoted entirely new ways to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers using tools like Zoom, Google Meet and many others. But with these new ways to share and engage comes the continued responsibility to ensure equitable access for all participants. In this session, Justin Romack with Texas A&M University’s Department of Disability Resources will discuss several practical ways for facilitating accessibility when planning, promoting and hosting online meetings, events and presentations.

Today’s workforce and student body are the most diverse in history. Whether it is onboarding a new employee, disseminating important information to students, or providing training sessions for the University community, it is important to design all educational or informational workshops, resources, and materials in a way so that makes them the most effective for as many people as possible. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can play an integral role in helping to achieve this objective. UDL is a framework and approach to teaching, training, and information dissemination that focuses on maximizing the learning experience of every member of the intended audience. This interactive session will provide participants with an overview of UDL and some practical ways to implement it.

What is accessibility and why is it important? On this day we celebrate the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act by President George H.W. Bush. This landmark civil rights legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. This presentation will explore what accessibility looks like on the Texas A&M campus and how you can help provide an equitable experience for disabled individuals on our campus.

Attendees will learn what is the law, how to define disability, how to work with human resources on a reasonable accommodation, the process of providing accommodations, confidentiality as an employee, and who to contact for help in regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Attendees will learn what is the law, how to define disability, how to work with human resources on a reasonable accommodation, the process of providing accommodations, confidentiality as an employee, and who to contact for help in regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A pandemic, devastating wildfires and hurricanes, and global social unrest combined in 2020 to create a perfect storm, one that still rages a year later, and has brought to light the consequences of social inequity. Together, these flashpoints unveiled a host of inequalities. These inequities – and others among the various underserved populations of the world – demand a robust and coordinated response. People with disabilities and disability organizations need to take on the issues of disasters and emergencies and incorporate them into our practices and organizations. We need to lead through action with respect to preparedness and response. We must also form permanent, substantive partnerships with local law enforcement and disaster response teams, and continue to develop augmentative communication technology and plain-language communication. We cannot wait for legal actions and emergency management to come to our rescue. We need to rescue ourselves, our family members, and our organizations.

There are more animals on college campuses than ever before. Do you know the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal? What kinds of animals are allowed on campus and how can you know if an animal is allowed? Staff from the ADA Coordinator’s office will answer these questions and more.

When we understand disability in a context of social justice and ableism, a cultural experience very much influenced by dynamics of power and privilege, we can begin to unpack the many ways disabled people are targets of bias and microaggressions. This workshop will use relevant research to identify pervasive disability stereotypes and microaggressions and explore about how these ideas shape the disability experience and inform our personal and professional behaviors and attitudes.  In order to affect sustained access and inclusion on college and university campuses, we must recognize the pervasiveness of these ideas and reframe our work and attitudes to align with social justice values.

Webinar Description: Litigation in recent years has catapulted accessibility to new heights when it comes to topics of concern within higher education. With an increasing dependence on online resources and applications, strategies to ensure compliance may seem confusing. We’ll examine ways to improve access through application and product selection as well as ways to improve access to faculty websites.  Accessibility planning, best practices and documentation methods will be examined in order to create a clear path toward compliance with state and federal mandates.

Webinar Description: This presentation will cover the use of the Ally Accessibility tool in Canvas, as well as some general accessibility tips to help make your digital learning environment as inclusive as possible.

Webinar Description: Providing access to individuals with disabilities is a university-wide responsibility.  Even student organizations need to consider accessibility and should be prepared to respond to requests for disability accommodations.  Join us for an overview of common accessibility needs along with best practices, strategies and resources for student leaders and advisors to consider when planning activities and programs that are facilitated by student organizations.

Webinar Description: The past year has offered us all new ways to communicate and collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers using tools like Zoom, Google Meet and many others. But with these new ways to share and engage comes the continued responsibility to ensure equitable access for all participants. In this session, Justin Romack with Texas A&M University’s Department of Disability Resources will discuss several practical ways for facilitating accessibility when planning, promoting and hosting online meetings, events and presentations.

Webinar Description: Attendees will learn what is the law, how to define disability, how to work with human resources on a reasonable accommodation, the process of providing accommodations, confidentiality as an employee, and who to contact for help in regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Webinar Description: Our student population is more diverse and variable than ever before. As educators, we are tasked with preparing individuals to interact with a world that is complex and exist on a continuum of differences. To do this, we must design learning activities and environments that recognize the differences, preferences, and unique abilities of our students themselves. Universal Design for Learning is a framework that embraces learner variability and uses this information to create an enriched and equitable culture of learning. This session will focus on tenets of the framework with a heavy emphasis on how to utilize UDL within the classroom. Recommendations and resources will be provided for developing flexible syllabi, delivering content to a diverse audience to increase engagement, understanding, and expression, while ensuring that both the content and learning environments are accessible to all learners. Get ready to interact and engage as your learning is enhanced!