Effective:   Fall 2001
 

Course Number: *	480-201
Course Title:	Disability in Society

(limited to 65 characters)
 

15 Character Abbreviation:	Disab in Society
25 Character Abbreviation:	Disability in Society

 

Sponsor:		Maureen Griffin		E-mail Address:	griffinm@mail.uww.edu
Department:		Special Education		College:	College of Education
	* You MUST verify course numbers with Registrar's Office prior to submitting (x1211)

Other Programs Affected:

None

Check if course is to meet any of the following requirements:
__ None	__ Writing	__ Computer	__ Diversity	_X_ General Ed and Area	Interdisciplinary

 

Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
Total lab hours:			Total lecture hours:	48
Number of credits:	3		Total contact hours:	48

 

Check if course is repeatable:		X No	_ Yes		(if yes, answer the following questions)
§ No of times in major				No of credits in major
§ No of times in degree				No of credits in degree

 
 

Enter the appropriate titles if the course is required in any of the following:
Major Title(s)
Minor Title(s)	Under consideration for Social Work Minor
Emphasis Title(s)

Course justification:
Currently there are over 54 million Americans with disabilities, of which 30 million are of working age. That makes people with disabilities the largest minority group in the country. Provisions in the U.S. Constitution as well as current laws guarantee equal access to American society for persons with disabilities. However, the 2000 National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities (http://www.nod.org/hsevent.html#Harris2000) reveals persistent gaps in levels of participation between people with disabilities and other Americans in employment, income, education, socializing, religious and political participation, and access to health care and transportation. The survey’s findings define and quantify the gaps that affect these 54 million Americans and indicate that the law is a necessary but insufficient means in and of itself to ensure full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the social and economic mainstream of society.

Numerous new laws (ADA, Family and Medical Leave Act, Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act, IDEA) affecting persons with disabilities have been passed. And, as noted above, only modest progress has been made regarding the inclusion (vs exclusion), independence (vs dependence), and empowerment (vs paternalism) of persons with disabilities. Outlawing discrimination against people with disabilities was only the beginning of the paradigm shift. Continued examination of both the law and the social construction of disability is required. A strong knowledge base and experiences will provide a deeper understanding of this construct and sensitivity to issues that affect all citizens in an increasingly diverse society. Traditionally, disability has been studied as a deficit, as a problem, an abnormality to be treated. The forces that shape our ideas about disability are very strong and they exist across all forms of knowledge and social interaction. The question, what does it mean to be human, cuts across all disciplines, and this course offers a deeper examination of that question.

Consultation with 6 departments from across colleges corroborated the need to deeply examine that question. Legislation and social justice issues significantly affect every area of life (business, social services, education, recreation/leisure, communication, technology, health care, etc.) The preparation of UW-W students to work in these arenas necessitates that they be well informed regarding social justice issues and legislation in order to be successful in their future work and community lives. It is the depth and breadth of these issues and their present and future impact on UW-W students that has prompted the Department of Special Education to propose 480-201, Disability in Society, and its inclusion as a general education option.

Since one out of every five Americans has a disability and the other four have the potential to become disabled, this course would offer students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater an opportunity to explore the dimensions of disability/difference as a social construct as well as examine the differences of disability in relation to their own personal and professional lives.
 

Relationship to program assessment objectives:
This course meets the goals of the General Education program in the following ways:
carefully designed projects and class activities emphasize critical and analytic thinking that require students to construct knowledge, integrate and synthesize knowledge and draw conclusions from complex historical and political information (goal 1); web-based case studies provide opportunities to make ethical and value judgments regarding difference in society and the social construction of disability (goal 2); many opportunities to communicate new understandings and learning are provided in a variety of formats (goal 5); a process approach will be taught and practiced through which students learn to relate more comfortably and equally with persons with disability differences (goal 4); readings and structured personal experiences will aid in the understanding and appreciation of the culture of disability (goal 3); ways to provide equal access to all members of society through universal design and assistive technology will be studied(goal 4); and a life span project will elucidate factors and habits that are shared by those with and without disabilities in this society that are essential for adequate mental and physical well being (goal 9).

This course will examine the relationship of the minority group of the disabled with the majority group; will allow students to explore personal belief systems regarding difference and gain insight into how their beliefs affect behavior; will expose students to the legal efforts to provide access to all; will explore how humans cope with physical difference; and explore how disability is socially constructed.
 

Budgetary impact:
The course will be included in the regular rotation of the department’s offerings. This will be possible due to a change in the number of sections of 480-458 that are offered. The Library’s current collection of relevant secondary and published primary sources in adequate. Necessary purchases to update this collection will be made from the regular departmental library budget.
 

Course description:
A study of the social construction of disability. The course focuses on thepolitical and cultural context of disability. Particular attention is given to the issues of perception, mobility, accessibility, distribution of bio-resources, and the human condition as well as a process to assist individuals achieve comfortable, authentic, and more equal relationships with persons with disabilities.
 

Course requisites:  none
 

If dual listed, list graduate level requirements for the following:

1. Content (e.g., What are additional presentation/project requirements?)
2. Intensity (e.g., How are the processes and standards of evaluation different for graduates and undergraduates? )
3. Self-Directed (e.g., How are research expectations differ for graduates and undergraduates?)

Bibliography: (Key or essential references only. Normally the bibliography should be no more than one or two pages in length. Indicate current library holdings by placing an asterisk [*]  See Bibliography in Syllabus.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Currently there are over 54 million Americans with disabilities, of which 30 million are of working age. That makes people with disabilities the largest minority group in the country. Provisions in the U.S. Constitution as well as current laws guarantee equal access to American society for persons with disabilities. This course will study the social construction of disability, focusing on the political and cultural context of disability. Particular attention is given to the issues of perception, mobility, accessibility, distribution of bio-resources, and the human condition as well as a process to assist individuals achieve comfortable, authentic, and more equal relationships with persons with disabilities

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

To provide students with basic information about disabling conditions and their educational, occupational and social effects.

To examine the political, social, and cultural context of disability.

To familiarize students with the philosophy and assumptions underlying efforts to integrate persons with disability into society.

To familiarize students with the statutes, regulations, and governing agencies (e.g., Federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Board) designed to promote the integration of persons with disabilities into society.

To understand disability differences and how to react within the context of a situation specific circumstance (i.e., workplace, family, leisure, and life span).

To familiarize students with the 4D approach, a cognitive strategy, that encourages comfortable, authentic, and more equal relationships with persons with disability differences.

To provide students with information and experiences that will aid them in interacting and working with disabilities in their chosen careers.

Required Readings:
Reference packets from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc.: ADA; Americans with Disabilities Act; Guide to ADA Legal Documents; Disability Civil Rights Laws and Other Related Enactments. Selected readings from : Davis, L.J. (1997). The disability studies reader. New York: Routledge.

Selected Readings (dependent on individual project selection):
Allen, K., Linn, R.L, Gutierrez, H., & Willer, B.S. (1994). Family burden following traumatic brain injury. Rehabilitation Psychology, 39 (1), 29-48.

Bradsher, J.E. (1996). Disability among racial and ethic groups. Disability Center, http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

Bowling, A. (1993). The concepts of successful and positive aging. Family Practice, 10Family Practice, 10(4), 449-453.

Cicirelli, V.G. 91995). Sibling relationships across the lifespan. New York, NY: Plenum Press.

Kaye, S. (2000). Computer and internet use among people with disabilities. Disability Statistics Center. http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

Kaye, S. (1998). Is the status of people with disabilities improving? Disability Statistics Center. http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

Kaye, S., LaPlante, M.P., Carlson, D., & Wenger, B.L. (1996). Trends in disability rates in the United States, 1970-1994. Disability Statistics Center. http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

LaPlante, M.P., Kennedy, J., Kaye, S., & Wenger, B.L. (1996). Disability and employment. Disability Statistics Center. http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

LaPlante, M.P., Rice, D.P., & Kraus, L. (1991). People with activity limitaitons in the U.S. Disability Statistics Center. http://www.dsc.ucsf,edu.

Longmore, P.Workshop on the history and objectives of disability movements. Disability Social History Project, http://www.disability history.org/textonly/histproj.html.

McColl, M.A., Stirling, P., Walker, J., Corey, P., & Russell, W. (1999). Expectations of independence and life satisfaction among aging spinal cord injured adults. Disability and Rehabilitation: An International Multidisciplinary Journal, 221, 231-240.

Patterson, C. (1996). Towards full representation of America’s diversity. National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange. http://www.miusa.org/exchdisorg/stories/patterson.html.

Petrie, K., & Weinman, J.A. (1997). Perceptions of health and illness: Current research and applications. Singapore: Harwood Academic Publishers.

Quinn, P. (1998). Understanding disability: A lifespan approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Stressguth, A., & Kanter, J. (1997). The challenge of fetal alcohol syndrome: Overcoming secondary disabilities. Seattle, WA: University Press.

Todd, S., Schriner, Fletcher, K., & Schriner, K. (1998). The disability voice in American politics: Political participation of people with disabilities in the election. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, (9)2, 33-52.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute Standards and Technology. (1994). People with disabilities and NII: Breaking down barriers, building choice, http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/cita/sb-paper.htm.
 
 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS/EVALUATION:

4D Approach
The 4D Approach used in the textbook is a method which assists individuals to: recognize disability differences more rapidly and accurately; understand their own feelings, attitudes and reactions; feel more relaxed in these situations; identify more choices for how to act; better evaluate interactions and new actions; feel more confident about future interactions. Students will practice this approach in several scaffolded activities: case studies provided in class; small group discussion based on the personal and professional experiences of students; and a written case study detailing their conscious use of this approach.
 
 

Authentic Voices Project #1
Students will be required to design interview questions and conduct an interview with an individual who has a disability. The interview questions will explore the educational, social, recreational, employment, and family systems barriers that are often confronted by individuals with disabilities. Products include: interview protocol; a written summary of the responses and a reflective summary that highlights personal reactions to the interview responses; an oral presentation to a small group in the class highlighting the insights regarding a person with a disability in society.

Career Path Project
This project allows students to examine the concept of disability as it relates to their future personal and professional lives. This project requires that students: identify their current career path; develop a tentative career path timeline that is projected over the next 5 year period; identify points where their career path will provide them with opportunities to interact with persons with disabilities; write a reflective statement for each of the contexts in which they project interaction scenarios with persons with disabilities; present their timelines in one of the following formats (Power Point, video, slide show, panel discussion, case study description, etc.).

Students will include multiple contexts for determining interaction scenarios: social, recreational, employment, educational, family, travel, community, volunteerism, political, civic, etc. The reflective statements will describe how individuals perceive they will be impacted by these interactions.

Authentic Voices Project # 2
In this second authentic voices project, students will be able to choose from a number of authentic learning options. These options include but are not limited to the following experiences:

Read a book or article written about or written by an individual with a disability.

Review a movie or video that is about or depicts a person with a disability.

Attend a workshop or presentation that is given by a person with a disability and which relates to the life experiences of people with disabilities.

Visit a setting (institutional, educational, recreational, community, vocational, employment, etc.) where persons with disabilities are NOT fully included with persons without disabilities.

Visit a setting (institutional, educational, recreational, community, vocational, employment, etc.) where persons with disabilities ARE fully included with persons without disabilities.

Shadow a person with a disability for an eight hour period. This shadowing experience may take place in any one or combination of realistic settings.

Create an authentic voice experience and gain approval from the instructor to conduct it in lieu of the options listed above.

COURSE TOPIC OUTLINE:

Class 1: Introduction/Overview

Course Outline and Objectives

Discussion of Projects and Discipline-Related Web-Based Modules

Class 3: The Creation of "Normalcy"

Readings from Disability Reader: "Disability and Society Before the Eighteenth Century"

"Constructing Normalcy"

How and why we react to differences (primitive and modern brain

Scanning and orienting; Habituation and sensitization

Reading: Chapter 1, Text

1. Defining disability

2. The diversity of disability

3. The limitations and challenges of disabilities

4. Defining a disability culture

Reading: Chapter 2, Text

1. Exploration of personal experiences and influences regarding disability differences

2. How current beliefs and values shape behavior?

Reading: Chapter 3, Text

Explanation of 4D Approach

Practice of 4D Approach using case studies

Reading: Chapter 4, Text

1. Characteristics of differences in: appearance, movement, communication, behavior, learning, and non visible disabilities

2. Interventions and Supports

3. Myths, Assumptions, Beliefs

4. Physical, educational, occupational and social effects

5. The cost to society of stigmatization

6. Presentations: Authentic Voices Project #1

Reading: Chapters 5-10

Web-Based Modules for Application of 4D Approach to Various Differences

Ensuring Integration of Persons with Disabilities

Litigation

landmark cases

how litigation changes social policy

Statutes

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

PL 93-380: Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Title 19: Medical Assistance Act

Title 20: Social Services for the Handicapped Act

PL 105-17: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

PL 106-170: Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act

Federal Family and Medical Leave Act

Regulations

a. Regulations vs. statutes

b. regulations for current statutes

c. governing agencies

Presentation of 4D projects

Readings: Reference Packets from the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

business and industry

recreational and physical education settings

the arts

telecommunications

public accommodations

public services, such as health care

Reading: Chapter 12, Text

Panel

Presentation of student papers

Course Evaluations