Disability strikes like lightninganywhere, anyone By: Jason De Thomas UNC Connection March 10, 2008 The chance

of being struck by lightning is around 576,000 to 1. The odds of becoming disabled, however, are far higher. Every year, 12% of the adult U.S. population suffers a long-term disability, writes Ginger Applegarth, quoting the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). One out of every seven workers will suffer a five-year or longer period of disability before age 65, and if you're 35 now, your chances of experiencing a three-month or longer disability before you reach age 65 are 50%. If you're 45, the figure is 44%. Serious injury can easily disable even the hardiest of us, turning a normal everyday life into one of hardship. Lisa Hayes, a resident of Greeley, knows this all too well. About nine years ago this single mother was at a water park with her two children, now aged 22 and 18, when tragedy struck with the quickness of lightning. Ms. Hayes injured her back while riding one of the slides, breaking three disks. In an instant her life was unalterably changed. Normally such injuries, while serious, can sometimes be fixed with proper surgical procedures and plenty of time to recuperate. Unfortunately, complications arose during her operations. After about 15 surgeries that failed to fix the problem, the doctors told her that she had reached her maximum medical improvement. For Ms. Hayes, that means spending the rest of her life either in a wheelchair or on crutches. As a result of her injuries and complications with surgeries, Ms. Hayes now requires the assistance of a service dogyou know, the remarkably docile pets that help the disabled with a wide variety of tasksfrom guidance for people who are blind to strength support for people who are physically disabled. Her dog, who Ms. Hayes trained since she was eight weeks old, is named Malia. Malia aids Ms. Hayes in everyday tasks to help conserve Ms. Hayes energy, especially since it is now a struggle for her to make it through a single day. However, Malia, like all service dogs, is not simply a pet,she is a worker. Service dogs, though commonly mistaken for well-behaved pets, are in fact highly trained assistants. There are two typical ways a service dog can be trained. The first is through a disability agency, which takes dogs and trains them from birth to perform a variety of tasks for people with any number of disabilities. The training is very extensive, and oftentimes a dogs overall training will over-encompass the actual tasks needed for whichever handler, or person with a disability, they are matched with. The second way is for a handler to train the dogs themselves for their own specific needs. Ms. Hayes took this route because then she only had to train Malia to know her personal needs instead of subjecting Malia to a large amount of strenuous training for no reason. Many skills learned through an agency would be unused anyway, depending on the disability of the handler. Additionally, it shortens the time needed for training and forms a much stronger bond between the handler and the dog. Though obviously well-behaved, service dogs should not be considered mere pets, and definitely not treated as such. It is improper to attempt to pet a service dog (or anyones normal pet) without permission. If you want to pet a service dog, it is always considered proper conduct to ask the handlers permission beforehand, though sometimes the handler may deny the request. However, dont take such denials personallyservice dogs, while active, are in work mode. This means that they are on the clock, and are actively engaged in assisting their handler. A distraction such as a stranger petting or calling the dog may cause disruption in their normal assisting tasks, which may also negatively affect their handler. This is especially dangerous with newly trained or inexperienced service dogs, those not quite used to the hub-bub of our commotionfilled lifestyles.

Although service dogs are common enough around campus, they are not always required for every disabilityin fact, their presence is only necessary for a select few. The sheer amount of disabilities, ranging to physical, mental or emotional types, requires a wide range of support in multiple formssomething our UNC Disability Support Service center excels in. Their mission is to develop a partnership with students, faculty and staff to assist in creating an accessible university community, where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of the educational environment, according to the website, which can be found at http://www.unco.edu/dss/. The services provided by the UNC DSS vary from general services for all qualifying students (advocacy and learning strategy workshops, adaptive technology training, word processing, open computer labs, private testing areas, extended testing time, registration assistance, and alternative formats for written materials) to more specific support for some people, depending on the circumstances. Located in Harrison Hall, room 159A, DSS is a handy aid for anyone requiring assistance, whether at UNC for a few years or just beginning attendance here. However, the DSS doesnt focus on making classes easierthey simply make courses more accessible for people with disabilities. As the website states, The purpose of the accommodations is to allow the student to demonstrate his or her knowledge of the subject matter rather than measure the disability. The purpose is not to lower program and/or class standards. I got a chance to speak with Ann Anderson (director), Bri Makofske (grad assistant) and Jaclyn Griebel (student secretary) over at the DSS center and they opened up a lot of doors with regard to knowledge of available services. Out of the total student body, approximately 500 people are currently using DSS for various reasons, said the trio. Along with already mentioned services, DSS also provides access to graduate assistants, like Ms. Makofske. Grad assistants help students with numerous tasks and training in areas such as time management skills, test taking strategies, memory-boosting activities, and organization-based planning. Additionally, the DSS also provide note-takers (someone who takes notes for a person with disabilities), readers, or writers. Another courtesy service provided are car-pool van rides that enable people with physical disabilities to travel swiftly around campus. The adaptive technology training mentioned previously commonly involves the use of specialized software that allows people with disabilities to have access to the same programs people without disabilities use on a routine basis. Some examples are programs that read aloud what a person types, or programs that take what someone says and types it into a word processor. Moreover, some books can be transcribed vocally onto a CD, allowing a person to have books-ontape for whatever class it may be. You can even change the sex of the voice and change the speed of the readingto either take your time absorbing the info or speeding through it. However, you cant just walk in and say you need the supportyou must have documentation proving it. In fact, there are specific guidelines for becoming eligible for the use of DS Services, which can be found here http://www.unco.edu/dss/sitemap/accdet.asp. And while these guidelines are detailed, the purpose of DSS, again, is to help students with disabilities have the same access to higher learning that non-disabled students have. As John F. Kennedy put it (and which DSS holds as their philosophy) "All of us do not have equal talents but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop those talents." Often students with disabilities will already have the documentation, if only because they have lived with the disability for a while, had it in high school, or visited a doctor before checking in at DSS. However, if you think you may have a disability and have no documentation, a visit to DSS can still help you along your way. A simple, informal meeting with Ms. Anderson can help them narrow down your symptoms to certain types of disabilities and then refer you to the proper authorities to obtain the proper paperwork. Because of the sudden and unexpected course anyones life can take, like Lisa Hayes did that fateful afternoon at the water-park, DSS stands ready to aid any and all who need the help of dedicated, thoughtful and concerned officials. To repeat, the website for DSS is

http://www.unco.edu/dss/ and their number is (970) 351-2289. If you are disabled or get suddenly struck by the lightning bolt of disability, be sure to give them a call to see how they can help make a difficult struggle a little easier. Go Bears.