Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee

Links

• Syracuse University
• University Programs and Centers
• Disability Studies
• National Centers and Initiatives
• Organizations
• Advocacy, Consulting, and Other Resources
• Disability History
• Legal Resources
• Art, Literature, and Film Resources
• Communication

Syracuse University

• Building Pedagogical Curb Cuts: Incorporating Disability in the University Classroom and Curriculum. Students in SU’s Disability Studies program recently published this new monograph. The editors and major contributors are leaders of the Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee. The book, which reflects the mission of the group, is remarkable because it was conceived and created entirely by students. The new book recognizes that compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other anti-discrimination laws is important, but that often those measures do not go far enough to ensure that universities acknowledge and value the contributions of all students, including students with disabilities.
• Beyond Compliance: An Information Package on the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education. This information package contains essays, reprints, and resources designed to assist postsecondary institutions to move beyond compliance and to include disabled persons in all aspects of campus life. It is not intended to provide step-by-step guidelines or to serve as a comprehensive manual on all aspects of inclusion and accommodations. Rather, it is designed to offer some perspectives, strategies, and resources that individuals can use to advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities at universities and postsecondary institutions.
• The Center on Human Policy. The Center on Human Policy (CHP) is a Syracuse University based policy, research, and advocacy organization involved in the national movement to insure the rights of people with disabilities. Since its founding, the Center has been involved in the study and promotion of open settings (inclusive community opportunities) for people with disabilities. The Center's staff and associates include educators, human services professionals, people with disabilities, graduate students, and family members of children and youth with disabilities. The Center has an Advocacy Board composed of people with disabilities, parents, and interested citizens that serves as an independent voice on behalf of the rights of people with disabilities in the community.
• Disability Law and Policy Program, College of Law. The College of Law's Disability Law and Policy Program offers students the opportunity to gain experience and expertise in the practice of disability law while still in law school. The Program sponsors courses, clinics and externships, student research opportunities, and co-curricular activities. The Disability Law and Policy Program is part of the new Syracuse University Center on Disability Studies, Law, and Human Policy, which is an expansion of the Center on Human Policy. As such, the new Center is the nation's first university-based multidisciplinary center, coalescing disability-related teaching, research, academic and co-curricular programs, and national and international advocacy projects by SU faculty and students.
• Disability Studies and Disability Services Resources, Syracuse University Libraries. Includes databases, journals, law research guide, and links.
• Facilitated Communication Institute. The FC Institute at Syracuse University offers training and materials related to assisted typing, as well as lots of articles written by people with autism labels. Includes the FC Digest.
• LGBT Resource Center. The LGBT Resource Center is part of the Division of Student Affairs and is linked to the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Slutzker Center for International Services. These three offices form the Student Support and Diversity Education Cluster. The LGBT Resource Center provides numerous services to the Syracuse University and greater Syracuse community. These include, but are not limited to: trainings & educational presentations; sponsors various lectures and programs; offers support and discussion groups; maintains a current and diverse Resource Library; provides safe space and information to LGBT students, faculty, and staff at Syracuse University.
• Office of Disability Services. The Office of Disability Services provides support services for students with documented disability-related academic impairments. The goal is to facilitate equal access to all academic programs and services for students with physical, psychological, and learning disabilities.
• dis/Ability Law Society (dLS) (Coming Soon!)
• OnCampus Program, School of Education (Coming Soon!)
• Center for Career Services. The Center for Career Services is committed to serving the career development needs of the Syracuse University community.

University Programs and Centers

• Association of University Centers on Disabilities. The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (formerly the American Association of University Affiliated Programs for Persons with Developmental Disabilities) is a 501(c) non-profit organization that promotes and supports the national network of university centers on disabilities, which includes University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD), Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Programs and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (DDRC).
• Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, University of Maine. The Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (UCEDD) seeks to enhance the capacity of individuals, communities, organizations, and state systems to create services and supports for individuals with disabilities, which reflect current and emerging best practices of inclusion, interdependence, self-determination, cultural competence, and respect for the inherent abilities of each person to contribute to society.
• Center for Educational and Social Equity, Chapman University. The Center for Educational & Social Equity focuses on investigating conditions which will allow greater inclusion of people with severe disabilities into the greater society.
• Center for Multicultural Education, University of Washington. The Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle WA, focuses on research projects and activities designed to improve practice related to equity issues, intergroup relations, and the achievement of students of color. The Center also engages in services and teaching related to its research mission.
• The Center on Disability & Community Inclusion, University of Vermont. The Center on Disability & Community Inclusion (UCEDD) is part of a national network of developmental disabilities programs established to support individuals with disabilities and their families to achieve valued life outcomes, especially school and community inclusion.
• Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii. Recognizing that every individual has unique dreams and values, the mission of the Center on Disability Studies (UCE) is to support the quality of life, inclusion, and empowerment of all persons with disabilities and their families through partnerships in training, service, evaluation, research, dissemination, and technical assistance.
• Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire.
  The Institute on Disability (IOD) is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) that promotes the full inclusion of people with disabilities in their schools and communities.

Disability Studies

• Disability Studies in Education. This is a new Special Interest Group of the American Education Research Association (AERA) whose purpose is to encourage Disability Studies in education; to provide an organizational vehicle for networking among Disability Studies researchers in education; and to increase the visibility and influence of Disability Studies among all educational researchers.
• Disability Studies in the Humanities. Features scholarly resources, DS-HUM listserv information, syllabi, announcements and web links on Disability Studies. This site, especially the interdisciplinary bibliography, is frequently updated.
• Disability Studies: Information and Resources. Electronic version of information and resource packet compiled at Syracuse University. Includes information on academic programs, journals, chapters, articles, books, special editions of periodicals, research, film, organizations, special interest groups, and internet resources.
• Disability Studies Online Magazine. This is an online magazine focusing on the academic field of disability studies and interdisciplinary discussions of disability. Their focus is to consider disability within the framework of society, rather than as individual pathology. Viewing disability in this context one can see the connections and relevance of disability to a wide variety of disciplines, including: geography, sociology, medicine, social work, social policy, architecture, art history, anthropology, comparative religions, philosophy, law, popular culture, media and film, literature, history, women studies, and education.
• Disability Studies Quarterly. Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) is the journal of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS). It is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities, disability rights advocates, creative writers, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities. It represents the full range of methods, epistemologies, perspectives, and content that the multidisciplinary field of disability studies embraces. DSQ is committed to developing theoretical and practical knowledge about disability and to promoting the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society.
• The Review of Disability Studies, An International Journal. In order to address the need for an internationally-focused academic journal in the field of Disability Studies, the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is pleased to announce the publication of The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal (RDS). The new journal contains research articles, essays, and bibliographies relating to the culture of disability and people with disabilities. It also publishes forums on disability topics brought together by forum editors of international stature. Poetry, short stories, creative essays, photographs, and artwork related to disability are also welcome. The journal is published four times a year, and each issue runs approximately 100 pages.

National Centers and Initiatives

• The Center for Research on Women with Disabilities (CROWD). The Center for Research on Women with Disabilities (CROWD) is a research center that focuses on issues related to health, aging, civil rights, abuse, and independent living. CROWD's purpose is to promote, develop, and disseminate information to expand the life choices of women with disabilities so that they may fully participate in community life. More specifically, researchers develop and evaluate models for interventions to address specific problems effecting women with disabilities.
• The Center for Universal Design. The Center for Universal Design is a national research, information, and technical assistance center that evaluates, develops, and promotes universal design in housing, public and commercial facilities, and related products.
• National Council in Disability. The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting Americans with disabilities. NCD is composed of 15 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In its 1986 report Toward Independence, NCD first proposed that Congress should enact a civil rights law for people with disabilities. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law.
• National Home of Your Own Alliance. The National Home of Your Own Alliance is a partnership between the Federal government and nationally recognized advocates and leaders whose goal is to create housing and support opportunities that people choose and control.
• The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY). NICHCY is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Their special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22).
• Partners in Policymaking. Partners in Policymaking was created in Minnesota by the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities in 1987. Partners is an innovative, competency based leadership training program for adults with disabilities and parents of young children with developmental disabilities. The purpose of the program is twofold: To teach best practices in disability, and the competencies of influencing public officials.

Organizations

• American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). AAPD is the largest national nonprofit cross-disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
• American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT). There's no place like home, and we mean real homes, not nursing homes. We are fighting so people with disabilities can live in the community with real supports instead of being locked away in nursing homes and other institutions.
• Autism National Committee (Autcom). This is the only autism advocacy organization dedicated to "Social Justice for All Citizens with Autism" through a shared vision and a commitment to positive approaches.
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). Founded in 1979 by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF) is a national law and policy center dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities through legislation, litigation, advocacy, technical assistance, and education and training of attorneys, advocates, persons with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities.
• Mobility International USA. As a US-based national non-profit organization, the mission of Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is to empower people with disabilities around the world through international exchange, information, technical assistance and training; and to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in international exchange and development programs.
• National Disabled Students Union (NDSU). The NDSU is a national, cross-disability, student organization dedicated to social justice for all. Our mission is to mobilize and organize students with disabilities throughout the nation in order to continue the legacy of empowerment and community solidarity that is our heritage.
• Not Dead Yet. Not Dead Yet is a national activist organization which opposes the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and places emphasis on the value of life.
• PEAK Parent Center. Our mission is to ensure that children, youth, and adults with disabilities lead rich, active lives and participate as full members of their schools and communities by providing training, information, and technical assistance, including best practices, to families and the professionals working with them.
• Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE). Our Goals: 1) Make self-advocacy available in every state including institutions, high schools, rural areas and people living with families with local support and advisors to help. 2) Work with the criminal justice system and people with disabilities about their rights within the criminal justice system. 3) Close institutions for people with developmental disabilities labels nationwide, and build community supports.
• TASH. TASH is an international advocacy association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and people who work in the disability field. TASH believes that no one with a disability should be forced to live, work, or learn in a segregated setting; that all individuals deserve the right to direct their own lives. TASH's mission is to eliminate physical and social obstacles that prevent equity, diversity, and quality of life.
• United Nations - Enable, Ad Hoc Committee - Promoting the rights of persons with disabilities: Full participation and equality in social life and development. United Nations website that covers the creation of "a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-discrimination and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development." The First Session of the Ad Hoc Committee took place from 29 July to 9 August 2002.
• World Institute on Disability (WID). WID is an international public policy center dedicated to carrying out cutting-edge research on disability issues and overcoming obstacles to independent living.

Advocacy, Consulting, and Other Resources

• Autism Network International (ANI). This is an autistic-run self-help and advocacy organization for autistic people.
• Autistics.org: Resources by and for persons on the autistic spectrum. The purpose of the autistics.org project is to connect autistic people with the services we need to live whole and happy lives. The immediate goal of autistics.org is to build a global database of information and resources by and for persons on the autistic spectrum. The autistics.org project is primarily by and for autistics, not parents of autistic children, though family members and professionals may find this website helpful.
• Axis Consultation & Training Ltd. Norman Kunc and Emma Van der Klift have spent the last 20 years working to ensure that people with disabilities are able to take their rightful place in schools, workplaces, and communities. In 1990, Norman and Emma established Axis Consultation and Training Ltd., and since then have been kept quite busy providing in-service and training in the areas of inclusive education, employment equity, conflict resolution, and other disability rights issues.
• Barrier Breakers. Barrier Breakers has served the Disability Rights Movement since 1990, selling posters and manuals about disability issues. Barrier Breakers is committed not only to excellence in its products and services, but also to disability rights, to freeing our people from nursing homes and institutions, and to removing barriers to work for people with disabilities.
• Edge: Education for Disability and Gender Equity. User-friendly web-based teaching tool for high school students. Includes comprehensive lesson plans and background information for lessons in physics, biology, government, and culture.
• Electric Edge: Online Edition of Ragged Edge Magazine. This online edition of Ragged Edge magazine (the successor to Disability Rag) includes the best writing today about the most "ragged issues"--assisted suicide, long-term care, rights, access, and covers the disability experience and what it means to be a crip at the turn of the millenium.
• Imagine. David Pitonyak’s consultation and advocacy site. Imagine is the name I give my consulting practice, which is dedicated to supporting people who experience disabilities and exhibit, what some have called, "difficult behaviors." In my view, what's most needed when supporting someone who engages in difficult behaviors is imagination. If you will, the story-line that is floating around about the person is a major part of the problem. What's needed is a new story. My practice is based upon a simple idea: difficult behaviors result from unmet needs. In a sense, difficult behaviors are messages which can tell us important things about a person and the quality of his or her life.
• Inclusion.com. Home for Inclusion Press, Inclusion Network, and the Marsh Forest Centre. Great site for books, articles, films, training tools, workshops, and other resources on inclusion and person-centered planning.
• Mayer Shevin Consulting. Consultation to individuals, families, and agencies in collaborative problem solving, school and community inclusion, facilitated communication, organizational change, person-centered planning, and creation of circles of support; and group facilitation for agencies and organizations.
• Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI). MDRI, based in Washington, DC, is forging new alliances throughout the world to challenge the discrimination and abuse faced by people with mental disabilities, as well as working with locally-based advocates to create new advocacy projects and to promote citizen participation and human rights for children and adults.
• Mouth - Voice of The Disability Nation. This thought-provoking magazine features investigative journalism, news, and interviews with disability rights activists, reserving some of its harshest criticism for the "helping professions." Mouth also publishes essays written by people with disabilities, and does not include commercial advertisements.
• The Nth Degree. The Nth Degree is about turning light bulbs on. We are about helping folks to recognize that there is no such thing as "Us and Them," just one big "Us." We're about increasing awareness and understanding; as much about the celebration of our individuality and our differences, as the search for common ground: the search for shared truths, interests, histories, goals, fears. We want The Nth Degree catalog to be a place where folks can come to find Solidarity and to share talents, skills and stories. We have lots and lots of "Aware wear": shirts and stuff for Disability Culture, the Inclusion and Independent Living Movements, and for the "Human Connection" we all share.
• Uppity disAbility Internet Resources. Socially progressive site for like-minded disAbled people.

Disability History

• Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project. This four hour documentary radio series shares the experiences of people with disabilities and their families since the beginning of the 19th century. This web site includes excerpts from the shows as well as many of the primary source documents--extended interviews, images, and texts--from which the on-air programs were developed.
• A Chronology of the Disability Rights Movement. This timeline from San Francisco State University's Office of Human Relations' Disability Programs Unit begins in 1817.
• The Disability Rights Movement. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this virtual exhibit examines the history of activism by those who have fought for the civil rights of people with disabilities. This web site is a reproduction of the interactive kiosk that accompanies the physical exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. To view the virtual exhibit, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher is required, and to listen to the audio description, an audio player that supports the MP3 format is also required.
• Disability Social History Project. The Disability History Project is a community history project and we welcome your participation. This is an opportunity for disabled people to reclaim our history and determine how we want to define ourselves and our struggles. People with disabilities have an exciting and rich history that should be shared with the world.
• Disability Studies for Teachers (Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University). This is a web-based resource for teachers who want to introduce students in social studies, history, literature, and related subjects in grades 6-12 to disability studies and disability history. The project prepares lesson plans, essays, and teaching materials.

Legal Resources

• ADA Watch. The ADA WATCH campaign is a nonprofit informational online network designed to activate the disability community's grassroots in response to threats to civil rights protections for people with disabilities; educates and informs people with disabilities, disability advocates, members of the general public, the business community, policy makers, and the media regarding threats to civil rights protections for people with disabilities; seeks to build an online community of empowered citizens united against attempts to roll back civil rights protections for people with disabilities; and provides support to the ADA WATCH coalition, a network of disability rights, service, and consumer organizations united to protect and strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Technical Assistance Program. The ADA Technical Assistance Program is a federally funded network of grantees which provides information, training, and technical assistance to businesses and agencies with duties and responsibilities under the ADA and to people with disabilities with rights under the ADA. This program also coordinates ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs), which provide information and referrals, technical assistance, public awareness, and training on all aspects of the ADA.
• The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. The mission of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is to protect and advance the rights of adults and children with mental disabilities to exercise meaningful life choices and to enjoy the social, recreational, educational, economic, political and cultural benefits of community living.
• Disability Rights Advocates. Founded in 1993, Disability Rights Advocates is a national and international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities. Operated by and established for people with disabilities, DRA pursues its mission through research, education, and legal advocacy. DRA's mission is to ensure dignity, equality, and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities throughout the United States and worldwide.
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Data. This web site provides public access to the most recent data about children with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These data are collected annually by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs in accordance with Section 618 of IDEA. They are provided in the form of tables produced for the Annual Reports to Congress.
• Legal and Advocacy Resources. Lots of links.
• U.S. Department of Justice ADA Page. This web page coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice offers a wide range of resources concerning the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Wrightslaw. Parents, advocates, educators, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw for accurate, up-to-date information about special education law and advocacy for children with disabilities.

Art, Literature, and Film Resources

• The ANC Bookstore. AUTCOM’s bookstore contains a thorough listing of the latest books on autism and Asperger syndrome, as well as all of the classics.
• Crip Commentary. Laura Hershey’s advocacy and art website featuring her columns, articles, poetry, and art. Winner of a 2001 TASH Positive Images Award for New Media/Internet.
• Cultural Expressions of Pride. Arts section of the Disabled and Proud! website focused on disability history, culture, and community. The arts section features poetry by Dan Wilkins and Cheryl Marie Wade, as well as many other cultural expressions of pride.
• Dan Keplinger Art Portfolio - Phyllis Kind Gallery.
• Fanlight Productions. Fanlight is a leading distributor of innovative film and video works on the social issues of our time, with a special focus on: healthcare, mental health, professional ethics, aging and gerontology, disabilities, the workplace, gender and family issues.
• Films Involving Disabilities. This site presents a detailed list of 2,500 feature films which involve in one way or another various disabilities. It is directed towards teachers, students and anyone who has an interest in how disability is represented in films.
• GRACE- Grass Roots Art and Community Effort. Grass Roots Art and Community Effort (GRACE) has been a vital force in the community life of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom for twenty five years, providing a voice for individuals at the grassroots level. The GRACE program is “simple.” Our mission is to discover, develop and promote produced primarily, but not exclusively, by elderly self taught artists in rural Vermont.
• HBO’s King Gimp site. Academy Award winning short documentary starring artist Dan Keplinger.
• Inclusion Press International. Inclusion Press is a small press striving to produce readable, accessible, user-friendly books and resources about full inclusion in school, work, and community.
• Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Our list of titles for, by, and about people with autism and Asperger Syndrome and their families is now amongst the foremost in the world. We place a strong emphasis on the voice of the individual.
• Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. For 25 years, a leading publisher of highly respected resources in early childhood, inclusive and special education, communication and language, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, behavior, literacy, and mental health.
• State of the Art, Inc.’s Autism is a World site. The documentary is about Sue who is autistic. She was diagnosed and treated as mentally retarded until the age of 13 when she began to communicate using a keyboard. The documentary takes the viewer on a journey into her mind, into her world and her obsessions. Autism Is A World explores Sue’s world, her writings, and the remarkable friendships she has created while in college.
• Human Policy Press. Human Policy Press (HPP) is an independent press, started by the Center on Human Policy in 1974, to promote positive attitudes towards people with disabilities. HPP is probably most famous for its "Label Jars... Not People," "Not Being Able To Speak," and "Sticks and Stones" posters.

Communication

• ACOLUG. Augmentative Communication On-Line Users Group (ACOLUG) is a LISTSERV created to assist people who use augmentative communication, their friends and families to discuss issues related to augmentative communication, such as equipment, funding, learning techniques and supports.
• Breaking the Barriers. Through the generous support of the NLM Family Foundation, an initiative focused on assisting people with labels of autism who use alternative forms of communication to become more involved in shaping public policy was begun this past year. The Breaking the Barriers Initiative was born out of this collective effort and is supported by TASH. Our vision is that all people with disability labels, who do not communicate through speech, have means of communication which allows their fullest participation in the world; that people can communicate using their chosen method; and that their communication is respected by others.
• CAMA. Communication Aid Manufacturers Association (CAMA) is a nonprofit organization of leading manufacturers of AAC software and hardware. The site contains links to manufacturer's web pages. Regional workshops are also listed. Free catalogs are available.

Updated 8/4/05

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(c) 2004-2005 Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC), Syracuse University. All rights reserved.