Standards of Practice for Disability Service Professionals
Boris Vukovic
Somei Tam
Bruce Hamm
Overview
• Why?
• What we did?
• How to apply these standards?
• Where do we go from here?
Why?
Increasing Numbers at DSOs
• % of swds registering with DSOs in publicly funded post-secondary institutions in Ontario– 10 to 15% college; – 5 to 8 % university
• MAESD (formerly MTCU)’s numbers– 2008-2009: 36,718 students (~7% of total enrolment)
• 19,022 college (~12% of total college enrolment) • 17,696 university (~5% of total university enrolment)
– 2015-2016: 66,808 students• 34.875 college (52%)• 31,933 university (48%)
Carleton’s Numbers
1566
1742
1922
2073
2311
2700
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017*
NUMBER OF REGISTERED PMC STUDENTS
Ryerson’s Numbers
Source: http://ryersonstudentaffairs.com/our-time-to-swim/
Ontario Universities Sector’s Numbers
90
895
1742
1540
548 588
1302 1302
456
1262
875
1510
412
2449
771
1735
518
2632
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
No. of Registered SWDS in 18 institutions: 2012-2013
Source: IDIA Caseload Survey (Parsons, Nolan & Wilchesky, 2014)
First Year Students 2001-2016
2001 2016
Gender: Female - Male 66% - 34% 66% - 34%
Age: 18 and under 37% 64%
Visible minority 14% 40%
Aboriginal 3% 3%
International 5% 7%
Disability 5% 22%
Parents: High school or less 29% 11%
Increase in Mental Health Numbers
• Canadian University Survey Consortium
– Half of the 22% of first year students identified as having a disability in 2016 are those with mental health problems.
• National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey of 43, 000 students from 41 institutions, 2016
– 1/5 of Canadian post-secondary students are reporting feeling depressed, anxious or struggling with other mental health issues
SWDs at DSOs by Disability 2012-2013
536
2810
2336
381
5558
342
1569
6042
333
202
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
ABI
ADHD
CI/SM
D,d,Dd,HH
LD
Blind/LV
Mob/Funct.
PSY/MH
ASD
Other
Source: IDIA Caseload Survey (Parsons, Nolan & Wilchesky, 2014)
SWDs at Carleton 2011-2017
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016
LEARNING DISABILITIES PSYCHIATRIC/MENTAL HEALTH
ADHD CHRONIC ILLNESSS/MEDICAL
Impact on Institutional Resources
• Test/exam accommodations and note taking support are the two frequently requested accommodations
• Increasing caseload of disability/accessibility advisors – average 300 per advisor
• Administration of the CSG/BSWD – labourintensive; overly prescriptive guidelines; funding spreading thin
• Space, staff, and information system to manage accommodation processes
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Extra time for exams: 31.9%
Quiet/alone room: 20.5%
Notetaking: 17.8%
High Frequency Accommodations
Accommodated Exams at Carleton
2000
3000
4000
5000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
2010 2014 2016 2017 (est.)
NUMBER OF ACCOMMODATED EXAMS PER EXAM PERIOD (DECEMBER)
Other Factors
• Changing legal landscape in Ontario
• Documentation standards from health care professionals
• Accommodation decision-making across advisors
• Accommodations provided across institutions
• Accommodations rationale for faculty
Carleton faculty attitudes and practices
3.48
3.37
1.86
3.64
3.36
2.67
1 2 3 4
ACC
ACM
CM
ILS
IC
IA
Attitudes
DISAGREE SOMEWHAT AGREE
2.82
3.15
1.15
3.22
2.72
2.07
0 1 2 3 4
ACC
ACM
CM
ILS
IC
IA
Practices
N/A NEVER ALWAYS
What We Did
The Concept
• Three standards:
– Accommodation
– Documentation
– Service
• Each consist of:
– Principles
– Guidelines
– Decision-making process
The Process
• Top down, bottom up– Top: OHRC policies and guidelines, institutional policies and
procedures
– Bottom: Collective experience, best practices, real-world examples, constraints
• Three-person working group– Drafting of the Standards
– Focus group with our staff
– Sharing with our community of practice
The Goals
• For our own practices
• Alignment of accommodation practices
• Standardizing of documentation requirements
• Clarifying the parameters of support services
• Training of new staff
• Confidence resulting from standardized practices
• For a community of practice• Inspire conversations about development of standards
for a profession
How to apply these standards?
The Discussion
• Review of the three Standards (10 min)– Three groups, one Standard per group– Consider the following when reviewing individually:
• Benefits for your services• Challenges to implementation
• Discussion within each group (10 min)– How well the principles, guidelines, and decision maps
reflect your work?– How can you implement these in your work?– What additional benefit can these Standards bring to your
work?
• Each group reporting (10 min per Standard)– Summarize discussion within your group
Where do we go from here?
The Future
• Future outlook
– Expanding mandate and scope of practice
– Less defined client population
– Growing variety of experts and sub-specialties
• Future Standards
– Guide professional training, certification, evaluation
– Require a regulatory body/professional association
– Support development of professional identity
• Accessibility and Inclusion (CoP)’s Post-Conference Workshop at CACUSS, June 15, Ottawa
Contact Us
Paul Menton Centre
Carleton University
www.carleton.ca/pmc
613-520-6608