This week on the Disabilities Beat, we feature a partnership between Special Olympics and Niagara University that is challenging what inclusion and equal access means in sports and on college campuses.
This year, Garland brought in adult students from a local high school who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to audit his class. These students have helped Garland identify barriers to accessing classes at NU for students with disabilities, have disabled students help plan the event, and make sure disabled people are included at all levels of the program.
NU student Charles Dieteman, who also has a disability, also shared how the class has changed his perspective. As a sports management major, working with athletes with disabilities has also influenced his career goals.
The program has helped expose barriers, create solutions, and most of all teach college students to not just work for people with disabilities, but collaboratively with them, and see that disabled people need equal access at all levels.
TRANSCRIPT:
This is a rush transcript written by an external contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins: Hi. I'm Emyle Watkins and this is the Disabilities Beat. To round out Disability Pride Month, we've got both an audio and a video segment to share about a partnership between Special Olympics and Niagara University that is charting a new path for disability access. You can check out Jamal Harris Jr.'s video on Special Olympics on BTPM NPR's YouTube page, and on our website.
Back in May, Jamal and I followed this program for a few days when Niagara University hosted an annual regional basketball tournament for Special Olympics. The tournament featured 12 clubs and 16 teams. Unlike unified sports which take place at high schools, Special Olympic club teams feature athletes of all ages from throughout the community.
Dennis Garland: For me, as a special educator, it was like all right, we're getting closer to inclusion, and how do we make it more inclusive?
Emyle Watkins: Dennis Garland, the Chair of NU's Special Education Department, has grown this program beyond just teaching future educators. In 2016, he took over the Special Olympics Coaching and Games Management Course, which allows students to take part in planning and coaching this regional competition.
But this year, Garland wanted to make sure that students didn't just work on something for people with disabilities, but rather work equally with them. Garland brought in a group of disabled students who are over 18 years old from the city school district to audit the class.
Dennis Garland: My students are their peers and they're coming here and participating in the class as for college, they're auditing the college course. So they're here looking through all of those athlete data forms, practicing with the athletes, planning for the event, coaching their peers from the high school, and just participating more fully here at Niagara University.
Emyle Watkins: Charles Dieteman is a student studying sports management at NU.
Charles Dieteman: And it's just been a really eye-opener because I have a mild disability myself, but I am attending Niagara University as a student.
Emyle Watkins: He took the class for the first time last year and then worked with Garland on the class again this year.
Charles Dieteman: So it's just really cool that I get to come in on Thursdays and work with people with disabilities from different agencies.
Emyle Watkins: Dieteman says the class has impacted his future goal of making competitive sports more accessible to both athletes and fans.
Charles Dieteman: So I am still kind of undecided, but my dream career would be working with Special Olympics or incorporating disabilities in sport. Oh no, I would love to work for the Buffalo Bills, but I would like to work on the side of fundraising and getting people with disabilities into games and stuff. Maybe meet some players and yeah, do the boxes and stuff like that.
Emyle Watkins: But the program has also shown the hurdles that still exist for disabled students and athletes.
Dennis Garland: My students use the Canvas Learning Management System. For students, some students with intellectual disability, that can be a hurdle.
Emyle Watkins: Garland says including adult high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the class has exposed barriers the college has.
Dennis Garland: So got a partner, Dr. Tong from Computer Sciences, who's an expert at developing apps. So we're working closely with the athletes and the students from high school and their teachers into seeing what particularly they need help with and individualizing some app development, and we're going to pilot that.
Emyle Watkins: Garland's program also perhaps exposes one of the biggest barriers disabled people experience anywhere, the assumptions of non-disabled people. Garland says his program asks and lets disabled people lead, rather than assumes.
Dennis Garland: We need to remain humble and listen. And really, I think that that's what I... Well, I know that's what I've been part of to my students, but as a researcher, as an educator, I want to listen. You tell me what you need, and if you can't tell me with your words, then show me with your photos and then we're going to make it work.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, view a transcript in plain language description for every episode on our website at BTPM.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
