Category Archives: General Topics

THE CANADIAN HARD OF HEARING ASSOCIATION HAS LAUNCHED ITS 2021 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

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The deadline for applications for the 2021 academic year must be submitted by April 30, 2021.  Late or incomplete applications will not be considered nor will applications be accepted by mail, e-mail or fax.

The following scholarships have been established to assist students with hearing loss:

Carrell Hearn Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)

This scholarship is being offered by the North Shore Branch in memory of Carrell Hearn a resident of West Vancouver, BC who passed away in 2014 at the age of 105. Carrell was a long-time member and generous supporter of the CHHA-North Shore as well as a number of other local North Shore charities.

Dr. Charles A. Laszlo Scholarship ($1,000)

The Dr. Charles A. Laszlo Scholarship requires that the applicant be enrolled in the second or higher year of study in the area of Science and Technology and Trades. In addition, the applicant must also display an interest in supporting activities to improve the lives of those who have hearing loss following the example of Dr. Laszlo’s commitment and work on behalf of the hard of hearing community.

Frank Algar Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)

The Frank Algar Scholarship does not focus on any field of study; however, the advocacy level of the applicant is taken into account. The Algar family wishes to continue to support the work of their father who was a strong advocate of for hard of hearing people and people with disabilities.

Susan Brown Memorial Scholarship ($2,000)

The Susan Brown Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a deserving student in memory of Susan Brown, Chairperson of the CHHA-NL Families Resource Group who passed away in 2017. This scholarship is sponsored annually by the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association-Newfoundland and Labrador (CHHA-NL) and is offered to hard of hearing, late-deafened and oral deaf students entering their first-year, full time program at a recognized Canadian college or university in any area of study, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a diploma, certificate or degree.

For more information about CHHA’s scholarships, eligibility requirements or to apply, please visit our website: https://www.chha.ca/get-involved/scholarships/

NEADS Accepting Applications for National Student Awards

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NEADS Accepting Applications for National Student Awards/Holly Bartlett Memorial Award/AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship/Christine Nieder Memorial Award/ Canada Post Award/ Alliance for the Equality of Blind Canadians – Winnipeg Chapter Memorial Award

Deadline May 31st, 2021 (Ottawa, February 25th, 2021)

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) is now accepting applications for the NEADS National Student Awards Program, the NEADS Holly Bartlett Memorial Award, the NEADS Christine Nieder Memorial Award, the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship, Canada Post Award, and Alliance for the Equality of Blind Canadians – Winnipeg Chapter (AEBC) Memorial Award. These awards are offered to encourage full access to post-secondary education for persons with disabilities enrolled in undergraduate, graduate or professional degree programs at recognized Canadian universities, or in certified diploma programs at Canadian colleges. One outstanding applicant who meets the eligibility criteria will be awarded $10,000 from Canada Post. Two outstanding applicants (one English, one French) who meet eligibility criteria will be eligible for $5,000 each available from the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship.

A to be determined number of students who meet the criteria of the NEADS Student Awards Program, will be receiving an award in the amount of $3,000 to support the costs of their tuition and student fees. One or more eligible and outstanding applicant(s) will receive the Holly Bartlett and Christine Nieder Memorial Awards, in the amount of $1,000. Finally, one student who meets the eligibility criteria will be awarded $1,000 from AEBC – Winnipeg Chapter. The exact number of scholarships awarded will be subject to the amount of funding received.

“We are very proud of the NEADS Student Awards Program, entering our 14th year of the program with over 110 recipients,” said Lauren Gravis, Director of the NEADS Student Awards Program. “These programs are the first of their kind in that they are pan-Canadian and cross-disability, and were created to recognize overall excellence among students with disabilities in all aspects of post-secondary education. Past recipients demonstrate excellence in their academics, extra-curriculars, and self-advocacy efforts in a way that is incredibly transformative for themselves and others. We celebrate the program’s ongoing success, and we look forward to this year’s crop of outstanding applicants.”

Formerly known as the AMI Scholarship, the award has been renamed the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship in honour of the organization’s Accessibility Officer, who passed away in December 2015. Robert Pearson was a long-time employee of AMI and fervent supporter of accessibility in Canada and around the world. “Renaming the AMI Scholarship in Robert’s memory ensures that his hard work lives on and forever reminds us of his commitment to accessibility and creating a more inclusive society,” explains Peter Burke, AMI Vice-President of Marketing and Communications. “The scholarship program was created to further strengthen the organization’s commitment to making accessible media for all Canadians, a role that Robert embraced with great passion and enthusiasm. He was an inspiration to all of us.” Entering its 9th year, the AMI Robert Pearson Memorial Scholarship program offers much needed financial assistance to students with a disability. In 2021, AMI will once again collaborate with the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) to administer the program and engage students with disabilities from across the country. Two $5,000 bursaries will be awarded to deserving students with a permanent disability; one from the English community and one from the French.

The Canada Post Student Award supports outstanding scholarship in higher education for persons with disabilities. The award recognizes contributions made to Canadian society through community development and knowledge sharing, and will be given to a student who demonstrates leadership, innovation, respect and integrity in their research, studies and community involvement.

The AEBC – Winnipeg Chapter Memorial Awards are offered to encourage full access to post-secondary education for persons with a visual disability who often have greater barriers to participation in higher education and extra costs because of their disability established to support outstanding scholarship in higher education for persons with disabilities. Each year the award will be dedicated to commemorate past members from the AEBC – Winnipeg Chapter. This year’s award is the Campbell Mackinder Memorial Scholarship.

Apply for all programs through the NEADS website until May 31st, 2021: http://www.neads.ca/en/about/projects/ete2/scholarship/

For more information:

Frank Smith
National Coordinator
National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6
www.neads.ca
https://www.disabilityawards.ca/
http://breakingitdown.neads.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/myNEADS/
https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/344

Seeking Students with ADHD/ADD for Research Study

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My name is Rachel Kay, and I am an undergraduate student at the University of Saskatchewan. I am conducting research, under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Briere, on attention and memory. In this study, we are interested in recruiting individuals with an inhibitory/attentional deficit (i.e., ADHD), but anyone can participate. In this study, participants are asked to partake in a variety of different tasks, which includes two memory tasks and a few questionnaires. For more clarification see the consent form attached. Participation will take around 50 minutes.

I am writing to you to ask if you would be able to help us recruit individuals with inhibitory/attentional deficits (i.e., ADHD and ADD) by sending out letters of invitation amongst your organization and/or to individuals that may be interesting in participating. Attached is the recruitment material and a study consent form that will provide plenty of details of the study. The data will be presented in academic settings and may help inform teaching, learning, and testing practices with individuals with inhibitory/attention deficits in the future. Any and all information disclosed in the demographics form and questionnaires, as well as any communication with the researchers via email, will be anonymous.

If you are interested in helping and would like to support our recruitment efforts, I would be more than happy to send further information or answer any questions. I will follow up in 5 days, but feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you for your time,

Student Researcher: Rachel Kay, Department of Psychology, Rachel.kay@usask.ca, 306-661-8848

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Briere, Department of Psychology, Jennifer.briere@usask.ca, 306-966-4174

2020 Income Tax Information for Students with Disabilities

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It’s time to starting thinking about filing your 2020 income tax return. For more information about filing your taxes, please visit the Government of Canada website at this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/tax-packages-years/general-income-tax-benefit-package.html

All students — including those with a disability — need to include a T2202. The University of Saskatchewan website states that:

The T2202 reports the actual part-time or full-time enrolment status for all students, including those students with a disability. If you are eligible for the disability tax credit or had, in the year, a mental or physical impairment and a doctor has certified that you cannot reasonably be expected to be enrolled as a full-time student because of the effects of this impairment you would note this on schedule 11 of your T1 tax return. This informs CRA that you may be considered full-time for other provisions within the Income Tax Act and various provincial and territorial programs.

The University does not mail out T2202s. You can download your T2202 at this link: https://students.usask.ca/money/taxes.php#TaxReceipts

Please note that neither the University nor Access and Equity Services can provide tax advice. If you have questions, please contact a tax professional or the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Accepting Applications for the 2021 Sarah Gaulin Memorial Scholarship

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The Gaulin Foundation is pleased to announce that it is once again accepting applications for the Sarah Gaulin Memorial Scholarship – a national scholarship that promotes the resilience of individuals with mental illness pursuing post-secondary education.

The $1,000 scholarships are being offered in honour of Sarah Gaulin, who died at the age of 26 after a longtime battle with mental illness. We would appreciate you sharing the attached information with students you work with.

In order to apply, students must be registered in a post-secondary institution and provide documented proof of their mental illness. Scholarships will be awarded to outstanding applicants who meet the criteria of the program. Deadline for applications is April 1, 2021.

Details about the scholarship can be found at www.gaulinfoundation.org

Fighting Blindness Canada’s Young Leaders Program Webinar February 25

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FBC’s Young Leaders Program returns with a new webinar about the importance of advocacy.

Whether in the workplace, school, or your personal life, thriving with a disability often means that you will have to advocate for yourself. In this interactive webinar, we will be talking about personal advocacy and how you can use this critical skill to help you break down barriers.

TOPIC: Becoming A Strong Self-Advocate
DATE: Thursday, February 25, 2021
TIME: 7 – 8:30 p.m. ET

We will also be sharing important program updates about the Young Leaders Spring Summit and our NEW Young Leaders Mentorship Program!

RESERVE YOUR VIRTUAL SEAT AT THIS LINK

If you have questions about the upcoming webinar or need assistance registering, please email education@fightingblindness.ca

Usask ADHD Education Group ~ Weekly February through March 8

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Confused and Curious about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

About this Event

WHAT: This group will offer information, strategies, and support for improved academics, relationships, and life. Learn to manage your symptoms and turn the “deficit” into “advantage”.

WHO: University of Saskatchewan students who have, or are in the process of exploring, a diagnosis of ADHD. You must be a registered student currently residing in Canada to attend.

Sessions build on each other. Consider registering for and attending all 5 sessions.

WHERE: Virtually. The web invitation will be provided to you before the event starts.

WHEN: Sessions run each Monday (except Feb 15th) from February 1 to March 8, 2021 from 11:30am – 1pm.

  • Session 1 – Feb 1: Biological Component – diagnosis and medical therapy
  • Session 2 – Feb 8: Supports on Campus – review of Access and Equity Services (AES)

No Session Feb 15

  • Session 3 – Feb 22: Psychological Component – how ADHD relates to depression, anxiety and how to manage
  • Session 4 – Mar 1: Lifestyle Component – how nutrition does (and doesn’t) play a role
  • Session 5 – Mar 8: Social Component – thoughts, emotions and behaviors, increasing awareness and empowerment

Student Wellness Centre, Student Affairs and Outreach, and Access and Equity Services have joined forces to offer this service. Facilitators include a physician, mental health nurse, registered dietitian, and registered social workers.

We look forward to having you!

NOTE: Registration will close 3 hours before each session.

Questions?

Contact the Student Wellness Centre

FAQs about accommodations for December 2020 finals

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This December, final exams are going to be different. We know you have questions about how your accommodations will work.

The most common questions (and answers!) are below. Hopefully, this will help you out. If not, send us an email at aesexams@usask.ca

Q. Yikes! I missed the deadline! Now what?

Unfortunately, the November 19 deadline is firm. Now that it has passed, you need to contact your instructors to see if they can provide accommodations without AES being involved.

Some instructors may be unwilling or unable to assist students who didn’t submit their requests through us. If they are unable to help you, you will need to write your exam(s) without accommodations.

Q. I submitted my requests a long time ago and they’re still “In Progress”! What gives?

“In Progress” means that we’re waiting to get information about your exam from your instructor.

Ten days before your exam date, our system will send an automated message to your instructor, telling them that a student requested accommodations and that we need information about the exam.

Once the instructor replies to that email, we insert the information they provided into your exam record and change the status to “Scheduled.”

We can’t change the status of your exam until we hear from your instructor. Some instructors are super prompt and we will be able to change the status 8-10 days prior to the exam date. Some instructors don’t reply to that first email, so we send a follow up about 3 days before the exam. Some don’t reply to that one either! If we don’t get a reply at all, we will make a note of that in your notebox, and change it to “Scheduled” anyway.

Because you followed the correct procedures, your accommodations are guaranteed to be provided. Do NOT worry if the status stays as “In Progress.” It just means that we don’t have information about the exam yet.

Q. What time does my evening exam start? I have two. My AES Exam Service tab says that one starts at 5:00pm and the other starts at 7:00pm. Is this really true?

The start time for evening exams in your AES Exam Service channel is just an arbitrary time chosen by our system. It is not necessarily correct.

If you have a 7:00pm exam, talk to your instructor about the start time NOW.

Some instructors might start the exams at 7:00pm, which means students with time and a half will have until 11:30pm to finish. Other instructors might start the exam early, so that they don’t have to monitor their email or WebEx room until late at night.

AES won’t necessarily get the start time from instructors, and even if we do, we might not get it until a day or two prior to the exam. It’s best to ask your instructor for this information well before the exam date.

Q. If I have a question while writing my exam, who can help me?

If your question is related to technology or to the exam material, reach out to your instructor by whatever means they offered. If your computer crashes, if you’re having trouble downloading your exam, if the timer doesn’t seem correct, or if you don’t understand a question, ask your prof during the exam. Do not wait until after the exam is handed in.

If your question is related to disability issues or temporary illness, email us at aesexams@usask.ca Our email will be monitored from 8:00am to 10:00pm beginning Monday, December 7 through Saturday, December 19 (excluding Sunday, December 13). We will reply ASAP after receiving your email; if you seem to be in distress, we will offer to open a WebEx room to facilitate an easier chat.

Q. I requested a reader and/or a scribe for my final exam. How will that work?

The reader and/or scribe accommodation is provided via WebEx.

The staff person scheduled to work with you will set up the WebEx room a few days in advance of the exam. They will also email you to introduce themselves.

The staff person is scheduled to open the WebEx room 15 minutes prior to the exam time. We encourage you to arrive a little early yourself, to introduce yourself to the staff person and discuss how to work on the exam. The exam itself should not begin earlier than the actual start time.

Q. I  have a question that isn’t answered here.

Email us at aesexams@usask.ca Our phone lines are not monitored while we work remotely.

Please keep in mind that our workload is very heavy during final exam periods. We work as quickly as we can but we do need to prioritize tasks. We will reply to your email as soon as we are able.

Good luck on your exams! Stay safe and enjoy the holiday break after your exams wrap up!

 

 

 

 

AES Exam Accommodations in an Online Learning Environment – Information for Instructors

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When the U of S closed its campus in March 2020, the AES Exam Service team had very little time to adapt. Approximately 2500 exam requests had been submitted for April. There wasn’t time to contact each instructor regarding exam delivery and accommodations in the new online learning environment. As a result, we asked students to email their instructors directly, since in most cases, timing accommodations would need to be handled by instructors and other accommodations would need to be managed by the students at home.

What we found, in retrospect, is that most instructors prefer that AES stay involved in the accommodation process. AES is able to act as a gatekeeper, ensuring that all documents and communications are “official.” We also found that many students prefer that we stay involved since students aren’t always comfortable discussing their accommodation needs with their instructors.

Two other themes that emerged were:

  • Students were often unclear about how their timing accommodations would be implemented, which resulted in several in retroactive complaints.
  • Instructors are feeling overwhelmed with email.

To address these issues, the role of the AES Exam Service team was reconfigured and we worked with our IT support team to minimize the number of emails our system sends automatically to instructors. To ensure that students understood the changes, we sent monthly emails and also posted communications to our blog, PAWS channel, and website.

As of September 2020, the exam accommodation process ideally follows these steps:

  • Students request their Letters to Professors at the beginning of the term (or ASAP after registering) and send them to their instructors for informational purposes.
  • Students request accommodations for any sort of test by filling out the online AES request form.
  • The AES system automatically generates an email (with an attachment) for instructors 10 days before the exam date. The attachment:
    • Explains the role of AES in the accommodation process.
    • Asks for information about the exam (such as format and time).
    • Includes a list of ALL students writing the same exam on a specific date.
  • Instructors should fill out the exam information sheet using Acrobat Pro by Adobe or other means and email it back to AES.
  • AES transfers relevant information about the exam to the student’s online exam record, so that the student understands what to expect when they arrive at the exam.
  • The instructor adjusts the timer for timed online exams, as required.
  • AES arranges any accommodations that the students cannot manage themselves, specifically readers and scribes.

We do understand that instructors have had to make a lot of changes and adaptations, and that they have a lot on their plates. The form we are asking you to fill out and return is indeed one more thing. However, we are hoping that our new processes help by:

  • streamlining all requests for a single exam on a specific date into one email;
  • removing the need for instructors to keep track of the Letters to Professors and/or communicate with individual students regarding the accommodations for each exam;
  • requesting a very small amount of information; and
  • diminishing the number of student issues that need to be addressed retroactively.

We’ve had positive feedback from some instructors about these changes thus far. We’ve also seen a noticeable decrease in the number of retroactive student complaints. These processes do promise to improve things for everyone. Please take the short time required to complete and send back our exam information form.

If you ever have questions or concerns about the AES Exam process, please contact us. Our phones are not monitored while we work remotely. It’s best to reach out by email to this address: aesexams@usask.ca

Automated email – message body

Exam Information attachment