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• Learn more about assistive technology at UNI

But the Des Moines native has retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary disease that causes the cells in her retina that process light to degenerate. Over time she will become completely blind. She was diagnosed at 6 years old, although her parents noticed she’d been running into things since she was 3.

“I have no peripheral vision. I can tell you’re in front of me but I can’t pick out any details like hair color or eye color,” said Mills, who is among a handful of students at UNI who are visually impaired.

Obtaining her undergraduate degree in secondary education from Simpson College in Indianola, Mills chose UNI for graduate school because of Sunggye Hong, assistant professor in the Department of Special Education. “There are a number of good schools with special education graduate programs but Dr. Hong came to UNI and developed the teacher training program for students with visual impairments.”

Hong, who is totally blind, was teaching in Arizona when the university recruited him for the program.

Graduate student Kristin Mills frequently uses a Braille Note device to take notes in class. She can upload the information to a Word document onto her computer.

“Throughout the United States there are 30-some programs that train teachers of students with visual impairments. But Iowa didn’t have one,” Hong said. “UNI recruited me to come here and develop the program, which I started in 2003.”

The eight-course program offers bachelor, master’s and certification programs for all levels of general and special education teachers.

But how does Mills take exams, write papers or use a computer like her sighted classmates?

Assistant Professor Sunggye Hong applied his expertise in assistive technologies to develop UNI’s teacher training program for students with visual impairments.

“People tend to forget that I’ve been dealing with this all my life,” she said. Mainstreamed into the public school system, she learned Braille in first grade and the computer keyboard in fourth grade. In junior high she began using speech software, technology in which information from the computer screen is read aloud to the user.

Mills used Microsoft speech software in high school and switched to JAWS (Job Access with Speech) software while at Simpson College. JAWS can be installed without sighted assistance and also outputs Braille displays. “I can send e-mails, write a paper or surf the Web. I’m fortunate for the assistive technology we have now.”

Assistive technology, which helps people with disabilities accomplish daily tasks and achieve greater independence, is relatively new, Hong said. “There were trials of technology in the early 1980s, but in a very primitive way. More stable screen-reading software was being developed in the late 1980s or early 1990s.”

Hong, who has Microsoft Window-Eyes software on his computer, has an office full of assistive technology aids to help him and his students with daily tasks, such as a Braille printer, Braille laptop computer and Perkins Brailler for creating Braille documents.

“The development of this technology has offered tremendous opportunities for people with visual impairment,” Hong said. “Twenty-five or 30 years ago it would have been impossible for me to teach, but assistive technology makes it possible.”

UNI’s Rod Library also has several assistive technology aids, including JAWS software, an OpenBook reader, which scans and vocalizes written text, a Visualtek camera system that magnifies text and other visual materials, two American Printing House for the Blind cassette tape recorder/players and a Perkins Brailler. Library staff can also assist with operating library equipment, such as photocopy machines or microform readers.

Another campus resource is the Office of Disability Services, housed in the new Student Health Center.

“Our goal is to make sure the activities, programs and services the university offers are accessible to individuals with disabilities,” said Jane Slykhuis, coordinator of the Office of Disability Services. “It’s not about giving anyone an advantage. It’s about leveling the playing field. Students still have to fulfill admission requirements.”

The office assists students and faculty, but it’s students who mainly use the services. Slykhuis said there are currently 178 students who have registered with her office and are eligible for services.

“Students have to self-identify, we can’t seek them out,” she added. “I encourage students when they come for their high school visit to talk to me or someone in our office. That’s when I tell students about the process. I like to have the students fill out the necessary forms before the semester starts. It works best for the student, faculty and me so we have accommodations in place from day one.”

To qualify for services, the person must have a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (chief architect Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. People must provide proper documentation confirming the disability and that it substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as walking, seeing, hearing, standing, breathing, learning or speaking.

The office has five academic aides serving as readers and scribes, services that Mills has used. “A reader has helped me take an exam for one of my classes and I’ve had scribes come to class to take notes. I will also use their services to help with getting texts on tape.”

What the office doesn’t provide are personal services such as transportation. In those cases, Slykhuis can refer students to on-campus services or agencies, one being the Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which helps provide tuition aid, tutoring fees, transportation and assistive technology.

“My goal is to have them become independent,” Slykhuis said. “But we also want students to know this is a safe place.”

Maintained by the UNI Alumni Association
Last Modified: January 31, 2006