Committee on Disabilities ;

One of the functions of the Department of Student In closing I would like to take this opportunity to Services 1s to provide services to students with spe- thank the members of the committee for their su 0) cial needs. This group of students had a variety of interest and commitment. Also if you would like : needs from learning disabilities to other disabilities-- further information regarding this committee, or mobility, hearing, and visual impairments; others are would wish to help out, please feel free to see me in in wheel chairs. I, Marion Basha, am the designated Student Services, Robertson Library, orcall, 566- Counsellor in Student Services responsible for meet- 0443.

ing the needs of this group.

Marion Basha By way of making the University Community become more aware, and in hopes of being able to provide a well-rounded service, I organized a University Com- mittee to Explore the Needs of Students with Disabili- ties. This Committee includes representation from the Registrar and Business Offices, Security Depart- ment, Library, Student Union, Council of the Disa- bled, Tutoring Office, Maintenance Department, faculty from Science and Arts, Residence, Vet School, one student with a disability, the Canada Employment Centre, and myself as Chairperson.

The Committee meta couple of times in the spring semester of last year, and had continued to meet ona monthly basis this past year. We are really in the very early stages of trying to define exactly what our purpose is. The initial meetings were devoted to in- service training, to help each of us to become better informed of out own attitudes and language barriers. More recently we have divided into sub-committees and are working on acouple of specific tasks. One task is to clearly spell out what our mandate is, which will be ratified at our April meeting. A second com- mittee is identifying what type of information needs to be distributed to the faculty, staff, and students who are here, as well as those who are planning to enrol. A third committee is exploring the possibility of obtaining a grant to hire a student to do more extensive research and information gathering in the whole area of students with special needs. We have identified many other concerns, and time and the future will determine when these will be dealt with.

This gives youa brief summary of what’s been going | on with this committee. It is hoped that through our efforts, any student with a disability, or related spe- cial need, will be able to function on our campus ina way that helps them realizer their full potential, efficiently and effectively.

UPEI X-P RESS Ajril 1; 92