DisAbility Inclusion
Education Chair: Parnika Adusumalli (she/her)
Email: adusumalli.5@osu.edu
MISSION:
The DisAbility Inclusion Affinity Group was formed to build a supportive, safe community for differently abled/disabled engineers, caregivers, and allies to network and develop themselves professionally. A community that acknowledges the unique challenges related to having a disability (physical, developmental, invisible, and mental) or caring for loved ones while also being an engineer.
Career & Professional Development
Ohio State General Support
SLDS is an office within Ohio State that coordinates support services and programs for students with disabilities. SLDS aims to remove barriers to education and overall university
life by providing exam accommodations, note-taking support, attendance modifications, assistive
technology, accessible media, sign language interpreting/transcribing, housing/dining
accommodations, disability parking/adaptive transportation, faculty consultation, and advocacy.
The office also connects students with disabilities to a variety of campus and community
resources.
Website: https://slds.osu.edu/
Email: slds@osu.edu
Exam Accommodations Email: slds-exam@osu.edu
Phone: 614-292-3307
Staff Contacts for Consultations: https://slds.osu.edu/faculty-staff/points-of-contact/
Address: 098 Baker Hall, 113 W. 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210
The OSU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic is part of the Department of Speech and Hearing Science under the College of Arts of Sciences. It has been around since 1930. It offers an extensive range of services for preschoolers, school-age children, and adults with disorders of hearing, articulation, language, voice, or fluency who receive assessment and intervention from experienced staff of audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
Website: https://sphs.osu.edu/clinic
Phone: 614-292-6251
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Address: 141 Pressey Hall, 1070 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210
The Nisonger Center is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. It provides assistance to children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities through clinical services, research, and educational as well as social programs. These programs include Aspirations Ohio, Autism College Experience (Ace!), Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC), and Transition Options in Postsecondary Settings (TOPS), which are all helpful for students. The center also offers a scholarship to cover all or part of the costs of its services.
Website: https://nisonger.osu.edu/
Aspirations Ohio: https://nisonger.osu.edu/ adolescent/ adolescent- clinics- services/
aspirations-ohio-2/
Ace!: https://nisonger.osu.edu/adolescent/ace-autism-college-experience-at-osu/
Ace! Contact: Karen Krainz Edison (karen.krainzedison@osumc.edu)
NCBC: https://nisonger.osu.edu/adult/adult- clinics-services/next- chapter-book-club/
TOPS: https://nisonger.osu.edu/adult/adult-clinics-services/tops/
Email: nisongeradmin@osumc.edu
Phone: 614-685-3192
Address: McCampbell Hall (Room 357), 1581 Dodd Drive, Columbus, OH 43210
The Disability Studies Program is an interdisciplinary academic program that was
established in 1997. It is part of the Department of English under the College of Arts and Sciences. It explores disability from political, cultural, and social perspectives. The program includes a Disability Studies Minor for undergraduate students, Disability Studies Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization for graduate students, and Disability Studies Graduate Student Association. There are even opportunities within the program to pursue an internship or independent study (through the means of a course).
Website: https://english.osu.edu/disability-studies
Email for Advising Related Questions: speck.61@osu.edu (Rachael Speck)
Email for Non-Advising Related Questions: disabilitystudies@osu.edu
Listserv to Receive Updates and Information: dsosu@lists.osu.edu
Student Life Recreation Sports supports the participation of individuals with
disabilities in all programs and services at no additional cost.
Accommodation Request Form:
https://www.connect2mycloud.com/OnlineModules/PublicForm/FillOutPublicForm?formCode=
8ede6a6e-eb69-4338-b498-4c6562d8239d
Website: https://recsports.osu.edu/membership-access/inclusive-recreation
OSU Student Organizations:
Career and Professional Development
OOD is a state of Ohio agency that empowers Ohioans with disabilities through employment, disability determinations, and independence. Ohio College2Careers is a partnership between OOD and OSU. It aims for students with disabilities to complete their degree, earn higher wages, and meet the demands of the labor market by offering services such as career exploration and counseling, resume and interview preparation, internships and permanent employment, connection to employers, assistance with navigating OhioMeansJobs resources, and more.
Website: https://ood.ohio.gov/
Ohio College2Careers Counselors embedded at OSU: Shelby Koehler
(shelby.koehler@ood.ohio.gov) and Daniel Samit (daniel.samit@ood.ohio.gov)
Lime Connect is a global 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects professionals and university students who have any type of disability with professional opportunities. Members are eligible to attend networking events along with applying for scholarships and awards, leadership programs, internships, co-ops, and full-time positions with the world’s leading corporations that are Lime Connect’s partners. Lime Connect helps members build skills, connections, and confidence to navigate the workplace as a person with a disability.
Website: https://limeconnect.com/
Join the Community (Choose a Membership Type): https://limeconnect.com/join-us/
Entry Point! is a program of the AAAS Project on Science, Technology, and Disability that recruits, interviews, and refers both undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities for paid 10-12 week summer internships with its partners (which are Fortune 500 companies, university research settings, and government agencies throughout the country). The partners pay stipends and provide assistive technology and any other accommodations. Travel funds and recommendations for accessible housing and transportation can also be provided to students who are relocating. Entry Point! seeks students who are living in the United States and legally authorized to work in the United States, majoring in STEM, full-time for the academic term before and after the internship, and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Acceptance to the program is on a rolling basis.
Website: https://www.aaas.org/programs/entry-point
Application: https://www.aaas.org/programs/entry-point/apply
Email for Questions: entrypoint@aaas.org (Laureen Summers, Project Director)
Undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates (received postsecondary degree on or after April 1st, 2024) with disabilities who are U.S. citizens and from a U.S. accredited college/university can apply to WRP. Once qualified candidates make it through the application and interview process, their information is placed in a talent database for one year that employers in the public and private sector use to hire for internships and permanent jobs.
Website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/wrp
Information on Registering: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/wrp/students
AAPD Summer Internship Program places undergraduate students, graduate students, law students, and recent graduates with all types of disabilities in paid summer internships with Congressional offices, federal agencies, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations within the Washington, D.C. area.
Throughout the summer, AAPD interns participate in a 1 week orientation, work from Monday-Thursday (32 hours), participate in weekly programming on Fridays, attend various networking events, and connect with a one-on-one mentor who provides career guidance. Interns are paid a living stipend and transportation to and from Washington, D.C. In-person interns are provided fully accessible housing. Remote interns receive a technology, internet, and a housing stipend if applicable. The AAPD Fall Internship Program is an expansion of the Summer Internship Program. It is 14 weeks long. Interns work part-time and virtually for 15 hours a week so they can still participate while in school or balancing other work commitments.
Summer Internship Program: https://www.aapd.com/summer-internship-program/
Fall Internship Program: https://www.aapd.com/fall-internship-program/
Advocacy
DRO is a nonprofit organization that provides legal advocacy and rights protection to people with disabilities. This includes assisting individuals who are dealing with issues related to abuse, neglect, discrimination, access to assistive technology, special education, housing, employment, community integration, voting, and more.
Website: https://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/
Join Email List: https://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/signup
Phone Number: 614-466-7264 or 800-282-9181 (call during intake hours of Monday-Friday, 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4 pm)
Address: 200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 300, Columbus, OH 43215
Scholarships
OSU Scholarships on Scholarship Universe
All due June 1
Meant for both full-time and part-time (7 or more credit hours) students with mobility impairment who demonstrate financial need and satisfactory progress in their academic studies. Scholarship amount varies.
Eligible students must be a resident at Creative Living and have a mobility disability. Scholarship amount varies.
Qualified students are those within the College of Arts & Sciences (Earth Sciences major), Fisher College of Business (Master of Human Resource Management program and Undergraduate Human Resources program), and College of Engineering (Chemical, Computer Science, Civil, Mechanical, Materials Science, and Electrical & Computer Engineering majors). Scholarship amount is $500.
Eligible students must be residents of Ohio and have a visual disability. Preference will be given to students who are legally blind. Scholarship amount is $3000.
Eligible students must have visual disability. Scholarship amount varies.
OSU Scholarships not on Scholarship Universe
Full-time students (pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree) who have neurological and functional impairment due to traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), degenerative disease primary to the spinal cord, or damage to the spinal cord due to tumors and surgery are eligible. Students also need to have completed the FAFSA and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 and above. Students applying to OSU can apply for this scholarship as well. Scholarship amount varies and the deadline to apply is March 20th. Funding decisions come through around late Summer/early Fall term. Here is the link to apply - https://osu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6FhgFLFRFnHwxVQ
External Scholarships
Awarded annually to students with a disability who are pursuing undergraduate (must be full-time and have completed one full year of college or more) or graduate (can be part-time or full-time) studies related to health and disability in an accredited United States university. The application and more information is available at the following link - http://aahd.us/initiatives/scholarship/
Offers 8 scholarships that can be used in the Fall semester for high school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate students with disabilities enrolled in a college/university during the Fall who are pursuing careers in media, communications, or entertainment. Each recipient receives $5626 to help cover the cost of education at their college/university. Application can be found at this link - https://www.aapd.com/tony-