During my summer training and preparation for this internship my supervisor brought up transitioning from the medical model to the social model for the office’s approach to services. It wasn’t something I had thought about before attending the AHEAD conference, and even after that I was in favor of updating the approach, but had no idea how to contribute. After reading the Thornton and Downs article I chose to share with the class (ATTACH IT), it made more sense, and I ended up using that article as a starting block for a project in my Psychosocial Aspects of Disability class. I’ve done some research on what other
institutions call their disability services offices, and I really think the first step in moving away from the medical model is to change the Office for Disability Services name here at Penn State. The name puts the focus on the student based on what is wrong with them because of their disability- a very medical approach.
I’ve been looking into some projects to take on during my internship, as my supervisor has made it very open for me. Previously I was thinking about updating the website and adding some resources based on what other CIC schools do on their websites. As part of that, and in addition to that, proposing updates to documents, especially accommodation letters may be a realistic and valuable experience for me.
What is kind of ironic about this is that students in my assistantship recently told me that something they wish they’d learned in the course I TA’d for them in the spring was how to suggest a project to their internship supervisors, if they had something in mind. At the time, I thought to myself, “That will be easy, that will be a 15-20 minute segment in another lesson.” Now that I’m
considering it for myself I worry about coming of as overly aggressive and out of line. Still, I feel like it’s a conversation I can have with my supervisor, thanks to his welcoming and relaxed supervision style.
institutions call their disability services offices, and I really think the first step in moving away from the medical model is to change the Office for Disability Services name here at Penn State. The name puts the focus on the student based on what is wrong with them because of their disability- a very medical approach.
I’ve been looking into some projects to take on during my internship, as my supervisor has made it very open for me. Previously I was thinking about updating the website and adding some resources based on what other CIC schools do on their websites. As part of that, and in addition to that, proposing updates to documents, especially accommodation letters may be a realistic and valuable experience for me.
What is kind of ironic about this is that students in my assistantship recently told me that something they wish they’d learned in the course I TA’d for them in the spring was how to suggest a project to their internship supervisors, if they had something in mind. At the time, I thought to myself, “That will be easy, that will be a 15-20 minute segment in another lesson.” Now that I’m
considering it for myself I worry about coming of as overly aggressive and out of line. Still, I feel like it’s a conversation I can have with my supervisor, thanks to his welcoming and relaxed supervision style.