CeDRR offers services to disabled students

The first formal program was established in 1970 under the department of student affairs and now it is called CeDRR, Center for Disability Related Resources, said Kent Kloepping, the organizations director.

CeDRR, 1540 E. Second St., provides support services for about 1,200 students each year, he said.

Kloepping said services are designed around the individual needs of the student. Students interested in CeDRRÕs services should call and sign up for an appointment with a disability counselor who will develop a plan of services for the individual.

CeDRR, provides four major areas of service to disabled students which include counseling and liaison services, academic accommodation services, adaptive computer laboratory and assistive technology and physical support services.

The center also runs the SALT program which supports students with learning disabilities.

Balganesh Krishnamurthy, a second-year graduate management information systems and CeDRR student, said coming from Bombay, India in August of 1996, he has never been exposed to the services and programs the center provides before.

Krishnamurthy and his twin brother Balakrishnan have spinal muscular atrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy and are wheelchair-users. They both were part of a CeDRR global outreach program that assists students around the world before, during and after the ir arrival to the United States, he said.

ŌCeDRR has made my life easier and IÕm able to exercise four or five days a week to keep my body in shape,Ķ Krishnamurthy said.

CeDRR has a variety of academic services to minimize the impact of a students disability in the classroom, Kloepping said. Some of those services include test taking accommodations, interpreting services, and note taking and laboratory assistance.

Students also have a new computer lab with all the latest technology available for their use. Adaptive and assistive hardware and software is available for a variety of disabilities, Kloepping said.

The physical support services include health promotion, medical and nursing services, physical therapy and wheelchair support services, he said.

The physical support staff includes a full-time nurse, physical therapist, assistive mobility equipment mechanic and a part-time nurse practitioner.

ŌThe staff is great and very friendly. IÕve only been here less than a year and I know everyoneÕs name. Sometimes students and staff go out together,Ķ Krishnamurthy said.

One area of CeDRRÕs services that has grown recently is in athletics and recreation, Kloepping said.

ŌThis year is a signal year for our commitment to develop our sports program,Ķ Kloepping said.

For the first time ever CeDRR is advertising for a full-time coach for adaptive sports and will be offering their first out-of-state scholarship to a disabled athlete, he said.

CeDRR also addresses facilities modifications in compliance with the ADA throughout the campus.

The center is also heavily involved in developing funds to support their on-going programs. Kloepping said the center is trying to become more entrepreneurial in their fund-raising methods.

Two of the more popular fund raisers CeDRR runs are the Lame for a Game with the UAÕs menÕs and womenÕs basketball teams and the Dick Tomey Pony Express Fun Run.

In April, CeDRR made $40,000 from the Lame for a Game contest.