Services for Students with Disabilities director advocates for disability rights through a DEI lens

In June 2022, Christen Szymanski was appointed director of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at Binghamton University. Szymanski has an extensive background in disability advocacy, accommodation provision and implementation, and other work in the disability community to assure equitable access. She is a trained psychologist with a research focus on children who are deaf and also have neurodevelopmental diagnoses such as autism.

Before arriving in Binghamton, she served as the director of Research and Evaluation at Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and served as the school psychologist. Szymanski identifies as a Deaf individual with disabilities and is an active member of the disability community.

We caught up with Szymanski recently to talk about disability advocacy, increasing awareness, the role of SSD on campus and how we can become better allies with the disability community.

Q: As you end your first year at Binghamton, what have been the greatest rewards (and challenges)?

A: It’s been great! I have worked with some amazing individuals during my first year at Binghamton. I have met students committed to ensuring disability is a forethought and not an afterthought. I worked with the Student Association (SA) on disability legislation to provide captioning and access to all SA events, and faculty and staff who are committed to access and programming that enhances disability inclusion. I was thrilled when a group of disabled students formed the first-ever Disabled Student Union on campus. Last fall, we hosted a week-long series to reframe disability thinking and raise disability awareness on campus and we look forward to doing so again this year. We also collaborated with Residential Life to implement a calming sensory room — the Snoezelen Room located in Marcy Hall — the first on campus!

Every day, I come to work excited about the enthusiasm of various groups, administrators, departments, faculty, staff, students and families who are committed to raising disability awareness and inclusion on campus.

Q: What are some of the most requested services that SSD provides? How would you like SSD to grow/improve over the next few years?

A: SSD provides services and accommodations to more than 2,000 students who self-identify as having a disability and are requesting equal opportunity accommodations. We are the only office on campus that can authorize accommodations for students under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we work with students throughout the process to ensure that accommodations continue to be implemented appropriately. We also serve as a resource for faculty and staff across campus who have questions related to disability and accessibility issues in the classroom, in the residential halls or at campus events. SSD is also committed to raising awareness of disability knowledge, advocacy and inclusion on campus.

We have several partnerships with groups on campus, including the Bartle Library, the Cinema and Theatre Departments, Physical Facilities Department, Student Association, student organizations, the Physical Access Committee, the Technological Accessibility Advisory Group (TAAG), and programs in the health sciences. Moving forward, we want to continue to raise the bar of disability awareness on campus and ensure a more inclusive environment for everyone.

Q: What are some accessibility challenges on campus? What can we do better?

A: Accessibility challenges are, unfortunately, wrongly and frustratingly a day-to-day occurrence almost everywhere in the world. Ramps, handicapped parking, accessible public transportation and elevator access are often limited. Access to captioning or interpreters is rare. Braille and accommodations for individuals with visual impairments are meager. Environments that accommodate cyclical disabilities such as mental health or chronic health conditions (autism, depression, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disorders, etc.) are few and far between. I think the world can and should do a better job at breaking down the barriers to accessibility. Changing our way of thinking about disability is something we can all do better, and I see the University improving every day.

Q: We often hear the words “diversity, equity and inclusion” in higher education, but we may not think about disability as part of diversity initiatives. How should we understand disability as part of the larger DEI conversation?

A: For me, diversity often coincides with identity and how that shapes who we are; disability is definitely part of diversity and unquestionably part of one’s identity. Often, especially in higher education, disability is immediately associated with accommodations. Because of that, I think it becomes easy to associate disability as merely something that results in needing extra time on testing, an interpreter, access to automatic door openers or having materials in an electronic format. While these are all important, it overlooks one essential thing: the individual.

Having an automatic door opener does not make a disability go away. Having an interpreter does not make a disability disappear. Yes, these may give me equal access, but my life differs from others because of my disability. My disabilities have shaped who I am and how others perceive me.

The DEI conversation often centers around life experiences, challenges, successes, oppression and access — the same conversation that members of the disability community have daily. The intersection of a disability identity with race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc., shapes who we are, where we can go comfortably, who understands us and where we feel at ease.

I want to emphasize that disability rights are human rights and a social justice issue we must address on campus and beyond. So, disability should be seen through a DEI lens and be part of the diversity conversation moving forward, especially here at Binghamton.

A: That is a great question and, unfortunately, not one with a straightforward answer. The disability community is vast. Within that community, some people place significant value in making their disability a distinct part of their identity — deaf, autistic, blind — and will identify as “disability-first.” Some people are just coming into their disability identity and may prefer “person-first” language. The choice to identify as person-first or disability-first is a very personal one. I suggest checking with the individual (much like asking about pronouns) and seeing how they identify.

Regardless, you should avoid certain terms and phrases because they are offensive. These include “special needs,” “deaf and dumb,” “mute,” “mental patient,” “hearing impaired,” “differently abled,” “physically or mentally challenged,” “suffers from [a disability]” and “confined to a wheelchair.” When you recognize and stop using these terms, you signal your willingness to be inclusive. And if you don’t know if something is offensive or appropriate — ask!

Q: July is Disability Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the 1990 landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law. What would you tell your colleagues is the best way to support or be an ally with the community?

A: My best advice is to be open; learn more about us, acknowledge, respect and support us! I also encourage everyone to be accountable for the things they can do. Can you make your workplace more inclusive to others? Are you captioning your social media videos? Can you eliminate words and phrases that may be harmful: “That’s so crazy,” “I am feeling so OCD today,” and “Are you color blind?” Are you educating yourself on what is important in the disabled community?

Disability is about more than accommodations. Many of us don’t really know what cerebral palsy is or the extent that an autoimmune disorder can impact someone. I challenge you to learn about the social and emotional impact of disability rather than just the medical impact. For example, medically, I can’t hear. I am Deaf. But socially and emotionally, being deaf can be isolating, especially on a campus with limited sign language exposure or people who don’t understand that communicating with me may be a little different. Being deaf can be exhausting when reading lips or captioning all day. I can’t just put my head down and take notes like others can in a meeting. I have to make more of an effort. It’s exhausting. Being deaf means socializing in groups is difficult because I often miss jokes in large groups or even when someone calls my name.

At the same time, being deaf has its benefits! Working and studying in a noisy environment is never a problem — a bonus when construction is happening around campus. Heightened visual senses and the ability to read body language are also very helpful. When you focus only on the medical implications, “Oh, that person can’t hear,” you forget it’s about something so much more.

I also challenge you to question your assumptions about disability. We all have implicit and unconscious biases related to disability. When we can deconstruct those biases, we can see actual progress.