Students with disabilities don’t need to worry about being left behind. They have a CAAR.

The Center for Access-Abilities Resources allows students with disabilities to have the same opportunities for obtaining an education that every other student has.

“All our services are accommodations to students based primarily on the individual student,” said Nancy Kasinski, director for CAAR. “What we do is level the playing field for them – to provide them access to things other students have.”

CAAR works with the students in a number of ways. The center offers coordinators who work with students to help provide the proper resources for the students and other services such as meeting one-on-one with students to resolve any other issues the student may have, Kasinski said. For example, a coordinator may provide an interpreter for a student who is deaf or hard of hearing, Kasinski said.

“They do most of the direct work with the students, any time from when they are looking at Northern and applying, to when they graduate,” Kasinski said.

Terry Bridgmon, an alumnus of NIU who is blind, has previously used CAAR services.

“CAAR helped me obtain textbooks and any other materials in the appropriate format, such as Braille,” Brigmon said. “When I took tests and exams, the exam was taped, and I took it at the CAAR office.”

Kasinski feels CAAR isn’t the only entity who can help students with disabilities, but the NIU community can also contribute.

“One thing I think that is important is that the campus is very supportive of students with disabilities,” Kasinski said. “We believe that it is the entire community who is responsible, and not just [CAAR].”

Kasinski also feels CAAR can help students identify problems in the current system and take those problems to the proper conduit to help make the campus become more supportive of students with disabilities.

“If there’s an issue or problem or a student who says, ‘something’s not working,’ then they can go to where the problem is, and hopefully learn self-advocacy skills,” Kasinski said. “They can also come to us to facilitate the resolution of the obstacle that they are encountering.”

Students who have worked with CAAR said it is a necessary component to NIU and that it provides good services to those who need them.

Alex Fireman, a junior English major and a student with cerebral palsy and loss of vision in his right eye, says that while he feels he no longer needs CAAR, it can still assist students who would need such a service.

“Even though it’s not as important for me, I realize that it’s important for other people,” Fireman said. “It’s important for education to put people on a level playing field.”