December 3rd International Day of Persons with Disabilities Awareness Event was held by the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Special Education with the theme of “Attitudes towards Individuals with Special Needs” on December 5, 2022 at IMU Ziraat Bank Central Library Conference Hall.
Prof.Dr.Ahmet AKIN, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, spoke at the event about the arrangements and studies carried out for the disabled throughout the faculty. Vice Rector Prof.Dr. Fatih SARIOĞLU provided examples of accessible education areas for the disabled in Istanbul Medeniyet University Ziraat Bank Library and classroom building, and emphasized the importance of reducing inequalities and the ongoing studies on equal opportunities in education, accessibility and inclusive education throughout the university.
Lecturers from the Department of Special Education made presentations on special education during the program. Asst.Prof.Dr.Hatice ŞENGÜL ERDEM talked about the “Attitudes towards Individuals with Special Needs”, Lect.Dr.Sevgi KIRBOYUN TİPİ about the “Attitudes towards Individuals with Visual Impairment”, and Prof.Dr. Yeşim GÜLEÇ ASLAN about “University without Barriers and Legal Regulations”. In addition, special education teacher Cemile Özlem CAN presented “Attitudes towards Individuals with Multiple Disabilities: Through the Eyes of a Mother” based on her experiences with her child with special needs.
Dr. ŞENGÜL ERDEM, faculty member of the Department of Special Education, gave a speech on attitudes towards individuals with special needs. In her speech, Dr. ERDEM, after giving information about what attitude is and how it develops in general, conveyed the components of attitudes developed towards individuals with special needs. The speaker conveyed these components as factors related to the person exhibiting attitudes, factors related to the individual with special needs and factors related to the society, emphasized the importance of individuals living with individuals with special needs from the early period in order to develop positive attitudes towards individuals with special needs. The speaker concluded her speech by emphasizing the importance of expanding inclusive education practices.
Dr. Sevgi KIRBOYUN TIPI addressed the misconceptions about the visually impaired individuals and provided the audience with detailed information about the visual impairment. She also talked about assistive technology devices such as white canes, braille printers, smart phones, screen readers and computers that visually impaired individuals use in their daily lives and academic studies. In addition, she also provided information on how participants should behave and how to help visually impaired individuals when they encounter them.
Prof.Dr.Yeşim GÜLEÇ ASLAN gave information about the concept of accessible university, accessibility and legal regulations, and concluded her speech by emphasizing that the aspects open to improvement for students with special needs in the university environment should be identified and improvement studies should be carried out.
Students from the Department of Special Education held awareness-raising activities in the classroom building and the library during the event. The Braille alphabet was introduced to university staff and students through these activities.
