Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
Disability Services for Community College Students with Pietrina Probst, MA, CRC
Pietrina Probst is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Director of ADA, Student Access & Disability Services at Elgin Community College. In this conversation, Pietrina shares insights into the unique considerations community colleges consider in providing disability services and why cross-departmental collaboration is a blueprint for success in expanding services for students with disabilities.
Elgin Community College Student Access & Disability Services webpage
Elgin Community College Accessibility webpage
Information on Northern Illinois University Being a CRCC Center of Excellence
Here in the United States, around 44% of undergraduate students enrolled in higher education are taking classes at a community college. According to the Department of Education, of those community college students, 75% are taking classes part-time. The role community colleges play in the United States is impactful for many reasons, but the flexibility both logistically and financially is a major reason why so many individuals with disabilities are able to navigate higher education effectively. Of course, disability service departments are integral to ensuring these students receive the proper accommodations in order to succeed as well. Elgin Community College is nationally recognized as a leader College of Distinction by achieving the Dream Incorporated. And in 2021, the Aspen Institute named ECC one of the top 150 community colleges in the US in honor. It also received in 2013, 2017, and 2019. Pietrina Probst. is a certified rehabilitation counselor and director of a DA student Access and Disability Services at Elgin Community College. In this conversation, Pietrina shared with me the unique considerations community colleges consider in providing disability services, as well as why cross departmental collaboration is a blueprint for success in expanding services for students with disabilities. Pietrina, thank you so much for coming on inside rehabilitation counseling. Um , I'm really excited to, to learn from you today and , uh, hear about the wonderful work you're doing. Um, every guest who comes on the show, we start with the same question, asking them how they came to find rehabilitation counseling. Um, so what was your first encounter with the field and, and what drew you to this line of work?
Speaker 2:Sure, great question. Thanks so much for having me on today, Taylor. So I received my bachelor's degree in speech language pathology, and while I was pursuing my bachelor's degree, I was participating in a practicum in which I was providing speech therapy to kids and adults. And I realized that , um, this wasn't the correct career field for me. I am hard of hearing, and I was experiencing some challenges with hearing , um, the kids and my clients. Uh , so I started to pursue other career paths, and I wanted to specifically work with people who are deaf or hard of hearing. So when I did some research online and found out about northern Illinois University's rehabilitation counseling program with an emphasis in deafness, I was immediately attracted to that program. And I met with the faculty and the directors of that program and recognized that that was where I belonged . So I earned my master's degree in rehabilitation counseling at NIU, and I also wanted to emulate some people in my life when I was going to Harper College, which is where my community college that I attended after high school, and I earned my associate's degree. I connected with the display services office at Harper College. And those staff really inspired me to continue working with people with disabilities as a career path. So , um, I recognize that I'm in the right field and I enjoy helping people.
Taylor Bauer:That's fantastic. Yeah. Kind of a personal connection and then it , it , it's so wonderful to hear when people find out about this field, how much it resonates with them, almost like it was like waiting for you to come across it. Yeah. So , um, that's really wonderful. You know, go Huskies. Second of all , um, oh yeah. <laugh> Husky , um, Northern Illinois , uh, was , uh, recently just named our first center of excellence for Master's programs in rehabilitation counseling. And if listeners are curious about learning more for that, we'll have a link in the show notes. But yeah. Incredible program. Um, yeah , wonderful. Uh, to, to see how many folks go to their that program and really find their yeah . Professional footing and kind of their purpose really. And yeah , uh, can't speak enough about the wonderful work that they continue to do. Um, you're currently the director of a DA student Access and Disability Services at Elgin Community College , um, which is a , uh, huge impactful community college here, kind of in our neck of the woods. We're located in Schomburg, Illinois here . Yeah . Uh , in Elgin. And , um, I'm curious just, you know, broad picture, what unique considerations are involved with a community college campus in regards to student access and disability services? And some of those departments we know existed a , a lot of , uh, higher education institutions, and are there challenges related to a community college setting that might differ from either your past work experience or maybe like a traditional four year university?
Speaker 2:So, when I graduated with my master's in rehabilitation counseling, I started working for a nonprofit organization that specifically focused on job placement and retention services for individuals who are deaf hard of hearing blind or low vision . So I did that for seven years, and I enjoyed that field. I enjoyed being in a nonprofit where I was working alongside people who were following the same mission that , um, we had assistive technology store, we had sign language interpreters, we had caption , um, we had rehabilitation instructors , um, we had social groups for people that we were serving. Um, we did have medical clinics as well. Um, so we were, you know , really trying to provide , uh, well-rounded wraparound support for our clients. Um, so when I left that position and started working in the college setting, it was a different experience for me because I was , um, you know, sometimes, you know , working alone and really trying to , uh, advocate for accessibility and advocate for my students with disabilities. And I didn't have that same support network that I had at the nonprofit organization. Um, so that is one of the challenges depending on what college that someone works in, they might be that leader in advancing accessibility and inclusion of people with disabilities. Um, other challenges might be , um, depending on where the college is located and how large the college is, you know , sometimes funding can be a challenge. You know, that's something that I've , um, been really advocating for. And , um, when I started here at this , um, current college, Alden Community College, I was a one person office, and now we currently have five of us working in this office, which I'm really excited that we've been able to grow and support our students with disabilities.
Taylor Bauer:Absolutely. You know, there are so many times where I, I talk to folks who say they get hired as a team of one, and I think that expertise and really leading with the knowledge and skills you have as A CRC helps to show any practice setting or employer how vital it is to invest in people who know how to navigate these things Yeah . That are so crucial to, to equity and inclusion, like you said. And those are my favorite stories where it's like, you know, there was one of me and now there's, there's more of me, which is so good. Yeah . And we, we truly need more of , uh, folks like you in all practice settings. So I love hearing that you've obviously on top of the department that you , um, had growing. Um, you also lead an accessibility committee at Elgin Community College that is made up of faculty and staff as well as administrators. All of those folks on that committee have different perspectives. How important is it to have those different perspectives on accessibility be a part of that committee? And , um, what has led you to success in advocating for an expansion of accessibility services and resources on , uh, Elgin Community College's campus?
Speaker 2:Making sure that we're connecting with other staff, faculty and administrators who are allies here on campus. So, for instance, we have really great allies with our distance learning office, and they've been critical to ensure that our course content is accessible and compatible with different assistive technology, like screen reading software and screen modification software and text to speech software. So they have been a huge , huge support to us as we're working towards our accessibility goals. Also, the web services team has been integral to ensure that we're achieving our accessibility goals. Um, we've got great allies in the web services team , um, and they're solely committed to making sure that our web content is accessible also , um, our folks in our maintenance department have been great because they're the ones that are helping with installing different push buttons on campus, making sure that new construction projects are built with accessibility in mind , um, and retrofitting things on our existing campus to make sure that we're as accessible as possible for our individuals with disabilities. You know, just, you know, wide range of people, you know, also our, our team in HR and professional development , um, they've been key to help us with organizing different trainings for employees and faculty on how to make accessible content. So it's definitely a team approach, and I'm very delighted that , um, we've been , been able to achieve so much , um, over the past couple of years since we implemented , uh, this committee.
Taylor Bauer:It's wonderful to hear, and I think you mentioned, you know, how important it's to have allies in , uh, addressing disability accessibility and inclusion , uh, practices. It's a whole nother thing to have a unified voice where you can come together and work toward those things. And hearing some of the, the progress the committee's made in the, in the short time, relatively short time it's been , uh, formed is so impactful. And we, we always encourage folks who, if they're in a work setting where maybe they're the only CRC or there's multiple departments that aren't always as invested or have someone on board who knows how to navigate those spaces to work, to form committees and, and help educate your peers, who I would hope at a very, you know , basic level want to see inclusion and accessibility at the forefront of the , of an organization. And CRCs have the power to advocate, obviously not for their clients, but also for just disability related issues in the workplace in a way that others, you know, might be looking for that leader because they know that they believe in that cause, but they can't navigate it with the expertise that someone who has that master's degree in certification really truly a disability expert , um, can navigate that. So that's wonderful to hear how much progress the committee's been able to make.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Taylor Bauer:For those who are maybe working on their graduate degree and haven't sought out services as a student from an AccessAbility or a disability center , um, or have maybe not worked as a counselor with a client and provided those disability services, what does the process look like from the point where a student comes , uh, seeking out services to be able to , um, you know, attend class and subed in , in pursuing a degree? We ,
Speaker 2:Um, we have, we've tried to simplify the process and make sure that is, it is as , as accessible as possible for our students. Um, so the students will complete a brief online registration form to give us some background information about what is their disability and how does their disability affect them in the educational setting, and what accommodations are they seeking, what accommodations do they have in mind already? Then the student needs to gather documentation on , um, the student's disability. So it could be high school documentation, like an IP or 5 0 4 plan, or it could be other documentation from a medical provider or a mental health provider. And then the third step is the student should schedule a intake appointment with one of our accessibility specialist slash student success coaches. And during that intake appointment, the student will share a little bit more about the student's experience. Um, sometimes students are applying for services before the school semester starts, but other times students are in the midst of a semester and the student is struggling, and the successfully specialist slash student success coach can have that conversation. Okay. What are you struggling in ? What are some supports that you benefited from in the past? The successfully specialist slash student success coach reviews that documentation around the student's disability, but then also gets to know the student on a personal level and talks with the student about what accommodations the student is eligible to receive. And then the last step, the student would need to officially request accommodation letters in our online system. And once the student officially requests those accommodation letters, then we can send the accommodation letters to the student's instructors, and the accommodation letters only say, these are the accommodations that the student is eligible to receive. It does not disclose any confidential information about the student's information , medical history, mental health background. It doesn't disclose anything about the student's disability. It just discloses these are the accommodations that the student needs , um, to receive access to the course. So , um, that's the intake process. But then throughout the semester and throughout the student's , uh, journey here at ECC, the student is definitely welcome to meet again with the accessibility specialist slash student Success coach for follow-up appointments. So let's say the student is struggling with those accommodations, or the student is experiencing challenges with time management or study skills, or any other challenges, the student is definitely welcome to connect again and meet on a regular basis with the successfully specialist slash student success coach. So we're, we're here from the start as well as to , um, you know, once that student graduates,
Taylor Bauer:Do you ever have students who kind of come after the, the graduation point who are kind of like, just not even from a, oh , like services perspective, but who are just checking in because they've built that relationship with you and your staff? Yeah.
Speaker 2:There are some students who reconnect with us, which is always really exciting to hear how they're doing and rejoice over their successes in life, but also help them navigate some of the challenges that they might be experiencing. Maybe they're looking for a job and they need some extra advice on how to request accommodations when going through the interviewing process, or application process or, you know , or maybe the student is working and just experiencing some challenges and needs to get connected with vocational rehabilitation , um, services in the community. So, yeah . Um, we're definitely here to build that bridge for students and help them along in their life goals.
Taylor Bauer:You know, similar to like transition services out of a K through 12 system, it's such an important resource for, for students to have as they navigate a new, like, lived reality , um, within going , going to a college and leaving a familiar situation where maybe , uh, thanks to accommodations and things like that, they felt like, okay, I'm comfortable. I know how to navigate this space now . There's a completely different new world to learn and obviously similarities, but , um, I'm , I'm sure that process is , um, a little bit of like confidence building even. Like, yes, things have changed a bit, but , um, we're here to help you through. Yeah. You know, based on conversations with others in similar job roles. As you, I know that a lot of the times you're not just providing accommodations and guidance, but you also, you know, just shared that you're educating students on what they can access or obtain to assist in their studies. Um, what accommodations are students most surprised to hear that they can utilize in their college experience? It
Speaker 2:Could be various accommodations. I think that some of the students that we work with who didn't grow up with accommodations , um, in the K through 12 setting for various reasons, maybe it's , um, because they grew up in another country that had different special education services than we have here in the us . Or maybe it's , um, because the student gradually , um, started experiencing a disability later on in life. Maybe it's a student's age and there weren't any special education services , um, when the student was , uh, you know , growing up here , um, in the K through 12 setting. So it could be various reasons why this is the first time that the student is receiving any type of support for the student's disability. So sometimes , um, the student will be shocked and realize, wait a minute, I can use that technology, or I can get that accommodation. I didn't even know about that. Um, for example, one student met with me. She was struggling in her classes based on her vision, disability. She experienced low vision. And I spent three hours with her one day just showing her all of the different assistive technology available to her, showing her the screen magnifi notification software, showing her the CCTV, which would allow her to magnify different printed material. Um, also explaining to her about the process to get audiobooks and doing research on where can we get access to the audiobooks for her, for her courses. And she just walked away with so much more confidence knowing that there were supports that she could succeed in her classes as well as in the workforce, because the specific training program that she was pursuing here was specialized and it was gearing students to go directly into the workforce after graduating. Those are those types of experiences that really make my day , uh, so enjoyable because I get to see the students and help them realize there's support out there, there are resources out there, and they can utilize them
Taylor Bauer:From my perspective as a team member at CRCC, those stories we love hearing, because that keeps us motivated to continue to try to get the word out about how important it is to have , uh, certified rehabilitation counselors , um, everywhere that people with disabilities are , uh, whether they're in school or working or, or what have you. So it , it's wonderful to hear that impact and it , it does make me wish that there were , um, more CRCs earlier in people's lives to be able to help them navigate these things because it's wonderful to hear that they're able to receive accommodations and help that they're needing to succeed in college. But then I'm always, you know, in the back of my mind, I'm like, it would've been amazing for them to know that these things were there earlier, because there might have been hurdles that were even , uh, tougher to manage , um, that could have potentially been slightly alleviated by knowing what was at their disposal or what they could access. So good motivation for me, right , as a communications professional, to keep getting that word out in stories like the ones you just shared, help a lot with that, particularly with employers and policy makers to point out why it's so important to have someone , uh, with your education and, and knowledge in these roles, to be able to help students and , uh, just anybody, any individual with a disability succeed.
Speaker 2:One student we heard from the other day is using Dragon naturally speaking speech recognition software. Mm-hmm <affirmative> . And she commented about how it was , has been so helpful her, for her to be able to use Dragon Software on a laptop that we loaned to her. And she has greater confidence in her ability to pursue a master's degree and then also , um, join the workforce knowing that Dragon would be available to her in her future endeavors in life. So it's just opening up people's eyes and helping them realize there's a world of possibilities out there, and we can connect them to different resources and, you know , help train them on different technology and, you know , teach them new skills. You know , maybe teaching them time management skills, which , um, they can use here in the college setting, but they can also apply in the workforce.
Taylor Bauer:Like you said, it must be so rewarding to see that light bulb click for students and be like, to a level, like, I can do this. Maybe there was some doubt related to their, their disability and lived experience of, you know, I'm , I'm in college, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do my best, but there are a lot of things that are ahead of me that I'm gonna need to overcome. And seeing those moments where they can see a path that you're helping, you know, them to, to identify must just be wonderful. I love hearing that. I wish , um, my entire day was full of hearing stories like that, <laugh> . That's fantastic. Um, you know, this is kind of related to technology and the way that different things are expanding , um, as more research comes out. But based on your experience, are there changes in the types of accommodations that students are seeking in in 2025? You know, there, we know that there are always emerging trends that require more attention from rehabilitation, counseling , uh, researchers and just expanding awareness of different accommodations that , uh, need to be offered, or , um, maybe even just growing the awareness of them existing at all. Do you see any changes in what students are seeking or maybe what they're qualified to, to get in terms of accommodations? Uh, in , in recent years,
Speaker 2:Yeah. We have seen an increase in the requests by students to receive extensions on assignments and flexibility and attendance. And they may be requesting it for various reasons. It might be due to chronic health condition , um, psychological disability, A DHD , um, autism. So various reasons why the student may be requesting that accommodation. Sometimes the student is eligible for that accommodation, but other times the student may not , um, be eligible. And one of the , uh, supports that we try to provide to students is our coaching services , um, because we really don't want our students to fall behind in their classes because if they miss one assignment and determine, okay, I'll, I'll do that the next day, or I'll do that, you know, in two days, it's a spiral effect. So they might not, you know, they might not finish that assignment on time, and then consequently they won't finish the next assignment. Um, so it can, you know , really affect students and their success goals. You , we provide a lot of coaching services to help them with their time management goals and, you know , be their coach to help 'em along. 'cause sometimes they get discouraged or , um, they just feel unmotivated. Um, but to have somebody who's , uh, a non-judgmental person who's there to walk alongside them and help them , um, you know, take baby steps, okay, let's, you know, break apart this large assignment into smaller chunks. Um, I know it can be overwhelming when you're looking at that huge research paper that you need to do, but let's do one thing at a time so that it doesn't , uh, become over too overwhelming.
Taylor Bauer:It , it's great to have people who are supportive of you and telling you like, you can do it in your life. Yeah. It must, it's , it's such an added benefit to have that support in addition to the knowledge that you have as A CRC to be able to say, like, I know that the different ways that are , that you could approach this, that are really going to help based on, you know, any functional limitations that you're experiencing, as well as just knowing that that college setting so well, like you do, and saying like, here are some approaches that could really go a long way. And honestly, a lot of that breaking things down into segments and things like that, I'm sure all of us could use because it's so daunting sometimes when we know we have a lot of things ahead of us. We obviously know that there's an increase in , um, neurodivergence and mental related diagnoses in the United States , um, and we know some of those numbers are , um, highly concentrated with, with students. And , uh, I'm curious, what ways do you and your, your team approach discussing mental or psychological disabilities with students who , um, maybe don't really even think of that as a disability, or maybe they were recently diagnosed and they're still learning to navigate that. Um, how , how do you approach those conversations and those relationships?
Speaker 2:When I first started in this field, there was a common misconception that our services were just for individuals who used a wheelchair, or it was for students who experienced a disability in the K through 12 setting and had had an IEP, had a learning disability, had an intellectual disability. So it's been really rewarding to be able to reach out to more and more students and help them recognize that we serve students with various disabilities. Um, autism learning, disability, vision, disability, deaf, hard of hearing, you know, a whole host of different disabilities that we work with. You know, that's been, you know, one of our goals to make sure that we're marketing , um, to those students who might not think, oh, you know, I, I have a disability, I can utilize accommodations. So we do different presentations , um, across campus to let students know, we're here, we're here to support you , um, and we make sure that we provide different brochures and different pamphlets , um, to students through the admissions office. Also, it's word of mouth that helps bring students into our office. Um, one student came to my office and this student experiences autism and A DHD, he brought his friend over and he said, oh , I just wanted to introduce the two of you. And then he left, and I was able to have a conversation with his friend and help inform the friend about how to get connected to our services. So that was unbelievable because that means that the first student disclosed that he had a disability to his friend and built that comfort level, built that trust, and was really trying to support his friend with getting connected to services. So I think that for some of the students that we work with who experience invisible disabilities, sometimes it is having somebody else in their personal life who's really trying to encourage them, really trying to , um, connect them to our services, which is, I think, outstanding and, you know, reduces some of that stigma. Um, also because of neurodiversity being so, you know , prevalent and having a positive connotation, I feel like more and more people are proud to say, oh, yeah, I , I am neurodivergent. Um, I, you know, I think differently. I , um, you know , but I'm, I'm still okay. Um , so I think that that also has really sparked more interest , um, by students who are connecting to our services. Um, but then as far as students who are recently diagnosed and maybe they don't have that support network, sometimes it's , um, you know, working with that student and helping the student get connected to our wellness services office where they can receive some short-term counseling supports.
Taylor Bauer:Yeah. I'm always curious , uh, with neurodiversity, especially as we've seen in, in recent years, that we've identified that a lot of the research has, has been , uh, focused on men, not women. So a lot of women later in life are, are getting diagnoses and , um, things like a DHD just in general can sometimes be hard to diagnose and maybe the, the way it's diagnosed has changed, and there are people who could be benefiting from accommodations or even just learning more about it to, to understand what they experience , uh, with any difficulties with learning or , um, relationships or anything. So it's, it's great to hear that you're, you're able to service as kind of like that here , you know, here's some information, here's some pamphlets, but also here's how you can approach the college experience. And , um, like any college experience, the things that they, the , the habits that they're in and the, the things that they do are going to help form habits that they'll carry with them throughout their entire lives. So very transformative and , um, very grateful that they have you in your team to go through that with. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And one student, she , uh, was disclosing to me that she was experiencing some meth mental health challenges, and as a result, she was not getting outta bed, she was missing class. And so we were talking about, okay, how can you reach out to your instructors to let them know that you're still committed to succeeding in this class and catching up in this class? And so, you know , we talked about, okay, do you wanna disclose your disability or do you want to not reveal your disability? And she said, oh, no, I feel very comfortable talking with my instructors about my mental health challenges and opening up that door of communication and seeking help from them asking, okay, what can I do to make up these assignments that I missed? You know , what are assignments that Yep , you know, they're not worth a lot of points. I don't need to work on those if I don't get around to it, but start working on these other assignments that are worth a lot of points that will help boost her grade up. So I was really happy to hear that she had that comfort level with her instructors and felt that she could disclose to them. Um, but that's , uh, you know, an individual decision and you know, anyone , um, you know, should, you'll weigh the pros and cons, you know, and, you know , decide for , um, you know , decide whether or not the student wants to disclose.
Taylor Bauer:Absolutely. Yeah . As more people have seen the stigma around specifically mental health, but all disabilities start to leave room for people to feel more like they can take ownership of that, I think it is an important point that you made, that being aware and accepting a disability or mental health , um, issue that you're dealing with doesn't always mean you have to disclose that to Yeah. Everybody, right? Like that's, like you said, there are pros and cons to that. And yeah, it , it's, it's a part of that conversation. I think when we think of advocacy and empowerment, we think you have to be on the front lines of always telling people, this is what I experienced, this is what I'm going through. And it's liberating for some, but for, for others, that might be a process that they have to sit with and think about, and , uh, may decide that they need to navigate things in a different way. We know , uh, from all of the different CRCs that we get to talk to and , uh, hear , hear stories about, like we have today with you , um, that working with individuals with disabilities is more than a job. Um, often it's been described by past guests and folks that I've spoken to as a calling. So I'm curious what brings you joy in the work that you do as a CRC and in your role at Elgin Community College? What
Speaker 2:Brings me joy is seeing the students as they're accomplishing different steps in their stages, in their career. So achieving, you know, the first semester here, receiving accommodations and succeeding during that first semester and making it through and graduating here at ECC during our last graduation ceremony in December, I was just so proud of the students who they were walking across the stage at graduation. They made it, they, you know, for some of the students I had been working with for, you know, a couple of semesters or a couple of years, and I was just so proud of them . Um, other students who, like for instance, one student I was working with, he started working with our office initially when he started here at ECC, but then he decided, oh, you know, I don't need any services. And he was taking classes and was not successful in his classes. And then he realized, wait a minute, I have some people on my support team who can help me along. And he decided to, you know, work with our office, work with the tutoring center , um, reach out to his instructors for support during office hours and really trying to take ownership in his success goals . And he graduated last December, which I was just so proud of him that , um, he had a rocky start, but then he was able to succeed and graduate
Taylor Bauer:And , and what a testament to the impact that you and your team make. You know, and, and , um, every, every story like that could potentially lead to another person seeking out services. And , um, that's kind of why this whole podcast even started is we want folks, specifically individuals with disabilities to know that they have partners and advocates in , in certified rehabilitation counselors. And whether they're in school or they're navigating , um, you know, their community or seeking employment, there are people who are especially equipped to help them navigate these things. And , um, while there are plenty of people who, you know , are CRCs, there are even more who wanna cheer on individuals to seek these things out, and hopefully these stories, you know, can drive them to, to look for those services themselves. Thank you to Katrina probes for that educational conversation. In the show notes, you can find the links to Elgin Community College's Student Access and Disability Services website, as well as Elgin Community College's Accessibility webpage. If you have any takeaways or insights on topics covered in this episode, email us at contact us@crccertification.com. Be sure to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening to us today. You can find us on Facebook and LinkedIn at CRC Cert and our website is crc certification.com. Until next time, I'm Taylor Bauer. Thank you for listening to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling.