This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001. The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens. The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued. The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED. Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid. For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org. For new materials regarding online volunteering, see Jayne Cravens' web site (the section on volunteerism-related resources). |
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FAQs About the Virtual Volunteering Project
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accommodations for online volunteers who have learning disabilities or emotional and anxiety disorders This information was last updated on February 22, 1999 A person managing an online program, either a virtual volunteering program or one that provides online service delivery for an agency, needs to have a general understanding of various learning styles, working styles and information-processing styles. Volunteer management is not "one-size-fits-all," and simple adjustments in management style can be made to effectively channel talents and resources of the greatest number of people. Volunteer managers working with online volunteers or looking to provide service delivery online should also be aware of seemingly "hidden" or "nonapparent" disabilities, such as learning disabilities (the most common form of disability), and emotional and anxiety disorders. Unlike other disabilities, such as paralysis, blindness, or even chronic illnesses, learning disabilities and emotional and anxiety disorders don't offer obvious visible signs to the casual observer, and can, therefore, seem "hidden" to someone working with online volunteers. A learning disability (LD) is a disorder that affects a person's ability to either interpret what is seen or heard or to link information from different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many ways -- as specific difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. They may impair multiple skills and abilities or they may impair only one. For example, difficulties with spelling may affect learners' writing skills, but not their reading skills. Learning disabilities include Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) (1). The National Institutes of Health estimates that 15-20% of the total population have LD, Emotional and anxiety disorders are also disabilities. These can include people that suffer from depression, frequent anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, obssessive-compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. DON'T confuse these disabilities with lack of intelligence or lack of talent! In fact, many people considered gifted or with very high I.Q.s also have learning disabilities or anxiety disorders. Some "gifted but LD" individuals include Albert Einstein, Agatha Christie, John F. Kennedy, Whoopi Goldberg, Nelson Rockefeller, Cher, George Patton, Leonardo da Vinci and Alexander Graham Bell. People with emotional and anxiety disorders include Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allen Poe, Kim Basinger, Barbara Streisand.... and many, many others. A volunteer manager does not have to become an expert in disabilities to involve people with disabilities as volunteers. Educating yourself about various disabilities in general, however, can help you learn to better accomodate a variety of volunteers in your program. Neither the Virtual Volunteering Project staff nor its advisors are experts in disabilities, and the following information is only a stepping-stone to learn more about working with people who are disabled, or address various learning and working styles. In compiling this information, we used resources from a variety of Web sites by scholars and practitioners who have studied or worked with people, particularly youth, with "nonapparent" disabilities, and worked with adults with different work and learning styles. We chose to concentrate in particular on these sites, as they provide suggestions that translate well into online volunteering programs:
Actually, most of these suggestions are fundamental to the successful management of ANY volunteer. They can also help a volunteer manager accommodate a variety of work styles:
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To other Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation grantees, Dr. Sarah Jane Rehnborg of the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and Meg Young of Oregon Literacy, Inc. (OLI) for their wonderful suggestions and contributions to this material.
Other resources
Other resources we found most helpful in creating this information are listed below:
Ask Eric
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/children/leardis/learndis.htm
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), a federally-funded national information system that provides, through its 16 subject-specific clearinghouses, associated adjunct clearinghouses, and support components, a variety of services and products on a broad range of education-related issues. Searching the ERIC database and the Eric Digests provided a wealth of information.
Siggy's Place - Index of Resources
http://members.amaonline.com/nrogers/ld.htm
Compiled by special education instructor Nancy Rogers from her years as a teacher and from research while she pursued her masters degree. A comprehensive index that led us to many of the resources we list on this page.
Attention Deficit Disorder: What Teachers Should Know
http://www.catalog.com/chadd/doe/doe_tch.htm
Published By Division of Innovation and Development Office of Special Education Programs Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education.
Resources for Parenting and Teaching Misunderstood Kids
Who Thrive "Outside the Box!"
http://home.att.net/~shagberg/
Has general curriculum resource links, special needs/ADHD resource links for teachers, and great message boards like "A Place for Teachers to Share the Rewards of Teaching Misunderstood Kids" for teachers.
ABCs of Learning Disabilities and ADD
http://www.ldonline.org/abcs_info/articles-info.html
Has numerous message boards with subjects like teaching students with LD and ASK THE EXPERT, to communiate directly with experts in the learning disability field.
Learning Disabilities and ADD/ADHD
http://www.westmark.pvt.k12.ca.us/add_adhd.html
This site, sponsored by Westmark School for Students with Learning Differences and ADD/ADHD in Encino California, is an index of links to resources offering varying degrees of help to educators.
Learning Disabilities
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/children/leardis/learndis.htm
by the Consumer Information Center, a program of the U.S. General Services Administration, and Federal agency. Explains the differences between learning problems and disabilities. The definitions we use for disabilities come from this material.
Also view
If you have helped or are helping organizations as a volunteer via your home or work computer, please complete our online survey for volunteers and tell us about your experiences.
This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001. The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens. The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued. The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED. Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid. For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org. |
If you are interested in more up-to-date information about virtual volunteering, view the Virtual Volunteering Wiki.
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