[acb-hsp] Clinical testing problem

Wed May 18 22:46:54 GMT 2011

Hi Darien,

I  am afraid I  can't be of much help with your problem, mainly because I 
am getting old.  I  received my license by waiver of examination when the 
District of Columbia passed its licensure law in the 1980s.  When I  lost my 
job in 1996 I  thought about taking the exam.  I  did get all the study 
materials which were available at that time. They were mostly print and I 
got them recorded on tape.  I  found the whole process overwhelming and did 
not actually take the exam.  Of course I  have not been working in the field 
since that time.  I  still have a  District of Columbia license.  I  have to 
renew it every two years, and take 40 hours of continuing education credits 
each time.  The accommodation the social work licensure board offered me 
then were using a  reader, and two hours additional time.  The amount of 
time required was one part of what overwhelmed me.

They really need to get with the 21st century.  I  would suggest contacting 
the National Office of NASW to seek their assistance.  Even though I  can't 
help with the problem directly I  certainly wish you well in resolving it. 
Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I  can do.  This is an 
issue which the profession needs to deal with.

Marilyn

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Darian Slayton Fleming" <darehart56 at hotmail.com>
To: "'Discussion list for ACB human service professionals'" 
<acb-hsp at acb.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 4:43 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] Clinical testing problem

Thanks for
your comments, Jennifer.

I don’t know how the ASWB knows the practice exam is not accessible.  They 
didn’t explain how they know thiis, and I wondered the same thing.  Perhaps 
they have had to deal with this question on other occasions.

When I called the candidate registration center to order it they said it was 
not accessible.  I talked with two separate people.

Then I talked with Tanya Carpenter, the person who arranges accommodations 
for the testing sites.  She said she doesn’t handle accommodations regarding 
their web site.

I spoke with my contact at the Oregon Board of Clinical Social Workers, and 
she referred me back to Tanya Carpenter.

I am unwilling to spend $75 to find out the practice exam is not accessible. 
I am barely making ends meet at this point and don’t want the hassle of 
trying to get my money back if the practice exam is truly not accessible.

I have started my resolution process by inquiring on this list about others’ 
experiences with this issue.  I have also emailed Eric Bridges and spokekn 
to a couple of people locally.

I appreciate your ideas.  I will contact the NASW.

I have received some other comments which I will also follow-up on.

I’ll keep you all posted.

Thanks for your support.  This is a perfect example of how this list, and 
the ACB-HSP can function to assist professionals in the human service 
professionals who are blind.

Darian
From: Jennifer Harnish
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:02 PM
To: 'Discussion list for ACB human service professionals'
Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] Clinical testing problem

    You say two different things that I  wanted to clarify. First you stated 
that the exam is not accessible by your screen reader but then you stated 
that they do not have the means to test the accessibility of the exam . So I 
am wondering how you or they know for sure that the exam is not accessible? 
I  ask this because one possible solution would be for them to hire the 
developer of your screen reader to test the accessibility of the exam in 
order to confirm its accessibility or not. Their concern may be that the 
content needs to be kept secure like any testing material, but if they hire 
the independent source, would this not be a  reasonable first step?

I  have also been led to understand that the NASW is supportive of 
therapists with disabilities. Perhaps they can refer you to an LICSW who has 
taken this exam recently using a  screen reader if you cannot find someone 
on this list or thru other contacts.
What a  frustrating place to find yourself in after working so hard to get 
to this final step in the process. Especially if you have studied for this 
exam, time is certainly critical here.
I  will ask around my area about LICSW's who may have dealt with this issue.
Jennifer Harnish

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of 
Darian Slayton Fleming
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:37 PM
To: acb-hsp at acb.org
Subject: [acb-hsp] Clinical testing problem

Hi List,

I am preparing to take the clinical exam to obtain my license as a clinical 
social worker (LCSW).

I was approved to take the exam, and when I attempted to order the practice 
exam, which is administered on line at the Associated Social Work Boards’ 
web site (aswb.com), they told me the practice exam is not accessible with 
screen readers.  It costs $75 to purchase; then you get a user name and 
password, take the exam and it is scored on line.

They have told me it is not accessible with screen readers.  They say they 
don’t have the means on site to test the exam with screen readers.  When I 
explained that I thought their IT people needed to resolve this issue, they 
told me there were other testing products on the market that I could 
purchase, I asked them to recommend one or two.  I was told that they could 
not endorse products that were not their own.  I suggested that I thought it 
was a reasonable accommodation that they should be able to recommend other 
products to me if they could not accommodate me with their products.  They 
also informed me that they do offer accommodations such as providing readers 
and extra time at their testing sites.  I believe they also have to make 
their practice exam accessible.  If they claim undue hardship, it seems to 
me they should have to recommend other products that are accessible.

They then instructed me to send them an email stating these points.

Through my investigation I have learnd that this is a Title III issue and 
that the ASWB must comply with web site accessibility.  Even though parts of 
the web site are accessible, so should be the practice exam process on their 
web site.

I am wondering, has anyone on this list or someone you know run into this 
issue?  If yes, how did, or did you resolve the issue?  Were you able to 
take a practice exam as part of your study process?

Did you file a complaint with the DOJ?  If so, what is the status of your 
complaint?

Do you know of any other practiceexam products that are accessible?

I am copying my message ehre to my clinical supervisor.  I am also sending a 
summary of this message to the person at the ASWB who asked for it.  Thanks 
for any information you might share with me.

Darian Slayton Fleming
ACB-HSP President
darehart56 at hotmail.com

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