COLLEGE LAB FREES DISABLED TO LEARN.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Catherine Greschner painstakingly types out a college French assignment, checking the spelling and the accent marks.

It takes her about 40 minutes to type about 10 responses to the standard beginner's questions.

What do the men eat?

``They eat sausage, but they prefer pork,'' she types in French, struggling to control her muscles as she hits each key. Greschner, a 17-year-old college freshman with cerebral palsy, works on a computer with a special, touch-pad keyboard. The keys measure about 1 inch square, and a clear plexiglass sheet with a corresponding finger hole over each large letter sits over the touch pad. The special keyboard makes typing possible despite a lack of muscle control that makes hitting any small target a miraculous feat.

She works on her assignment in Moorpark College's High-Tech Center for the Disabled, a resource and learning center for the campus' 700 disabled students. Completing the short assignment is a laborious process, but a decade ago it would have been nearly impossible for a student with severe cerebral palsy to finish homework independently.

``There are new developments every year, new technological advances and new devices that are giving disabled students greater access,'' said Norma Letinsky, director of the center. ``Our goal is to keep pace with those changes and give every student access to as much of that technology as possible.''

During any given semester, about 150 to 200 of the college's 700 disabled students may use the center either daily or weekly, Letinsky said. Students' disabilities range from mild learning disabilities to nearly complete paralysis caused by degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Students have access to 14 specially designed computers, with features ranging from touch-pad keyboards to voice recognition software.

Blind or visually impaired students can use a computer that reads anything printed on the screen. Pair the screen reading program with a scanner, and almost any printed text can be inputted into the computer and read out to a student.

``It allows visually impaired students to read, but it also helps students whose disabilities might not be so obvious,'' Letinsky said. ``Dyslexic students don't test well when they have to read tests. These programs allow students to come in and have a test read to them by the computer, rather than spending the time and energy to find someone to read them the test.''

Many students who use the center are learning, and not physically disabled. The center offers tutoring and study skills help for students who need extra help, but it also offers these students a support system.

``My brain has a problem moving information from short- to long-term memory, so it's always affected my academic performance,'' said Andrea Young, a 34-year-old horse trainer from Simi Valley. ``This center, the evaluation they did and the work I'm able to do, have made a world of difference to me. When I was in school when I was younger, if you didn't get it the first time, you were out of luck.

``Since I've been coming here I don't feel so far behind, or like I'm incapable. The more I learn here, the more I think, `I can do this.' ''

Young uses special software programs to reinforce information she learns in class.

``It strengthens my memory to get the information in different ways,'' Young said. ``I'll study math using game software, which is fun and makes it easier for me to remember.''

Young hopes to go on to study computer science.

In addition to specialized study skills software, the center also has computers loaded with voice recognition software, which allows paralyzed students to speak their assignments directly onto the computer. Students speak into a small microphone, and their words magically scroll out on to the screen.

``We have a student with muscular dystrophy who can only move her head, and another student who was hit by a bus and only has partial use of his hands,'' Letinsky said. ``Both these students can complete college work much more easily because of voice recognition software.''

On a Wednesday morning during the first week of school, students stop in to complete assignments, check the schedule of skills classes, or ask staff for assistance planning schedules.

``Our No. 1 goal is to provide disabled students with access to technology,'' Letinsky said. ``But we also want to help them gain skills so they have a good basis for success in mainstream courses.''

Letinsky said the majority of Moorpark College's 700 disabled students wants to complete college and go on to careers. A small group completes courses for personal enrichment only.

For students bent on completing college, it will be a long haul even with the help of technology.

``It varies from student to student, depending on his or her disability,'' Letinsky said. ``But for some students it might take them three times as long to complete a degree. Other students are highly motivated and not as physically limited. Some can graduate on schedule.''

A student like Greschner, who is physically impaired but determined, could complete an associate of arts degree in the standard two years, Letinsky said.

``With Catherine it's just a lack of fine motor skills that keep her from writing and speaking effectively,'' Letinsky said, as the young student prints out her assignment and then proudly puts it into a folder.

With her backpack, Birkenstocks and pink tie-dyed T-shirt dress, Catherine Greschner looks like any other freshman, ready to go to her next class.

When asked about her major, she gives a typical freshman response.

``I don't know,'' she types. ``I just want to study and get enough units to go on to a university. I just want to keep going.''

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Photo

Photo: Moorpark College freshman Catherine Greschner types her French assignment in the High-Tech Center for the Disabled.

John McCoy/Daily News