By Chemae Mebane
In a room of adults and students with cognitive disabilities in nothing but hospital gowns, there are caretakers using hoses to spray the feces and urine down the drain in the center of a tiled room, instead of assisting them with their personal needs. Walking a few steps down the hall, about 100 children with mobility and cognitive disabilities are confined to beds with rails that resemble baby cribs. After witnessing these conditions, one can’t help but to have tears coming down from their eyes. There is an administrator advising that laws would soon change, and so would these conditions.
This chance encounter of the Caswell Center in Kinston, North Carolina sparked a life-long passion for advocating for students, Gay Lytton now serves as the director of Disability Support Services (DSS) at William Peace University.
In the fall of 2024, Lytton moved from being part-time to full-time director. Before making this switch, Lytton worked at WPU DSS for two academic school years. This change came from the growth of students with disabilities registering for support services at the school. In fact, over recent years post-secondary educational institutions have seen a rise of students with disabilities.
According to Lytton, Disability Support Services (DSS) is a department in continuous development. The percentage of students with disabilities has increased from less than 3% over the past few years to almost 12% of the overall population. The increase is similar in colleges across the state and country.
With the growth of students registered with DSS, Lytton spends her time talking with students and families about accommodations needed for the students, reviewing self-disclosure forms and disability documentation, and conducting the interactive process. Accommodation plans must be written and assured that the plans can be implemented. In addition, problem solving has become a daily task on a variety of issues such as determining the accessibility of programs, services, or resources. Proctoring test sessions, supporting the implementation of accommodations with critical conversations, and developing policies and procedures are some of the major tasks that are conducted daily.
“No day is the exact same. I am in constant communication with Faculty, staff, students, and sometimes families. I meet with students daily,” said Lytton.
Childhood
Growing up in eastern North Carolina, Lytton was the oldest of four children, she witnessed the Civil Rights Movements taking place. She experienced seeing different communities move from racially segregated schools, neighborhoods, and churches to being completely integrated.
“I saw the world become more accepting of people with disabilities and other groups who were once marginalized and institutionalized, although we are still not where I hope we will go,” said Lytton.
Growing up through the 60’s, Lytton’s childhood was different from her children’s experience. Lytton’s childhood involved going to drive-in movies, or she would play outside in the yard. During this time home movies and video games did not exist. Typical families had a black and white television and telephones with rotary dials and cords. She did not grow up with a home computer. In fact, her family had encyclopedias, and she used the library for all her research.
“My three children (now adults) have enjoyed many luxuries that I did not have growing up. But, they also missed out on appreciating simpler activities such as writing and decorating letters to friends, building forts in the woods, fishing in the river, or reading hardback books with special bookmarks,” said Lytton. “Also, I am both thankful and envious of the diversity in their friend networks.”
Educational and Work Background
Lytton received her Bachelors of Science in Education from East Carolina University (ECU), and a Master’s in Education from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC-W). She received certificates in supervision and administration from North Carolina State University (NCSU). In addition, every type of classroom she taught in, she needed certificates for those areas as well, which she received from the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNC-G).
Lytton spent over 40 years working in public-school systems in North Carolina in a variety of positions but mostly in administration. She also worked in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and UNC-Wilmington. She worked in recreation departments during the summer months. She spent her time learning from others around her, teaching, and coaching.
Advocacy Work
“People often think the reason I wanted to work with students with disabilities is because my father had a profound hearing loss. But honestly, I never thought of him as disabled-I didn’t know the term, ‘disabilities’ included my dad until I was in college,” said Lytton.
At WPU, Lytton, Director of DSS, supports the implementation of accommodations with critical conversations and developing policies and procedures. In addition, she works closely with Student Services and Counseling on supplemental resources, making sure students succeed at WPU.
“She’s really good at reading between the lines, and sometimes the students don’t even know that they need certain accommodations. Gay is able to provide that just because she’s always thinking about the wellbeing of students, and she just has the students best interest at heart,” said Jalesa Sutton, Dean of Student Success Office of Academic Affairs.
In addition, Lytton collaborates closely with the staff at WPU, to ensure all accommodations are being met for students who are registered with DSS. Daily she is bridging the communication gap between professors and students. She ensures that professors understand the many types of accommodations that are needed, and that every student’s needs are different.
“She is so supportive, and she is so full of knowledge and information. She’s an incredible resource for both students and faculty at WPU,” said Michelle Wang, Assistant Professor of Business Administration.
According to Lytton, with the growth of students registered with DSS at WPU, the infrastructure will develop. She expects to see an increase in the quality of services provided and more assistive technology including accessible communications. WPU’s policies and procedures will be tweaked for usability, understanding, and consistency. WPU will focus on professional learning sessions for employees and students to build inclusion for all students. Classes will routinely implement universal design for learning to support immersive learning goals for students with and without disabilities.
“My personal mission is to ensure that students with disabilities are not discriminated against. I strive to understand the perspectives of students with disabilities by listening to them talk about the things I don’t see or hear or know but they do,” said Lytton, “Then, when I know better, I try to do better. I am far from perfect, but I try to do better each day I come to work.
Photo by Chemae Mebane