I NTRODUCTIONS Marla Roll, MS, OTR/L Director, Assistive
Technology Resource Center (http://atrc.colostate.edu/) Assistant
Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy Co-PI, ACCESS Project
Access to Postsecondary Education through Universal Design for
Learning (http://accessproject.colostate.edu/)
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A GENDA Brief Overview of legislative mandates Disability
demographics in higher education Overview of ATRC and Assistive
Technology examples
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E QUAL ACCESS L EGISLATION : Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for
persons with disabilities. Title II speaks to public universities
Rationale for services like RDS and ATRC
http://www.ada.gov/index.html Revised Final ADA Regulation for
Title II (Effective March 15th, 2011) Auxiliary Aids now speaks
directly to electronic and info technology Broadens how disability
and major life activity is defined
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm#titleII_final_2010
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination
under any program or activity receiving federal financial
assistance Includes colleges and universities
http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm
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LEGISLATION (CONT) Section 508 of the Rehab Act primarily a
procurement law Ensures that electronic and information technology
can interact with assistive technology -
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=AssistiveTechDevices
Standards Summary -
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=stdsSum WCAG Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines criteria for web-based information
developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the W3C
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php http://webaim.org/
D ISABILITIES IN H IGHER E DUCATION Nationally, 11.3% of
undergraduates report some type of disability 1 At Colorado State
University 2 8%11% report a disability Non-apparent disabilities
are the largest proportion and growing Even among students who say
they have a disability, many do not seek accommodations 1 National
Center for Education Statistics, 2008; U.S. Government
Accountability Office, 2009 2 Schelly, Davies & Spooner,
Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability (Feb. 2011)
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W HAT IS THE A SSISTIVE T ECHNOLOGY R ESOURCE C ENTER (ATRC)?
Role on campus: the ATRC seeks to ensure equal access to technology
and electronic information for CSU students and employees with
disabilities Disability groups served Students with Physical,
Sensory, Non-Apparent impairments Experiential learning of AT for
OT students
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ATRC AND O CCUPATION The ATRCs goal is to increase student
participation in school- related activities and enhance academic
performance. Reading Writing Note-taking Test-taking Accessing
computers and technology
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AT S UGGESTIONS AT for students who : 1. have a physical
impairment 2. are blind 3. have low vision 4. are hard of hearing
5. have non-apparent difficulties writing, note- taking, studying,
reading, organization 6. have Cumulative Trauma Disorders
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH P HYSICAL I MPAIRMENTS Accessible
Computing Station may include the following: 1. Adjustable height
table 2. Equipment within reach from chair level 3. Alternative
keyboards 4. Alternative mice 5. Alternate input
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WHO ARE B LIND Hardware Refreshable Braille
Keyboard Thermo Pen Embossers Talking Scientific Calculator Talking
Digital Book Players Tactile Key Indicators Software Screen readers
JAWS
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH L OW V ISION Hardware CCTV/ Video
magnifier Large Print and Braille Labels for keyboard Portable
Magnifiers Digital Book Players Key Labels Software Built in
Accessibility Options Zoom Text
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WHO ARE H ARD OF H EARING OR D EAF Hardware FM
Systems PocketTalker Software Captioning Visual Notifications on
the computer screen CART (Communication Access Real Time
Translation
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH W RITING D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT )
Software that includes the following features: Word Prediction
Talking Dictionary Translator Dictation Text to speech Spell check
Mapping
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH N OTE T AKING AND S TUDYING D IFFICULTY (
NON - APPARENT ) Portable Word Processors Digital Voice Recorder
Live Scribe Pen Software with note-taking, studying, and research
features Apps on iPad, Smartphones
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH R EADING D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT )
Digital Book Players Speed reading software Converting print to
electronic format Text to Speech Adjusting visual layout Scanning
and Reading Pens Portable Spell Checkers
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AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH O RGANIZATION D IFFICULTY ( NON -
APPARENT ) Low Tech Checklists and day planners Task sequencing
lists Alarms/timers on watch or cell phone High Tech Devices:
computers, tablets, smartphones, PDAs Software or Apps
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AT FOR STUDENTS WITH C UMULATIVE T RAUMA D ISORDERS Hardware
Ergonomic keyboards Ergonomic mice Wrist pads Adjustable tables
Document holders Adjustable monitors Software Word completion and
word prediction software Voice Recognition software
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UDL W HAT IS THE CONNECTION TO LEGISLATION ? Legislation -
speaks to individual accommodations but there are drawbacks:
Processes are more time consuming and costly to retrofit Only
addresses needs of an individual Addresses access issues
technically but not always functionally UDL designing for all types
of users has benefits: Building in access on the front end is more
cost effective Has benefits for more people UDL can decrease the
need for individual accommodations
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W HAT CAN CSU DO TO ENSURE ACCESS FOR STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES ? Provide accommodations Provide assistive technology
Ensure content is designed with UDL and accessibility principles in
mind Buy accessible technology consider accessibility in
procurement
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U NIVERSAL D ESIGN (UD) Build in accessibility from the start
Curb cuts in city streets Ramps and automatic door openers TV
closed captions Ergonomic kitchen utensils Everyone benefits from a
more flexible, user-friendly environment Fix the environment, not
the individual Building UD and UDL concepts into digital content
will ensure access to content for students using AT
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U NIVERSAL D ESIGN FOR L EARNING Universal Design for Learning
(UDL) is a set of principles and techniques for creating inclusive
classroom instruction and accessible course materials. teaching
technology
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UDL & D IGITAL CONTENT : PDF/ E- Reserves Forms Databases
E-Books Others? Assistive Technology is only as good as the content
it interacts with!!!
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I NTERSECTION OF UDL AND AT : Examples: Captioning of
multi-media creates access for students with hearing impairments
but also assists those that are visual learners or have auditory
processing difficulties Accessible PDF ensures that students using
screen readers or text to speech software will have full access
Designing digital content that is easy to navigate assists students
using screen reading software but also those who need simple &
intuitive navigation due to LD or TBI Accessible Word and Power
point and HTML - ensures access for students using assistive
technologies. Provide content you teach in multiple formats gives
the user choice for how to interact with the content.
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O THER R ESOURCES TO CONSIDER : universal design of libraries
checklist
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/PDF/equal_access_lib.pdf
Equal Access: Campus Libraries (video) (DO-IT Project, University
of Washington) URL:
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/index.php?vid=49 Disability
awareness modules http://accessproject.colostate.edu/disability/
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/disability/ Tech modules
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/udl
http://accessproject.colostate.edu/udl
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C ONTACT INFO : Marla Roll, MS, OTR/L [email protected]
970-491-2016
