Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

No otherwise qualified individual with a disability shall, solely by reason of his/her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity of a public entity.

Person with a disability = any person who

• has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, including walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working
• has a record of such an impairment
• is regarded as having such an impairment

Examples of Disabilities

Spinal cord injuries
Loss of limbs
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Cerebral Palsy
Hearing impairments
Visual impairments
Speech impairments
Specific learning disabilities
Head injuries
Psychiatric disorders
Diabetes
Cancer
AIDS

Qualified Individual with a Disability

A "qualified" applicant or employee with a disability is a person with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question.

Undue Hardship

An action that requires "significant difficulty or expense" in relation to the size of the employer, the resources available, and the nature of the operation.

Why Participate in Work-Based Learning?

• Practice skills learned in school.
• Clarify academic and career interests.
• Determine which worksite accommodations work best.

• Develop contacts for future employment.
• Develop human relations and teamwork skills through interactions with co-workers.
• Gain academic credit.
• Practice writing résumés and cover letters.
• Identify community-based career assistance programs.

Types of Work Experience

• Internship
• Cooperative Education
• Job Shadowing
• Service Learning
• Independent Study
• Informational Interview
• Career Services

DO-IT CAREERS

Careers
Academics
Research
Experiential
Education
Relevant
Skills

Recruiting Interns with Disabilities

Include a statement outlining your interest in receiving applications from a diverse group of people, including people with disabilities.

Advertise available positions with:

• Career Services
• Cooperative Education programs
• Academic Departments
• Disabled Student Services offices
• Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

• Department of Services for the Blind
• Employment Security
• Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
• Community agencies that serve people with disabilities

Strategies for Working with People Who Have Disabilities

Low Vision
Blindness
Hearing Impairments
Speech Impairments
Specific Learning Disabilities
Mobility Impairments
Health Impairments
Psychiatric Disabilities

Low Vision

• Large print handouts, signs, equipment labels
• Seating where the lighting is best
• Work assignments in electronic format
• Computer with enlarged screen images

Blindness

• Describe visual aids
• Audiotaped, Braille, or electronic text to substitute printed materials
• Raised-line drawings and tactile models of graphic materials
• Adaptive equipment (e.g., tactile timers, calculators)
• Computers with optical character readers, voice output, Braille screen displays, Braille embossers

Hearing Impairments

• Interpreters, real-time captions, FM systems, note takers
• Electronic mail
• Visual aids, visual warning systems for emergencies
• Face intern when speaking; talk to the intern rather than the interpreter
• Written work assignments
• Repeat questions and statements from other employees during meetings

Speech Impairments

• Electronic Mail
• Concentrate on what the person is saying
• If you don't understand, ask and repeat back
• Take as much time as necessary to communicate
• Ask questions that require short answers or a nod of the head when appropriate

Specific Learning Disabilities

• Audiotaped instruction
• Quiet workstation
• Visual, aural, and tactile demonstrations incorporated into directions
• Computers with voice output, spell checkers, grammar checkers, thesaurus, specialized software

Mobility Impairments

• Office assistants
• Group work assignments, note takers/scribes
• Accessible worksite
• Adjustable tables, equipment located within reach
• Work assignments in electronic format
• Computers with special input devices (e.g., voice, Morse code, alternative keyboards)

Health Impairments

• Flex time
• Note takers, audiotaped meetings
• Electronic mail
• Work assignments in electronic formats
• Telecommuting

Psychiatric Disabilities

• Be positive
• Have high expectations
• Be consistent
• Make instructions clear
• Provide positive feedback and suggestions
• Meet with the person

General Suggestions

• Have policies and procedures in place
• Make sure facility is accessible
• Provide clear signage in large print
• Talk with the worker
• Select materials early

Four-Step Model

• What does the task/ assignment require?
• What physical, sensory, and cognitive skills are needed?
• What components of the task require accommodation?
• What accommodation options exist?

Computers
+
Adaptive Technology
+
Electronic Resources
=
Opportunities

Universal Design 

=
designing services and resources for people with a broad range of abilities and disabilities.

Accessible Labs

• physical environment
• adaptive technology
• electronic resources

Computers assist people with:

• low vision
• blindness
• hearing impairments
• speech impairments
• specific learning disabilities
• mobility impairments
• health impairments

Low Vision

• large print signs, handouts, labels
• good lighting
• large print key labels
• large monitors
• software to enlarge screen images
• software to adjust screen colors

Blindness

• Braille and taped materials
• Braille labels
• computers with voice output
• Braille screen displays
• scanners and optical character recognition
• Braille printers
• Internet accessible services/resources

Hearing/Speech Impairments

• computers with visual output
• electronic mail
• speech synthesizers

Specific Learning Disabilities

• quiet work areas
• computers with voice output
• spelling/grammar checkers, thesauruses
• word prediction software
• software to enlarge screen images
• large monitors

Mobility Impairments

• adjustable tables
• keyboard modifications
• keyboard guards and layouts
• alternative keyboards and mice
• Internet services/ resources

Health Impairments

• electronic mail
• Internet accessible services/resources

Adaptive Technology

• hardware/software
• easy/difficult to implement
• easy/difficult to use
• inexpensive/expensive
• generic/unique
• stand alone/networked

Getting Started!

• adjustable tables
• large print key labels
• screen enlargement software
• large monitors
• speech output
• Braille conversion software and printer
• trackballs, wrist rests, keyguards

Some People:

• cannot see graphics
• cannot hear audio
• have difficulty with unorganized sites
• use older equipment, slow connections
• use adaptive technology

Universal Design

=

design of products and environments to be usable by all people, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.

Universal Design Principles

• equitable use
• flexible use
• simple and intuitive use
• information duplicated in several formats
• low physical effort

Maintain a simple, consistent page layout

Keep backgrounds simple with enough contrast.

Make links descriptive so they can be understood out of context.

Use standard HTML.

Include a note about accessibility.

Provide text alternatives.

Accessible Web Design Guidelines

• Simple, consistent page layout
• Simple backgrounds with enough contrast
• Standard HTML
• Note about accessibility
• Text alternatives for graphical features
• Use special features with care
• Test Web pages with a variety of browsers