Classroom, state accountability, and other math assessments are typically designed for a student who can use a pencil and paper. When the test administration is inaccessible to a student with a disability, reasonable accommodations will need to be provided to afford equal access to the instrument. For example, a person could record answers for a student who cannot do so independently.
My name is Rick and I am legally blind. I use Braille or a screen reader on a computer to access printed or electronic information. This quarter, one of my sociology courses has a number of required articles on electronic library reserve.
When I opened the electronic documents, my screen reader could not read them. The format was incompatible with my screen reading software, and I was therefore unable to access the library reserve articles.
There are a number of valuable resources about making math accessible available on the web. Here are a few places to look:
My name is Imke. I am a blind graduate student in atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. I use a refreshable Braille display to access text that appears on a computer screen.
Some data I use for my research are available on the web page of the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO). The site includes plots of various climate indices that are not accessible to me, since neither refreshable Braille displays nor speech synthesizers are capable of reproducing graphics.
The Trace Center has prepared a document, A Brief Introduction to Disabilities, that discusses major disability groups and some specific barriers to accessibility they encounter. This online publication describes specific access issues related to visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical impairments, cognitive/language impairments, seizure disorders, and multiple impairments.
Applying universal design principles results in products and environments that are usable by most people without having to make special adaptations. Universal design applied to educational environments, especially when technology is involved, is referred to by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL promotes the design of learning experiences that can be effective for students with a wide variety of characteristics, including disabilities.
Libraries can take steps to make their facilities, resources, and services accessible to patrons with disabilities. Below are some of the questions that should be addressed in order to ensure facility access.
Universal design is an approach that strives to make products and environments welcoming, accessible, and usable for everyone. Universal design principles were developed at the Center for Universal Design. They can be tailored to specific applications such as curriculum, instruction, career service offices, multimedia, tutoring and learning centers, museums, computer labs, and web pages.
Internet-based electronic discussion lists provide opportunities for collaboration with librarians and other colleagues about accessibility issues.
In the ADAPT-L listserv group, librarians discuss assistive technology for making electronic resources accessible to all patrons. To join, send email to listserv@american.edu with no subject but one line of text: "subscribe adapt-l Firstname Lastname".
With a universally designed registration process, students with disabilities should be able to access all registration functions without accommodations. For example, web-based registration processes should be designed to be accessible to all students, including those who are blind and use screen-reader technology.