Although each situation is different and the student is the best source of information regarding useful accommodations, the following are some accommodations that should help to make the laboratory safer for students who are deaf and the other students in your class as well:
A refreshable Braille display is hardware connected to a computer that echoes screen text on a box that has cells consisting of pins that move up and down to create Braille characters.
For information about adaptive technology, consult Working Together: People with Disabilities and Computer Technology or view the video by the same title.
Sign language is manual communication commonly used by people who are deaf. Sign language is not universal; people who are deaf from different countries speak different sign languages. The gestures or symbols in sign language are organized in a linguistic way. Each individual gesture is called a sign. Each sign has three distinct parts: the handshape, the position of the hands, and the movement of the hands. American Sign Language (ASL) is the most commonly used sign language in the United States.
Although each situation is different and the student is the best source of information regarding useful accommodations, the following accommodations are typical for a student with low vision:
It is helpful to include a statement on the class syllabus inviting students who have disabilities to discuss academic needs. An example of such a statement is "If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible."
For more information, consult Working Together: Faculty and Students with Disabilities.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008, a person with a disability is "any person who 1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities [including the operation of a major bodily function, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working], 2) has a record of such an impairment, or 3) is regarded as hav
A virtual keyboard is software that is used to emulate a standard keyboard. A picture of a keyboard is displayed on a computer screen and the user points and clicks on the pictures of keys to enter text. Switches activated in a wide variety of ways make use of the most appropriate muscles for the individual user. Virtual keyboards allow computer use by people with significant mobility impairments.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) include open and closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, including cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma.
A speech impairment refers to an impaired ability to produce speech sounds and may range from mild to severe. It may include an articulation disorder, characterized by omissions or distortions of speech sounds; a fluency disorder, characterized by atypical flow, rhythm, and/or repetitions of sounds; or a voice disorder, characterized by abnormal pitch, volume, resonance, vocal quality, or duration.
Excerpt from Universal Design of Instruction: Definition, Principles, and Examples by Sheryl Burgstahler:
