AccessComputing

Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can benefit from personal devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. But these tools don’t totally resolve hearing issues. In addition, individuals who lip read may only understand 30% of what is spoken. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may use sign language interpreters or real time captioners in class, but instructors can apply the following simple teaching techniques to make their teaching more accessible to students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

A “specific learning disability” refers to a variety of diagnoses such as difficulties with oral or written expression; decoding, fluency, and comprehension; auditory processing; working memory; arithmetic; and executive functioning. There are a variety of strategies that instructors can use to make computing courses more accessible for students with specific learning disabilities. Consider adopting a growth mindset approach that focuses on students’ abilities to learn and grow rather than talent or intelligence.

A large portion of individuals with ASD are unemployed although many of them are capable of working. Students with ASD often find it difficult to communicate in a traditional interview format. Some companies, both in the US and abroad, have enacted programs to specifically recruit employees with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Examples of these recruitment efforts and programs include:

Video presentations need captions in order for the content to be accessible to students, employees, and other potential viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Captioning also benefits individuals whose first language is not the primary language used in the video, people who need to see the spelling of words used in the video, and those who wish to search through a collection of videos for specific content. An engaging way to raise awareness within an organization and to quickly caption a collection of important videos, is to host a captioning party.

It is common to give a presentation at a conference with accompanying visuals. But what if there are individuals in the audience who are blind, have low vision, or are at a great distance from the screen so that they cannot see the visuals clearly or at all? What if there are individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the audience and cannot hear your presentation clearly or at all? You can employ presentation practices that ensure that everyone, even those with sensory impairments, can access the content of your presentation.