AccessComputing

In October of 2004 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would create a state-of-the-art program to ensure that electronic and information technology is accessible to employees and consumers with disabilities. As Chief Information Officer Steve Cooper explained, "Making electronic and information technology accessible for people with disabilities is a good business management strategy." He added that "complying with Section 508 ensures our information technology will be more capable of responding to technology changes in future years.

Many publishers can now provide students with disabilities with an electronic format of their textbooks. The following resource can assist you in finding publisher contact information. The list is an exhaustive list of all publishers, but rather a good place to start your search.

• AccessText allows postsecondary members to request files and permissions from leading publishers with one simple form. All post-secondary institutions in the United States and Canada are eligible to join at no cost.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:

No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States…shall, solely by reason of…disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

While there are no specific time lines, some professionals recommend that students be re-evaluated at least every three years or whenever there is going to be a "significant change in placement." The campus 504 committee should reconsider the student's plan every year to make sure that his or her accommodation plan is appropriate, based on their current schedule and individual student needs. The accommodation plan may be revised during the school year if needed.

Designing an accessible website is not difficult when accessibility is considered along with other design issues at the beginning of a project. To create resources that can be used by the widest spectrum of potential website visitors rather than an "average" person, webmasters can apply "universal design" principles. Designers should routinely think of the broad range of characteristics their site visitors might have and design their resources so that they are accessible to everyone.

There are many vendors who provide a wide range of captioning services. One of the best resources for selecting a vendor is the U.S. Department of Education, which, in collaboration with the Described and Captioned Media Program administered by the National Association of the Deaf, officially approves captioning service vendors. Approved vendors are listed in the document Captioning Service Vendors.

The information brief Math, Science, and Technology: Essential Skills for Career Success in the 21st Century (2003), highlights the importance of math, science, and technology coursework in preparing young adults for high-tech, lucrative careers. It provides a quick and easy checklist for youth service practitioners to share with students as they explore careers of interest to them.

The publication Roadmaps & Rampways chronicles the journeys of three dozen students from childhood to higher education in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics and on through their early career decisions. Each had a significant disability. When they were born or acquired a disability, few of their doctors, educators, or neighbors could have imagined that their journeys would be so successful.

It is important to design the facility for users with a wide range of abilities and disabilities (e.g., visual, mobility, and hearing impairments; learning disabilities). Getting input from students with various disabilities about how to set up the computer lab can help ensure that specific student needs are met. Make sure that the computer lab offers access to equipment and software and to electronic resources. It is also important that staff are trained to work with students who have disabilities and understand how to use adaptive technology within the lab.

The Described and Captioned Media Program freely loans over 4,000 educational and general-interest open-captioned titles (on videotapes, CD-ROMs, and DVDs) to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, teachers, parents, and other individuals. In addition, several hundred titles are available for viewing online. No rental, registration, or postage fees are charged.