Digital Accessibility

The student is usually the best person to ask about their needs.
Some disabilities are visual, many are not; you may not know the person has a disability.
Consider each person individually; the guidelines below should be helpful but may not apply in a particular case.
Ask before providing assistance.
Interact directly with the person, not an interpreter or personal care assistant.
Get to know the person; dispels stereotypes, increases comfort.
Ask about strengths and weaknesses to have a better idea of how to explain material.
Ask questions to check for understanding.
Contact SDS if:
- You have any questions or concerns.
- What is requested seems to be unreasonable or conflicts with standards.

May struggle with focus and attention in the classroom, but may not show signs of it one on one.
Conduct meetings in reduced distraction areas whenever possible.
Highlight key points or concepts.
May need things explained or repeated more than once.
May benefit from breaking things down into smaller pieces or putting a single problem on a page.
Could benefit from working through problems as you discuss them; have the student teach you.
Check in more frequently to make sure the student is understanding.
May have trouble with timelines or follow through.
Refer student to SDS if you suspect a student may have undiagnosed ADHD; this is pretty common!

Tend to learn best through a multi-sensory approach.
May need to have things explained in different ways.
Pause between ideas/concepts to allow for more time for processing.
Could benefit from working through problems as you discuss them; have the student teach you.
May find diagrams or pictures helpful in explaining concepts.
May benefit from using mnemonic devices or tricks to assist with memorization; highlight key points or concepts.
Refer student to SDS if you suspect a student may have undiagnosed LD; this is pretty common!

Select a central location to meet that the student is familiar with if possible.
Develop a set schedule if possible; prepare student ahead of time if changes are needed.
May have trouble with eye contact and making small talk.
May be very sensitive to stimuli.
May understand material/concept but may need assistance developing confidence, prioritizing or understanding what to do on a homework or lab report.
Breaking things into smaller segments can be helpful.
May need more time to process information.
May be helpful to be very clear and concrete about things such as it being time to end the session.

Students may or may not use hearing aids.
Speak in a normal tone and volume. Speaking loudly is often not helpful and may distort your speech; speak loudly only if asked to do so.
Face the person when speaking and keep your hands away from your face.
May not want people to be aware of the hearing loss.

If a person is using an interpreter, speak and look directly at the student, not the interpreter.
Most deaf students have experience communicating with the people who can hear.
Let the person guide you as to how best to communicate.
Make sure you have the person’s attention before speaking to them.
To get a person’s attention, gently tap them on the shoulder, wave or use another visual signal.
Face the person when speaking as they may rely heavily on visual cues.
Only about 33% of spoken language can be picked up by lip reading; try another word instead of repeating the same one.

Choose an accessible location to meet; make sure the space is large enough for the person to move around if they use a wheelchair or scooter.
Can be caused by a wide range of physical and medical conditions; may fluctuate in severity.
Ask before giving assistance.
If you are speaking to someone who is using a wheelchair, sit down or adjust your position so you are speaking on the same level (don’t lean on the wheelchair).
Be aware of road and sidewalk conditions when walking with a person who uses a wheelchair.

May not be able to see you or find you easily; make a plan to meet in a particular place.
80% have some vision (legally blind is anything beyond 20/200).
May try not to let others know about their vision loss.
May need to meet in a central or well-known location that they choose.
May need to enlarge things or work in large format.
May need to cover visually-intensive material more slowly.
May need to clarify things covered in class that they could not follow visually.

Identify yourself when you approach so the person knows that you are there.
Ask before offering assistance; offer your arm for the person to take.
Don’t worry about saying “I’ll see you later.” Such conventions are not offensive..
Provide visual descriptions instead of gesturing or pointing.
Be descriptive when providing directions; when guiding someone to a chair, place their hand on the back of it.
Refer to people by name if you are speaking in a group setting.
Guide dogs should not be treated as a pet.

If a person lets you know about such a condition, you may want to ask how you can help.
Conditions may be intermittent, episodic and/or temporary.
Flexibility with attendance, deadlines and participation may be needed.
Encourage students to register with SDS, especially if needs are significant or continuing.