In courses related to assistive technology and accessibility, engineering students often design projects for individuals with disabilities. You can prepare your students for working with clients with disabilities by:
There are over 35 million people in the United States who have disabilities, all of whom have different needs. A lot of the assistive technology they need is either unavailable, very expensive, or requires custom modification. Many people with disabilities cannot afford custom modifications. For the past twenty years the University of Toledo has been introducing students to assistive technology through senior design projects.
A learning disability is a neurological disorder resulting from a difference in the way a person’s brain (LD) is wired when compared to most people. Someone with a learning disability may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling, or organizing. LDs cannot be cured or fixed. However, with the right support and intervention, people with LDs can succeed in school and go on to successful careers. People with learning disabilities often think outside of the box, seeing solutions to problems that someone else may not see.
Following are examples of strategies for integrating universal design, accessibility, and disability topics into the engineering curriculum, facilities, and programs.
In the electrical engineering and computer science department at the University of Michigan, David Chesney teaches two courses that include accessibility. The first, Gaming for the Greater Good, an introductory course focused on creating a game with accessibility features for a specific disability, is used as a recruitment tool for students interested in computer science. The second, a software engineering capstone class, focused on children with disabilities in the community and how to create accessibility solutions using the latest and greatest technology.
A hackathon is a one-day event where teams of people collaborate to solve a problem. ATHack is a multidisciplinary hackathon with a focus on helping people with disabilities as it increases awareness regarding the need to develop assistive technologies. It was conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
There are several things that professional organizations can do to increase the participation of people with disabilities in their field. Suggestions include:
My name is Daniel. As an undergraduate mechanical engineering student, I am required to take a design and manufacturing laboratory course. In this course, students work in teams to build devices using mills, lathes, and other manufacturing equipment. I have high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. At the beginning of the term, I spoke with the instructor about my disability and accommodations.
My name is Debra. I am a college student who is deaf. Over the summer, I participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates summer program where I helped develop an open-source 3D-printed wrist orthosis for individuals who have had a spinal cord injury. I attended and presented the results of this research at a national conference focused on prosthetics and orthotics.
National Science Foundation grant proposals must include a description of the broader impacts of the proposed work. One consideration is how project activities will promote the full participation of people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There are many ways to include people with disabilities in your work and to otherwise address access issues for people with disabilities. This might include: