The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that U.S. programs and services be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The ADA accessibility requirements apply to Internet resources.
For more information about designing web pages, consult the University of Washington's Designing Accessible Websites webpage.
Captioning is usually considered when the video product is complete, if at all. Instead, the production should be filmed so that critical content does not appear where captioning will cover it (usually at the bottom of the screen). Captions should describe all of the visual content, including nonspeech noises. Suggestions for making attractive and functional captions include the following:
To experience watching a multimedia product without the ability to hear, turn off the volume on your television set. Some programs, such as sporting events, are fairly easy to follow by watching the visual display. Others, such as news programs, make little sense without audio. To make this content accessible to those who are deaf, a sign language interpreter or text captioning can appear on the screen. Captioning is more common because not all individuals who are deaf know sign language and there isn't one standard version of sign language.
People who are blind cannot access the visual content of a video production unless the content is available in audio format as well. Being aware of this access issue during the design phase of a product can result in speakers or narrators voicing enough of the content to allow a person who is blind to follow along. This is particularly important for educational programming and products used with large audiences where it is generally unknown what visual impairments audience members may have.
To maximize success in college, encourage students with disabilities to do the following:
There are many benefits to being a mentor to a student with a disability. Mentors' personal communication about their hard-earned experiences contributes to the personal, academic, and professional growth of students with disabilities, many of whom may not have seen themselves as professionals. In this way, mentors contribute to the participation of students with disabilities in fields in which they are traditionally underrepresented - science, mathematics, and technology.
The keyboard can be the biggest obstacle to computing for a person with a mobility impairment. Fortunately, those who lack the dexterity or range of motion necessary to operate a standard keyboard have a wide range of options from which to choose. Pointers can be held in the mouth or mounted to a hat or headgear and used to press keys on a standard keyboard. Repositioning the keyboard to the floor can allow someone to use his feet instead of his hands for typing.
Low vision is used to describe a loss of visual acuity while retaining some vision. It applies to individuals with sight who are unable to read a newspaper at a normal distance of viewing, even with the aid of glasses or contact lenses. People with low vision often need adaptations in lighting and/or enlarged print to read something. There are two specific types of low vision:
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 with mobility impairments and the other students in the class as well:
There is often confusion over the terms "hearing impaired," "hard of hearing," "deaf," and "deafened," both in definition and appropriateness of use.