AccessComputing

What is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that supports special education and related service programming for children and youth with disabilities. It was originally known as the Education of Handicapped Children Act, passed in 1975. In 1990, amendments to the law were passed, effectively changing the name to IDEA. In 1997 and again in 2004, additional amendments were passed to ensure equal access to education.

What are some ways to provide note-taking accommodations for a student with a disability?

Some students with disabilities have difficulty taking notes. For example, a student with an auditory processing problem may take few or unclear notes. Physical and hearing impairments may also limit speed and make note-taking difficult. A note-taking accommodation is intended to provide information that the student would have gotten on his own, if it were not for his disability. Common ways to provide note-taking accommodations include the following:

Camp Courage: A Promising Practice in Including an Accessible Technology Lab in an Existing Summer Camp

With growing concern over the low academic achievements of American youth, summer camping programs can be part of the solution while providing new, exciting experiences for their campers. Camp Courage, a residential camp in Minnesota for youth with disabilities, has developed technology-rich offerings for its campers in "Teen Camp."

What is DotsPlus Braille?

DotsPlus Braille is a two dimensional Braille format designed to express complex mathematical equations in a format similar to standard print math notation. DotsPlus Braille allows standard Braille and tactile graphical math symbols to be used simultaneously within spatial equations in a form identical to that used in standard printed math documents.

Why is it important that students with disabilities take precollege mathematics and science courses?

Research has shown that one of the best predictors of whether or not a person will enter postsecondary education and complete a college degree has been his or her participation in math and science courses during middle and high school. In fact, participation in these types of courses has been shown to more strongly correlate with postsecondary degree completion than high school test scores or grade point averages. It has also been reported that students who take more math and science courses typically have higher SAT scores and, four years later, higher scores on the GRE.

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