AccessEngineering

Hands-on learning in lab courses is an important component of an engineering degree program. As increasing numbers of people with disabilities pursue educational opportunities in engineering, accessibility of engineering teaching and research labs is critical. The ultimate goal is simply equal access. Students, faculty, and staff who need to use a lab should be able to do so comfortably. 

To ensure that an engineering lab is more accessible, consider the following:

The group of individuals pursuing engineering fields is becoming increasingly diverse with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, learning style, age, disability, and other characteristics. Engineering careers are potentially open to individuals with disabilities because of advancements in assistive technology that provide access to computers and facilitate common engineering tasks such as 3D-printing or Computer Numerical Control machines for fabrication and manufacturing.

Women and other under-represented groups often report being interested in applications fields that improve the world around them. For example, Margolis and Fisher (2002) found that women were interested in using computers in order to do something useful for society. Likewise, students with disabilities have demonstrated an interest in using design in order to improve the experiences of individuals with disabilities (Blaser, Braitmayer, & Burgstahler 2012).

Many engineering departments, libraries, and universities are launching new initiatives to create makerspaces to foster innovation. These facilities are physical spaces where students, faculty, and the broader community can gather and share resources and knowledge, work on projects, network, and build. 

It is important to ensure that individuals of all backgrounds and abilities can actively contribute to the design process. Makerspaces can be made accessible by considering the following questions:

Integrating disability, accessibility, and universal design content into engineering courses is important as it:

Although disability, accessibility, and universal design are not taught in every engineering department, there are a variety of courses across the country that address these topics. Examples include:

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.

The National Science Foundation's General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supported undergraduate engineering design projects that developed technology to support people with disabilities. Projects funded through this program had multiple benefits, including: