All-Alaska Academy offers week-long transition camps for students with disabilities to aid them in their transition from secondary to postsecondary institutions or from school to work. Participants attend as part of a team from their district. Teams focus on fostering an academic learning experience for both students and educators.
The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) serves as a resource for stakeholders, including educators, parents, students, publishers, conversion houses, accessible media producers, and others interested in learning more about accessible educational materials. Their services and activities include:
Some students with disabilities require accommodations in order to access math. For example, mathematical notation is inherently visual, so students who are blind are unable to read it. Also, students who cannot fully use their hands are often unable to perform mathematical computations by hand on paper (the traditional way). Some commercial products have been developed to increase access to mathematics content and computation to individuals with disabilities.
There are multiple options for blind students who need to access math material:
Many steps need to be taken to ensure that distance learning courses are accessible to potential students with disabilities. Exploratory research has been undertaken at the University of Washington to develop a list of Distance Learning Program Accessibility Indicators (DLP Accessibility Indicators). The list was based on a review of the literature and collaborator experiences creating distance learning courses that are accessible to potential students and instructors with disabilities.
Each year increasing numbers of students with visual impairments and other print disabilities are requesting electronic text, commonly referred to as e-text, versions of books and other print-based media. Whether it be the latest version of a Biology textbook or Homer's the Iliad, finding e-text in a timely manner can be a challenge for educators.
Below are examples of Internet resources for both digital libraries, which contain public domain texts, and subscription-based libraries.
Tod Harris, a math and computer teacher at Maplewood Middle School in Edmonds, Washington, is committed to the universal design of classroom environments. His school serves students with visual impairments from throughout the district in general education classrooms. Some students were having difficulty accessing information projected on an overhead during class lectures and completing tasks in the math computer lab.
Kristie Alexander, a fourth-grade teacher at Captain Strong Elementary, is using technology to actively engage all students in her class, including those with learning disabilities, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), speech impairments, fine motor impairments, and Asperger's Syndrome.
Since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, more and more people with a wide range of disabilities are entering the nursing profession. Several web-based resources and organizations are available to nursing students and professionals to provide information on legal, employment, and accommodation resources.
Research has shown that people with disabilities achieve at lower levels in education and employment when compared to their peers without disabilities. Below are some sources that have compiled some of these statistics.
The Renton, Washington office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a division of the United States Department of Transportation, is working to increase the employment of people with disabilities in their organization. The FAA Renton Office has restructured one employee's job duties to create the position of Program Manager for People with Disabilities.