DO-IT - AccessADVANCE

Disability Inclusion in the Ongoing Pandemic

lymeg000 — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 17:02:31 +0000

Disability Inclusion in the Ongoing Pandemic

Long Description:

AccessADVANCE, April 21, 2023
Presenters: Victoria Chavez (PhD Candidate in Computer Science, Northwestern University), Emmanuelle Marquis (Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan), Stephani Page (Director of Strategic Initiatives, Women in Engineering ProActive Network), Matthew Dowell (Assistant Professor and Director of First Year Writing, Department of English, Towson University)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsized impact on the disability community. Many people with disabilities are at a high risk for severe COVID and continue to avoid in-person gatherings. Other people have joined the disability community after acquiring long COVID. As organizations and communities return to pre-pandemic norms, what implications does this have for disability inclusion? What can we do to ensure our organizations are welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities?

External Resource Type:

Webinar

Access issues for Faculty with Disabilities

lymeg000 — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 17:00:29 +0000

Access issues for Faculty with Disabilities

Long Description:

AccessADVANCE, April 4, 2023
Presenters: Kimberly Thompson (Senior Director of Disability Services at Seattle University), Mark Coppin (Director of Disability Services at North Dakota State University), Stacy Branham (Associate Professor of Informatics University of California Irvine), Rob Parke (Associate Professor of Information Technology Practice at the University of Southern California)
Conversations around disability in higher education often focus on access for students with disabilities and overlook the experiences of faculty with disabilities. In this webinar, you'll hear from faculty with disabilities and disability service providers on topics related to accommodations and universal design, funding for accommodations, and strategies to move beyond mere compliance with related laws.

External Resource Type:

Webinar

What is "intersectionality" in the context of working with students who have disabilities?

lylac — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 21:32:56 +0000

"Intersectionality" refers to the fact that individuals have multiple identities, with respect to gender, race, ethnicity, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, disability, etc. Those working with individuals with disabilities should recognize that the interaction of these identities influences a person's experiences, perspectives, and other aspects of their life. For example, a boy with a learning disability who grew up in a low income family and attended schools that offered few specialized resources may be less prepared for college than a girl with a similar disability from a family with more financial resources and a school with more services. The combination of these identities may help explain their different levels of college readiness.

AccessADVANCE: Making STEM Departments More Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities

eol — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 19:54:58 +0000

Systematically reviewing and improving campus communications, worksites, meetings, technology, events, and services to make them more accessible and inclusive to faculty members with disabilities.

Project:

AccessADVANCE

Year:

2022

AccessADVANCE: Making STEM Departments More Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities

Featured:

off

Women with Disabilities in Academic Careers

eol — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 19:52:57 +0000

This video profiles women faculty members with disabilities sharing their experiences and perspectives.

Project:

AccessADVANCE

AccessComputing

Year:

2022

Women with Disabilities in Academic Careers

Featured:

off

Equal Access: Universal Design of Your ADVANCE Project

muszkl — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 23:42:38 +0000

EqualAccess_UniversalDesign_ADVANCE.pdf

A checklist for making projects welcoming and accessible

The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty in academic workplaces and professions through ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions. Projects under this program work to reduce systemic inequities that exist in organizational policy, practice, culture, and climate. Many ADVANCE projects promote systemic changes that make STEM departments more welcoming and inclusive of women faculty; some have expressed a need for assistance in ensuring that the issues of women with disabilities are fully addressed in ADVANCE projects. This publication addresses that need. It was created by the AccessADVANCE project, which serves to increase the successful participation and advancement of women with disabilities in STEM faculty careers.

Legal Issues

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act and its 2008 Amendments mandate that no otherwise qualified person with a disability shall, solely by reason of their disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in public programs. This means that courses, services, information resources, and project activities should be accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities. While we can offer recommendations, this publication does not provide legal advice; for such advice, contact campus resources or the U.S. Office of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Universal Design

Universal design (UD) is a proactive approach that makes facilities, information, instruction, activities, and other facets of a project accessible to and usable by a diverse audience, including individuals with disabilities. UD is defined as “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design." This means that rather than designing for the average person, design for people with differing native languages, gender identities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and abilities. Universally designing your ADVANCE project will make its resources, trainings, meetings, and other offerings welcoming and accessible to a broad audience, including those with disabilities, and minimize the need for accommodations for individual participants.

Guidelines and Examples

Addressing the following questions provides a good starting point for making your ADVANCE project facilities, information technology, resources, and activities accessible to people with disabilities.

Planning, Policies, and Evaluation

Consider diversity issues as you plan and evaluate ADVANCE project offerings.

In your project proposal and implementation do you ensure there is expertise in disabilities, accommodations, and universal design through a staff member, consultant, or partnership with an organization that specializes in this area? Do you include costs for accommodations in the proposal?
Do project policies and procedures ensure access to facilities, events, and resources for people with disabilities?
Does a simple, transparent procedure to ensure a timely response to requests for disability-related accommodations exist and are staff and participants made aware of these services?
Do project policies and procedures that support people with disabilities move beyond minimum levels of compliance and accommodations for individuals to focus more broadly on universal design?
Are disability-related access issues addressed in research design, data collection, and evaluation instruments? Do you include disability along with other requests for demographics on surveys and present this data in project reports and published articles?
If you have an ADVANCE project, have you considered submitting a request for supplemental funding to support access to and engagement in STEM learning, research, and workforce development for students, postdoctoral scholars, or faculty and staff with disabilities? See Persons with Disabilities - STEM Engagement and Access for more information.

Information Resources and Technology

If your ADVANCE project uses digital tools and documents for the delivery of activities and information resources, ensure that they are accessibly designed, that staff members are aware of accessible design practices, and that systems are in place to make accommodations when requested.

Do pictures in your publications and websites include people with diverse characteristics that include disability?
Are all publications designed to be accessible to people with blindness, learning disabilities, motor impairments, and other disabilities? Do project web pages adhere to accessibility standards adopted by your institution, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines?
Do key publications and websites include a statement about your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as procedures for requesting disability-related accommodations? For example, a project website could include the following statement: “The [project name] values diversity, equity, and inclusion and strives to make project facilities, technology, courses, information resources, and services accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. Please inform [project staff] of accessibility barriers you encounter and request accommodations that will make facilities courses, services, and information resources accessible to you.”
Do videos developed or used in the project have accurate captions?
Are technology used for project communication and collaboration accessible?
Are there flexible policies that allow participants to attend meetings and activities remotely? Are important meetings recorded, captioned, and shared for those who cannot attend?

For more information, consult Accessible Technology at uw.edu/accessibility.

Project Facilities

Ensure physical access, comfort, and safety for individuals with disabilities within environments used by your ADVANCE project. Make them welcoming to participants with a variety of abilities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, genders, and ages.

Are all levels of facilities connected via wheelchair-accessible routes? Are accessible routes of travel easy to find? Do restroom, entrance, and other commonly used doors have sensors or buttons for automatic opening? Are they regularly inspected to ensure functionality?
Do elevators have auditory, visual, and tactile signals and controls accessible from a seated position?
Are there parking areas, pathways, and entrances to the building that are wheelchair accessible and clearly identified?
Are aisles kept wide and clear of obstructions for the safety of users who have mobility or visual impairments?
Are wheelchair accessible and child-friendly restrooms with well-marked signs available in or near the facility?
Is at least part of a service counter at a height accessible from a seated position?
Are adjustable-height tables, ergonomic chairs, and adequate/adjustable light available?
Are there ample high-contrast, large-print directional signs to and throughout facilities? Is braille signage used where appropriate?

For more information consult the ADA Checklist for Readily Achievable Barrier Removal and the collection of DO-IT resources regarding the design of makerspaces, science labs, and other specific spaces.

Staff

Make sure project staff are prepared to deliver accessibility-designed activities and work with all project participants.

Do staff members know how to respond to requests for disability-related accommodations, such as sign language interpreters?
Are staff and contractors in specific assignment areas (e.g., event management, web page development, video creation) knowledgeable about accessibility requirements and considerations?
Are staff members aware of issues related to communicating with participants who have disabilities? See Communication Hints at the end of this publication.
Do staff deliver on-site and online courses, conference presentations, and exhibits that are accessible to all participants (e.g., with captions on video presentations, accessible documents, slides with large print and high contrast)? For guidance consult Universal Design of Instruction.

Checklist Updates

To increase the usefulness of this working document, send suggested improvements to doit@uw.edu.

Communication Hints

Treat people with disabilities with the same respect and consideration with which you treat others. Here are some helpful hints when it comes to delivering a presentation, hosting an exhibit, and otherwise relating to people with disabilities.

General

Ask a person with a disability if that person needs help before providing assistance.
Talk directly to the person with a disability, not through their companion or interpreter.
Refer to a person’s disability only if it is relevant to the conversation.
Avoid derogatory slang or negative descriptions of a person’s disability. For example, “a person who uses a wheelchair” is more appropriate than “a person confined to a wheelchair.” A wheelchair is not confining—it’s liberating!
Provide information in alternate means (e.g., written, spoken, diagrams).
Do not interact with a person’s guide dog or service dog unless you have received permission to do so.
Do not be afraid to use common terms and phrases, like “see you later” or “let’s go for a walk” around people with disabilities.
Do not touch mobility devices or assistive technology without the owner’s consent.
Do not assume physical contact—like handshakes, high-fives, or hugs—is okay.
Understand that not everyone uses eye contact.

Blind or Low Vision

Be descriptive. Say, “The computer is about three feet to your left,” rather than “The computer is over there.”
Speak all of the projected content when presenting and describe the content of charts, graphs, and pictures.
When guiding people with visual impairments, offer them your arm rather than grabbing or pushing them.

Learning Disabilities

Offer directions or instructions both orally and in writing. If asked, read instructions to individuals who have specific learning disabilities.

Mobility-Related Disabilities

Consider carrying on a long conversation with an individual who has a mobility impairment from a seated position.

Speech-Related Disabilities

Listen carefully. Repeat what you think you understand and then ask the person with a speech impairment to clarify or repeat the portion that you did not understand.

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Face people with hearing impairments, and avoid covering your mouth, so they can see your lips. Avoid talking while chewing gum or eating.
Speak clearly at a normal volume. Speak louder only if requested.
Repeat questions from audience members.
Use paper and pencil, or type things out on your cell phone, if the person who is deaf does not read lips or if more accurate communication is needed.
When using an interpreter, speak directly to the person who is deaf; when an interpreter voices what a person who is deaf signs, look at the person who is deaf, not the interpreter.

Mental Health Conditions

Provide information in clear, calm, respectful tones.
Allow opportunities for addressing specific questions.

Additional Resources

The AccessADVANCE publication Equal Access: Making STEM Departments More Accessible to and Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities shares guidance on designing an inclusive STEM department. For more information about applications of universal design consult The Center for Universal Design in Education (CUDE). CUDE documents that may be relevant to your ADVANCE project (including those that apply to the design of meetings, professional organizations, conference exhibits, presentations, and online learning) can be found online on our website.

��ԭ�� AccessADVANCE

AccessADVANCE serves to increase the successful participation and advancement of women with disabilities in STEM faculty careers. The AccessADVANCE leadership team includes the following individuals:

��ԭ��
Sheryl Burgstahler, DO-IT Center
Cecilia Aragon, Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering
Brianna Blaser, DO-IT Center
Lyla Crawford, DO-IT Center

North Dakota State University
Canan Bilen-Green, Faculty Affairs and Equity
Cali Anicha, Research Associate
Mark Coppin, Disability Services

DO‑IT
Box 354842
��ԭ��
Seattle, WA 98195-4842
doit@uw.edu
www.uw.edu/doit/
206-685-DOIT (3648) (voice/TTY)
888-972-DOIT (3648) (toll free voice/TTY)
509-328-9331 (voice/TTY) Spokane
206-221-4171 (FAX)

Acknowledgments

Much of the content of this publication comes from an earlier document, Equal Access: Universal Design of Your Project, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education (FIPSE Grant #P116D990138-01) and the NSF (Cooperative Agreement #0227995). It is also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant # HRD-2017017 and HRD-2017054. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding sources.

Leading Practices for Improving Accessibility and Inclusion in Field, Laboratory, and Computational Science – A Conversation Series

eol — Tue, 31 May 2022 22:37:42 +0000

Practices for Improving Accessibility and Inclusion in Field, Laboratory, and Computational Science: A Conversation Series

Five webinar-style conversations featuring leading experts on accessibility and disability inclusion recorded between December 2021 and April 2022.

Long Description:

National Academies, December 16, 2021 - April 13, 2022
Five webinar-style conversations featuring leading experts on accessibility and disability inclusion recorded between December 2021 and April 2022.

External Resource Type:

Webinar

How can I use my learning management system to make my course more accessible to everyone?

eol — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 03:13:05 +0000

Steps to making an online course accessible include

Structuring content using headings,
Creating alt text for images,
Create meaningful hyperlinks,
Created structured lists,
Include table headers,
Captioning and audio-describing videos,
Uploading accessibly-formatted content, and
Using accessibility checkers to find barriers to accessibility.

Options in Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, and other learning management systems (LMSs) for making courses are described below.

Heading Structure (e.g., H1, H2, …)

This feature is made available by the rich-text editor on the content creator toolbar in your LMS to indicate the levels of all headings. Taking this step makes it possible for screen readers to share the semantic structure to a blind user who wishes to skim through the content to understand how it is organized.

Alt Text

A screen reader can’t interpret an image, but it can announce alternative text, or alt text, that a creator has provided for the image.
Alt text should be limited to 120 characters and describe content presented within the image. Decorative images should be marked as such. Within your LMS, you can use the rich-text editor for each page of content to select an image and provide alt text.

Smart Links

Include text that is meaningful for hyperlinks as screen readers allow a person who is blind to skim through a page and hear where the hyperlinks link to.
For all users, it is helpful to know where the link will take them without having to select the link.
Avoid using link text such as “click here” as this is vague and can become redundant.

Listing Tools

When authoring lists, using the correct tool in the rich-text editor to create structured bulleted or numerical lists will ensure lists are announced accurately by screen readers, with the number of items announced in the list.

Table Editing Tools

There are also special ways a table can be marked up to make it accessible to screen reader users. When including a table, be sure to use the table editing tools to identify the table header, this establishes a meaningful relationship between the heading cells and the data cells and will allow the screen reader to accurately announce the content.

Captioning

Captions in video presentations provide textual information for those who cannot access audio due to a disability, a noisy or noiseless environment, or other reasons.
YouTube and other video platforms often provide automatically generated captions, but these usually need to be edited to make them accurate.

Accessibility checkers in LMSs can identify some accessibility issues with attached documents used in a course; these include files formatted as PDFs, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint documents. Although an accessibility checker may identify a lack of heading structure, missing alt text, and other inaccessible formatting, most accessibility issues need to be addressed by a human editor.

For more information about IT accessibility, consult the UW Accessibility website.

The Mind Hears Blog: A Promising Practice in Building Community and Awareness

eol — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:49:28 +0000

Date Updated:

05/23/22

Deaf and hard-of-hearing academics face a lot of challenges in their work as well as challenges in advancement through academia. Over 15% of adults have significant hearing loss (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2021). However, due, at least in part, to ableism and lack of support, only 4% of faculty members report having a disability. These faculty members often report feeling isolated and like they are constantly reinventing the wheel; they often lack a community to help problem solve the removal of barriers in the workplace (Durban, 2021).

Ana Caicedo and Michele Cooke, two deaf/hard-of-hearing (HoH) tenured scientists at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, launched The Mind Hears in September 2018, as a means to create a community to learn from various deaf and hard of hearing academics, network, and share experiences and solutions to challenges they have encountered. The blog provides space for individuals to share frustrations and solutions as well discuss related topics. It also provides space for sharing writings and art from other deaf and hard-of-hearing authors and artists, as well as profiles of deaf and hard-of-hearing academics.

Their blog includes the following mission statement:

"Our experiences may differ, but as deaf/HoH academics, we have all continuously faced the challenges of succeeding professionally in environments designed for and by people without hearing loss. We have likely had markedly different access to resources and capacity for self-advocacy depending on our backgrounds and our current institutional organizations. Because hearing loss is often an invisible disability, we have seldom recognized each other and have consequently missed opportunities to learn effective strategies and solutions from each other. Through this blog we hope to reach deaf and hard-of-hearing academics all around the world, in order both to reduce isolation and build a community toolbox of resources and ideas. Hearing loss is variable and can affect us in many and different ways—but through this shared blog experience, we hope to provide something of value to all of those who visit and contribute to our discussions.”

Society often sees disability as a deficit—however, disabilities can result in unique strengths and skills. This blog showcases the work and accomplishments of deaf and hard-of-hearing people and creates a community of learners and supports networking. The Mind Hears is a promising practice in building community among deaf and hard-of-hearing academics and increasing awareness of the issues that they face in the academic environment.

For more resources on this topic, see The Mind Hears list of past blog posts or visit AccessADVANCE’s collections of resources on Faculty Networking and Disability Allyship and Culture.

References

Durban, E. (2021). Anthropology and ableism, American Anthropologist, 124(4), pp. 3-4.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, (2021). Quick statistics about hearing.

What institutional strategies can reduce barriers to academic STEM careers faced by women with disabilities?

eol — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:46:14 +0000

Date Updated:

05/23/22

Women with disabilities in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers face a variety of challenges. These are often related to institutional constraints (such as a lack of centralized funding, a need for campus-wide education and support on accommodations, or inflexible tenure tracks), biases (such as the belief that women with disabilities aren’t competent, faculty not being willing to change departmental methods, or departments not requesting or hiring accessibility experts), and individual constraints (such as women with disabilities often being made to feel like their needs create an inconvenience, expectations for women to take on more work than others, imposter syndrome, and difficulties with travel or conferences).

At the AccessADVANCE capacity building institute, STEM department staff and faculty came together to discuss solutions for all three of these issues. The following ideas were generated as ways that schools and departments could better support faculty with disabilities.

Track how many faculty members have disabilities and address disability in campus climate surveys. This step can lead to greater accountability for universities and departments. Keep in mind, however, that people may not disclose age-related disabilities and some may not even identify as having a disability.
Proactively work to promote disability inclusion. For example, at the ��ԭ��, within the Information Technology organization, multiple proactive practices are applied to ensure PDF documents are accessible, videos are captioned, and accessible technology is available to students, faculty, and staff.
Centralize services and funding for accessibility and accommodations. This saves time, cost, and risk by streamlining the process. This office could also be the unit tasked with encouraging the application of universal design to all campus offerings in order to make the entire campus more accessible and inclusive.
Use universal design checklists to create institutional change that is equitable; include universal design when designing facilities, courses, IT, and facilities.
Adopt the social model of disability and consider disability-related issues when discussing department successes and conducting individual performance reviews.
Create/update policies and procedures that support people with disabilities within departments that move beyond minimum compliance; it could include more funding and resources to support faculty requests.
Promote more widespread knowledge and connections with the nationwide networks of disability service centers in order to share knowledge, resources, and best practices.
Fund staff support to help ensure departmental websites, documents, videos, and course materials are accessible.
Provide training and education for human resources, faculty, support staff, and teaching assistants about their roles related to accessibility.
Increase equity by providing more staff support, teaching release, and summer funding for people with disabilities.
Offer opportunities for faculty members to learn ways to disclose their disabilities, negotiate accommodations, and build other self-advocacy skills.
Consider removing the expectation of negotiation: Allow faculty and staff to be offered all the resources and accommodations available, and let them turn down what they don’t need.
Provide a contingency fund to cover new challenges that arise unexpectedly.
Encourage funding agencies to think about the accessibility of the application process and provide the funding for disability accommodations into their published solicitation processes.
Increase awareness of NSF’s Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities.
Encourage universities to implement an institutional housework benefit for all faculty (see Housework Is an Academic Issue article).
Promote a faster accommodation system; keep in mind that faculty often have to switch buildings, rooms, and labs quickly from quarter to quarter and don’t have the time to wait weeks for accommodations at each location.

For more information on how to address access issues regarding faculty members with disabilities, check out AccessADVANCE's checklist Equal Access: Making STEM Departments More Accessible to and Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities or find more information and advice on these topics at the AccessADVANCE resources page.

DO-IT - AccessADVANCE

Disability Inclusion in the Ongoing Pandemic

Access issues for Faculty with Disabilities

What is "intersectionality" in the context of working with students who have disabilities?

AccessADVANCE: Making STEM Departments More Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities

Women with Disabilities in Academic Careers

Equal Access: Universal Design of Your ADVANCE Project

Legal Issues

Universal Design

Guidelines and Examples

Planning, Policies, and Evaluation

Information Resources and Technology

Project Facilities

Staff

Checklist Updates

Communication Hints

General

Blind or Low Vision

Learning Disabilities

Mobility-Related Disabilities

Speech-Related Disabilities

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Mental Health Conditions

Additional Resources

����ԭ�� AccessADVANCE

Acknowledgments

Leading Practices for Improving Accessibility and Inclusion in Field, Laboratory, and Computational Science – A Conversation Series

How can I use my learning management system to make my course more accessible to everyone?

Heading Structure (e.g., H1, H2, …)

Alt Text

Smart Links

Listing Tools

Table Editing Tools

Captioning

The Mind Hears Blog: A Promising Practice in Building Community and Awareness

References

What institutional strategies can reduce barriers to academic STEM careers faced by women with disabilities?

��ԭ�� AccessADVANCE