Understanding Accessibility Challenges: Student Perspectives

When we understand the challenges a student with a disability goes through and know that we have the ability to remove barriers, it can provide motivation for implementing better accessibility.

Disability Etiquette

What do you call a person with a disability? A person.

A person with a disability is a person first, the disability does not define the person.

Rather than asking a student if they have a disability, it is more appropriate to ask the student what challenges they are experiencing and refer the student to Mt. SAC ACCESS (Accessibility Resource Centers for Students).

Here is a summary of the 10 Commandments of Communicating with People with Disabilities.

Speak directly to the person, rather than through a companion or sign language interpreter.
Always offer to shake hands when introduced.
Always identify yourself, and others who may be with you, when meeting someone who is blind.
If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen, wait, or ask for instructions.
Treat adults as adults.
Do not lean against or hang on someone's wheelchair or cart. Bear in mind that people with disabilities treat their chairs as extensions of their bodies.
Listen attentively when talking with people who have difficulty speaking. And wait for them to finish.
Place yourself at eye level when speaking with someone in a wheelchair or on crutches.
Tap a person who is deaf on the shoulder, or wave your hand to get his or her attention.
Relax. Don't be embarrassed if you happen to use common expressions that seem to relate to a person's disability.

Video Resources

The following video from Portland Community College captures the difficulty students with physical disabilities have with accessing web content.
Here is a video that features faculty and students with disabilities in higher education. (5:58 minutes)A Personal Look at Accessibility in Higher Education.
"From Where I Sit" is a video series in which eight California State University students with disabilities share their experiences in the college classroom. They also provide suggestions on how to interact with students who face similar challenges. Faculty responses are included. Students tell their stories by answering five questions:
1. what is your disability?
2. what made you decide to come to college?
3. what is it like in the classroom
4. what do you have to do to keep up with class?
5. what suggestions can you offer to faculty that will make their classroom more accessible?
Please watch this TED Talk by Elise Roy to help you make this shift:

This video is closed captioned. If you would prefer to view it while reading, please see the Interactive Transcript of Roy's presentation, When we design for disability, we all benefit.