Library MTI – June 13, 2012 Marla Roll

I NTRODUCTIONS  Marla Roll, MS, OTR/L  Director, Assistive Technology Resource Center – (  Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy  Co-PI, ACCESS Project – Access to Postsecondary Education through Universal Design for Learning (

A GENDA  Brief Overview of legislative mandates  Disability demographics in higher education  Overview of ATRC and Assistive Technology examples

E QUAL ACCESS L EGISLATION :  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990  prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities.  Title II speaks to public universities  Rationale for services like RDS and ATRC   Revised Final ADA Regulation for Title II (Effective March 15th, 2011)  Auxiliary Aids – now speaks directly to electronic and info technology  Broadens how disability and major life activity is defined   Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973  prohibits discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance  Includes colleges and universities 

LEGISLATION (CON’T)  Section 508 of the Rehab Act  primarily a procurement law  Ensures that electronic and information technology can interact with assistive technology -  Standards Summary -  WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines  criteria for web-based information  developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the W3C  

D ISABILITIES :  Mobility Impairments  Blindness/Visual Impairments  Deafness/Hearing Impairments  Learning Disabilities  Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  Mental Illness 2/32/3

D ISABILITIES IN H IGHER E DUCATION  Nationally, 11.3% of undergraduates report some type of disability 1  At Colorado State University 2  8%–11% report a disability  Non-apparent disabilities are the largest proportion and growing  Even among students who say they have a disability, many do not seek accommodations  1 National Center for Education Statistics, 2008; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2009  2 Schelly, Davies & Spooner, Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability (Feb. 2011)

W HAT IS THE A SSISTIVE T ECHNOLOGY R ESOURCE C ENTER (ATRC)?  Role on campus: the ATRC seeks to ensure equal access to technology and electronic information for CSU students and employees with disabilities  Disability groups served – Students with Physical, Sensory, Non-Apparent impairments  Experiential learning of AT for OT students

ATRC AND O CCUPATION  The ATRC’s goal is to increase student participation in school- related activities and enhance academic performance.  Reading  Writing  Note-taking  Test-taking  Accessing computers and technology

AT S UGGESTIONS AT for students who :  1. have a physical impairment  2. are blind  3. have low vision  4. are hard of hearing  5. have non-apparent difficulties – writing, note- taking, studying, reading, organization  6. have Cumulative Trauma Disorders

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH P HYSICAL I MPAIRMENTS Accessible Computing Station may include the following: 1. Adjustable height table 2. Equipment within reach from chair level 3. Alternative keyboards 4. Alternative mice 5. Alternate input

AT FOR S TUDENTS WHO ARE B LIND  Hardware  Refreshable Braille Keyboard  Thermo Pen  Embossers  Talking Scientific Calculator  Talking Digital Book Players  Tactile Key Indicators  Software  Screen readers – JAWS

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH L OW V ISION  Hardware  CCTV/ Video magnifier  Large Print and Braille Labels for keyboard  Portable Magnifiers  Digital Book Players  Key Labels  Software  Built in Accessibility Options  Zoom Text

AT FOR S TUDENTS WHO ARE H ARD OF H EARING OR D EAF  Hardware   FM Systems   PocketTalker  Software   Captioning   Visual Notifications on the computer screen   CART (Communication Access Real Time Translation

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH W RITING D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT ) Software that includes the following features:  Word Prediction  Talking Dictionary  Translator  Dictation  Text to speech  Spell check  Mapping

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH N OTE T AKING AND S TUDYING D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT )  Portable Word Processors  Digital Voice Recorder  Live Scribe Pen  Software with note-taking, studying, and research features  Apps on iPad, Smartphones

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH R EADING D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT )  Digital Book Players  Speed reading software  Converting print to electronic format  Text to Speech  Adjusting visual layout  Scanning and Reading Pens  Portable Spell Checkers

AT FOR S TUDENTS WITH O RGANIZATION D IFFICULTY ( NON - APPARENT )  Low Tech  Checklists and day planners  Task sequencing lists  Alarms/timers on watch or cell phone  High Tech  Devices: computers, tablets, smartphones, PDAs  Software or Apps

AT FOR STUDENTS WITH C UMULATIVE T RAUMA D ISORDERS  Hardware  Ergonomic keyboards  Ergonomic mice  Wrist pads  Adjustable tables  Document holders  Adjustable monitors  Software  Word completion and word prediction software  Voice Recognition software

UDL – W HAT IS THE CONNECTION TO LEGISLATION ?  Legislation - speaks to individual accommodations but there are drawbacks:  Processes are more time consuming and costly to retrofit  Only addresses needs of an individual  Addresses access issues technically but not always functionally  UDL – designing for all types of users has benefits:  Building in access on the front end is more cost –effective  Has benefits for more people  UDL can decrease the need for individual accommodations

W HAT CAN CSU DO TO ENSURE ACCESS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ?  Provide accommodations  Provide assistive technology  Ensure content is designed with UDL and accessibility principles in mind  Buy accessible technology – consider accessibility in procurement

U NIVERSAL D ESIGN (UD)  Build in accessibility from the start  Curb cuts in city streets  Ramps and automatic door openers  TV closed captions  Ergonomic kitchen utensils  Everyone benefits from a more flexible, user-friendly environment  Fix the environment, not the individual  Building UD and UDL concepts into digital content will ensure access to content for students using AT

U NIVERSAL D ESIGN FOR L EARNING Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles and techniques for creating inclusive classroom instruction and accessible course materials. teaching technology “ ”

UDL & D IGITAL CONTENT :  PDF/ E- Reserves  Forms  Databases  E-Books  Others? Assistive Technology is only as good as the content it interacts with!!!

I NTERSECTION OF UDL AND AT :  Examples:  Captioning of multi-media – creates access for students with hearing impairments but also assists those that are visual learners or have auditory processing difficulties  Accessible PDF – ensures that students using screen readers or text to speech software will have full access  Designing digital content that is easy to navigate – assists students using screen reading software but also those who need simple & intuitive navigation due to LD or TBI  Accessible Word and Power point and HTML - ensures access for students using assistive technologies.  Provide content you teach in multiple formats – gives the user choice for how to interact with the content.

O THER R ESOURCES TO CONSIDER :  universal design of libraries checklist   Equal Access: Campus Libraries (video)  (DO-IT Project, University of Washington)  URL:  Disability awareness modules –   Tech modules 

C ONTACT INFO :  Marla Roll, MS, OTR/L