Students with Differences

and Residence LifeShane Young

Student Engagement Graduate AssistantTwitter: ShaneYoung15

Demographics• Nearly 1 in 5 Americans have a disability

o 56.7 million in 2010 or roughly 18.7% of the civilian population

Types of Disability• Visual

o Blindness, low vision, or color blind• Auditory

o Hearing loss of different degrees and types• Motor

o Resulted from injury, disease, or other conditions typically effect movement

• Cognitiveo Memory, problem-solving, comprehension, and attention

Source: Fleming (2013)

Visual

Visual Cont.

Consider Visual Differences

• Try looking at the documents in greyscale• Try to use darker colors for text and lighter colors

for backgrounds (this sentence is an example)• Make sure you TALK to your residents about

programs in case they cannot fully see your advertising

Consider Auditory Differences

• How often do you consider or ask if you need to turn on subtitles for videos/movies?

Consider Motor Differences

• Not all motor differences involve a wheelchair• Considers roles and responsibilities within

programs to include students who may have motor differenceso Referee, judge, host?

• Is program location easily accessible?

Consider Cognitive Differences

• Who has ever had the “Let’s wing it” mentality?o Lack of clarity/direction from you- translates to similar experiences for

attendees• Structure matters• Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning etc…

o Lecture by professor

Academic Support Center

• This is the resource that students who have a documented difference utilize here at the college

• They offer services such as distraction-free environments for testing, extended time for tests, or use of adaptive equipment for course materials

• Where are they located?o 2nd Floor of Regina

• Check out this link for contact information on the staff members that work thereo If you have questions, reach out to them. They ARE the experts.

Ways to be Accessible• Use the Styles feature on Microsoft Word

o Easy to understand and pre-creates document sections

• Accessibility Checkero File > Check for Issues> Check for Accessibility o Available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and some other softwares

Ways to be Accessible Continued

References• Fleming, Colleen. (2013). Ensuring Accessibility in Online Education. [PowerPoint

slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/colleenfleming/ensuring-accessibility-in-online-education