Bringing ERCs into the INCLUDES National Network (2019)

In ERC-INCLUDES, staff of ERCs and INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots (DDLPs), Alliances, and the Coordination Hub will engage to reach objectives to 

1. Integrate evidence-based broadening participation practices of INCLUDES into the ERCs,
2. Share ERC diversity activities and outcomes to inform research/practice of INCLUDES projects, and
3. Build a durable collaborative infrastructure for broadening participation in NSF-funded research through the engagement of ERCs with the NSF INCLUDES National Network.

ERC-INCLUDES project activities include the CBI, as well as a community of practice, a website, a multi-media repository of resources available to participants, and the development of a model for bringing a community of NSF-funded projects into the INCLUDES National Network:

ERC-INCLUDES is funded by the National Science Foundation as a supplement to an existing ERC, the Center for Neurotechnology (CNT), headquartered at the University of Washington in Seattle. The CNT has excelled in the ERC community at including individuals with disabilities, and individuals form other underrepresented groups in research, leadership, and education. The ultimate impact of ERC-INCLUDES will be to increase the successful participation of individuals with diverse characteristics in STEM and improve these fields with their unique perspectives and expertise.

8:00 – 9:00 am 
Light Breakfast and Networking

9:00 – 9:30 am 
Welcome, Introductions

Meeting Goal: Improve the accessibility of IT developed, procured, & used by public postsecondary institutions in Washington State

Objectives:

• Increase understanding of requirements of Policy #188 and successful practices
• Share progress and plans for implementing Policy #188
• Build relationships between Policy #188 coordinators

9:30 – 10:30 am 
Overview of Legal Foundation for Policy #188

Lessons Learned from Resolutions of Legal Challenges Regarding the Accessibility of IT at Other Schools

Progress at the UW

Q&A

10:45 – 12 noon 
Successful Practices and Lessons Learned in Implementing Policy #188—Each will speak up to 10 minutes about overall progress or a specific successful practice. Q&A for all will be at the very end.

• Amy Rovner, Shoreline Community College
• Craig Kerr, Edmonds Community College
• Monica Olsson, Tacoma Community College
• Ward Naf, Whatcom Community College

12:00 – 12:45 pm 
Lunch & Discussion: What challenges have you encountered in implementing Policy #188? What strategies, if any, have you found to overcome them?

Write responses on flip charts & handouts

1:00 – 1:30 pm
Discuss Outcomes from Lunch Discussion

1:30 – 2:15 pm
Small Group Discussions: How can campuses work together to implement Policy #188?

Write responses on flip charts & handouts

2:30 – 3:00 pm 
Report Out From Small Group Discussions

3:00 – 4:00 pm 
Successful Practices and Lessons Learned in Implementing Policy #188—Each will speak up to 10 minutes about overall progress or a specific successful practice. Q&A for all will be at the very end.

• Patrick Pow, University of Washington, Tacoma
• Bridget Irish, The Evergreen State College
• Carly Gerard, Western Washington University
• Gaby de Jongh, IT Accessibility Specialist

4:00 – 5:00 pm 
Further Discussion & Plans for the Future

Evaluation

What is (1) helping and (2) holding back your progress on implementing Policy #188?

Factors that promote IT accessibility efforts include the following:

• Access360 grants that offer a yearlong mentorship opportunity for cross-functional campus teams as they implement accessibility policies on a broad scale to effectively, efficiently and equitably serve students, employees and community members
• capacity building institutes that offer opportunities to talk more in depth about accessibility issues and find more resources
• strong support received from campus leadership, supervisors, purchasing, administration, faculty, and other groups
• trainings offered to staff and faculty
• ongoing engagement continued across campus through events, emails, workshops, reminders, and discussion groups
• resources offered by Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges, Accessible Technology Services, Disability Services, and other groups
• committees created to continue engaging on accessibility topics and push for change around campuses
• standards confirmed and stipulated in a method that is easy to understand, carry out, and enforce

Factors that hold IT accessibility efforts back include the following:

• inadequate numbers of staff members to tackle necessary tasks
• not enough people educated in accessibility issues
• lack of appropriate resources to share
• a procurement process that does not always consider accessibility when purchasing new hardware and software
• costs to make IT accessible that are higher than the institution or individual departments are willing to pay
• the State‘s lack of processes in place to enforce accountability practices
• staff and faculty that resist change or see accessibility as a disability services not an IT issue
• lack of mandatory IT accessibility trainings for all staff and faculty
• inadequate buy-in from leadership can make accessibility a lower priority
• inaccessible testing software and methods, creating a complication for faculty and students
• different website platforms that offer different accessibility features, thus making it difficult to train the average web developer or staff member on accessible practices

What are key steps you are planning to take to implement Policy #188, short term and long term?

Short term, we plan to

• set regular meeting schedule and invite new members to the Accessible Technology Team;
• keep stakeholders and others on campus informed on a quarterly basis, as well as share resources and awareness;
• determine spending costs on training options and create a schedule of training opportunities;
• reorganize the budget to include accessibility practices;
• select which staff can follow through with specific tasks and create an ongoing auditing process;
• review all policies and make sure all standards include accessibility; and
• update Canvas resources for faculty to include more demonstrable accessibility info.

Long term, we plan to

• follow through with scheduled, routine audits of accessibility;
• review and revise the accessibility plan to include specific language, suggestions for Benchmark Survey of Access360, an executive summary, a training schedule, and target deadlines;
• establish workflows for approving procurements, design, and modification of web applications;
• establish a team for testing applications and systems for compliance;
• identify stable, long-term funding for captioning, as well as assign staff to coordinate;
• identify staff to run training for accessible document creation and promote these trainings to faculty and staff. Offer PDF remediation and conversion to HTML for some;
• meet again after Policy #188 is updated;
• add accessibility knowledge to job descriptions;
• train web developers and publishers on WCAG;
• update procedures in October 2019 to match new WCAG 3.0;
• meet with leadership teams to help get buy-in and create higher priorities for accessibility;
• include students with disabilities who could assist in reviewing, testing, and developing accessible technology; and
• create a campus-wide plan for accessibility.

All participants shared promising broadening participation practices that could be implemented in ERCs, INCLUDES projects, and in institutions of higher education. Below, practices that could be implemented in these settings are grouped thematically.

Research and Impact

• Develop a theoretical framework for diversity and inclusion programs.
• Capitalize on existing models when developing your own programs.
• Create a system map of your diversity and inclusion programs. A system map is a visual description of the service technical organization: the different actors involved, their mutual links and the flows of materials, energy, information and resources throughout the system.
• Collect data on broadening participation programs and highlight the impact. In particular, consider longitudinal data collection that could demonstrate impact on STEM education and the workforce.
• Integrate STEM efficacy into evaluation activities.
• Collaborate with other projects and programs for collective impact.
• Include broadening participation in your research agenda.
• Incorporate climate surveys into existing evaluation efforts.
• Consider ways that cohort building can affect sense of belonging.
• Develop a shared language with STEM scholars and professionals.
• Develop data sharing agreements and strategies.
• Increase the number of workshops and INCLUDES conferences regarding collective impact, including the role of backbones, hubs, and participants.

Partnerships

• Improve REU recruitment through engagement with conferences like those of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and through state-level indigenous groups. Leverage connections while at meetings, bring students to these meetings, and engage consistently over time.
• Connect with NSF-funded INCLUDES, Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE), and Advancing Informal STEM Learning  (AISL) projects or other broadening participation projects on your campus.
• Develop a comprehensive list of potential stakeholders including individuals in community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority serving institutions, non-profits, and industry.
• Seek out the expertise of existing communities, programs and individuals that work with underrepresented populations. Leverage partnerships with existing, successful programs rather than developing your own programs from the ground up.
• Online meetings can allow you to engage with a wider set of stakeholders as compared to meeting solely in person.
• Consider student and faculty exchange programs with minority serving institutions for cultural competency development.
• Connect 2-year colleges to 4-year institutions for faculty development, and promote job opportunities at community colleges for graduate students.
• Partner with STEM education programs to evaluate their impact.
• Engage companies in your efforts and offer them many different types of opportunities for engagement with your students and activities.
• Develop communities of practice among your leadership to advance inclusive practices.

Mentoring, advising, coaching, and role models 

• Organize career panels for students from underrepresented groups, where students speak to faculty, staff, and other stakeholders about their experiences on campus.
• Plan programming for families as a way to support first generation college students, especially within communities where family involvement is a strong cultural norm. Encourage students to invite a family member and bring them to an event.
• Conduct assessments and evaluations of mentoring activities.
• Find role models for students in novel ways (e.g., leveraging social media). Encourage students to follow powerful role models on social media. An interesting social media relation gives students common ground and feelings of inclusion, in addition to inspiration in their field.
• Differentiate between advisors and mentors, and be sure students understand the roles and potential impact of all individuals available for support.
• Be mindful of the need for culturally representative mentoring for everyone (e.g., minority males in engineering).
• Have undergraduates shadow graduate students to better understand what graduate student life is like.
• Engage in community outreach where postsecondary students serve as role models to their communities.
• Hold listening sessions with communities that you work with in order to learn from them.

Dissemination, Promotion, and Marketing 

• Make websites, PDFs, and videos accessible to everyone. For example, caption videos, follow WCAG 2.0 guidelines for websites, and markup PDF files.
• Create a unified and shared platform or folder to share information with the entire community.
• Carefully consider strategies for publicizing your successes. Consider your target audience for each action, and be sure to speak to their interests and needs.
• Use an asset-based approach to community engagement.

Team building, training, and capacity building 

• Create a diversity and inclusion advisory board.
• Incorporate mentoring and coaching strategies into faculty professional development.
• Offer IT accessibility presentations to all faculty, staff & students and evaluate your website for accessibility.
• Utilize emeriti faculty as mentors.
• Ask leaders and faculty from underrepresented groups about their input around being a figurehead and managing minority initiatives. Consider whether the same people are repeatedly asked to get involved because of their identity.
• Increase educators’ awareness of practices that support minority male success in STEM.
• Connect with the Aspire Alliance to help develop inclusive faculty practice that addresses disability.
• Make connections to civil and social justice research projects.
• Consider diverse socio-economic perspectives.
• Find dynamic guest speakers or use TED-style presentations.
• Explore corporate funding for staff support.

Other interventions for students 

• Provide leadership opportunities for students.
• Conduct listening sessions to hear directly from engineering students.
• Provide professional development workshops to students. Topics could include confidence, leadership, grant-writing, and public speaking.
• Hold all students to high expectations.
• Volunteer together as a team-building strategy.
• Understand the cultural needs of your students and acknowledge that there are different ways of knowing.
• Reflect on ways that men can serve as allies to women in STEM.
• Encourage a growth mindset as a cultural norm within your project/institution.
• Leverage students’ altruistic motivations (social justice, improve humanity) to encourage STEM participation. Topics that bring a human impact aspect to engineering may attract diverse students.
• Connect STEM to everyday experiences and encourage students to learn about a variety of STEM fields.
• Consider ways to make REUs more accessible to wide groups of students – including students with families, students with disabilities, and students from varied cultural backgrounds.
• Review program admission policies and how they might affect diverse populations (e.g., discriminatory screening algorithms, majority-dominated selection committees).

CBI participants were presented the following question: What actions will you take in your project or at your institution given what you gained from this CBI? Their responses included the following:

• “This even gave me the opportunity to gain connections and start important conversations--I'd like to plan on extending those conversations and continuing to build our community and support systems. I'd also like to learn more about ERCS.”
• “We'd like to continue the discussion around accessibility and present on the subject to our Dean and colleagues. Then we can move forward with creating accessible materials and universally designed webpages.”
• “I want to coordinate with the disabilities office to ensure that my work spaces and labs are ready for all students. Ensure that our admissions process is accessible and inclusive for all.”
• “ Let us convene all colleagues at the University of Arizona to learn all the elements of successful ERCs and consider an ERC proposal. We will also explore the bios and projects of workshop participants in hopes of getting new ideas and finding potential collaborators, and share these ideas and diversity information with those within our program and school.”
• “Our team will work on digital accessibility, reviewing our website and captioning our videos. We also plan on connecting with people who could work with us on virtual tools for promoting inclusion and mentoring, including finishing the toolkit I am in the process of making.”
• “Our team is trying to incorporate universal design into all of our projects, as well as add videos from this conference onto our website. I want a diversity statement that includes requests for accommodations and to include people from diverse backgrounds into all of our work.”
• “My ERC student leadership council will be creating a training program for new students joining the ERC. Much of the information here will be useful as I help design the diversity and inclusion modules for this training- particularly the aspects of inclusion tip sheets presented. I also recognized challenges of mentoring compared to advising that are prevalent in my ERC.”
• “I am going to use the checklists to help prepare our graduate students and faculty for our summer programs, as well as review our websites and policies for accessibility. I also hope to collaborate with others on how to create a more inclusive environment and use universal design.”
• “I want to implement a mentorship program, follow more inclusive practices, collaborate with other INCLUDES projects, and share our inclusive strategic plan.”
• “We will review our diversity and inclusion policies and practices and create focus groups to discuss and create best practices.”
• “We will identify new resources and collaborate with others on inclusion.”
• “I will give explicit attention to accessibility in communications in various forms and consider how to make existing networks more visible or known to more broad audiences who could benefit from them. I also plan to observe ERC list to determine sites that connect to our INCLUDES work, be intentional about engaging families and communities in our work. Finally, I will look for ways to engage faculty in work to broaden participation, which will in turn develop allies and incorporate universal design into work and general education practices.”
• “I am in a course building phase in my new faculty position, so I will create accessible documents using the tips presented at the CBI. Our program/department is also in a rebuilding/branding phase so this information is timely in improving our program. I’m most excited about collaborations! I will follow-up with specific people/projects as it relates to teacher training opportunities and engineering education work.”
• “I plan on making our project more inclusive, creating more accessible websites/documents, and engaging with student families.”
• “I will share DO-IT’s videos and resources with my colleagues.”
• “I am going to work on developing an alumni network of PhDs to help with career exploration activities.”
• “I will work on student-led diversity initiatives and will use AccessERC to evaluate our new Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations (PATHS-UP) newsletter and website for accessibility compliances. Also, I will add AccessERC videos to PATHS-UP website and plan to review the mentoring resources mentioned here. This conference also gave me the opportunity to work with Sylvia Mendez on their program and work with Pam McLeod on inclusive resources.”
• “I want to work on making our own materials more accessible and share materials with others at my institution. I also plan to circle back with Scott and Sheryl on a couple of items where my experiences could benefit from additional insights and where they contradict materials presented. I will also work on planning cross-program interactions between students and improving inclusion of students from institutions in our program.”
• “I will examine my research labs for accessibility and add questions about special needs in the application to join my research group. Also, I will ask my students to identify, or draw my attention to anything that can make my class more accessible. Finally, I will try to be more affective/sensitive to others.”

CBI participants are welcomed into two CoPs:

ERC INCLUDES CoP​

ERC INCLUDES - This affinity group brings together individuals from NSF-funded Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) and individuals who work to lead and support NSF-funded INCLUDES initiatives. Members will share best practices that create a robust culture of inclusion and diversity in both programs. The group will address ways to make activities and resources accessible and inclusive; develop collaborations; collect and report data on diversity; and include people with diverse characteristics in leadership roles, research, and activities.

Individuals can join the ERC INCLUDES CoP by joining the NSF INCLUDES National Network.

AccessERC CoP

Populated with individuals who work at NSF-funded ERCs across the United States, members of the AccessERC Community of Practice (CoP)

• discuss how to recruit participants with disabilities and accommodate them in their programs and activities;
• recruit their student participants with disabilities into disability-related e-mentoring, internships, and workshops to complement their activities;
• discuss the implementation of universal design to make facilities, products, and activities more welcoming and accessible to individuals with disabilities;
• discuss best practices and resources identified at capacity-building institutes; and
• share ideas about seed grants, new initiatives, and lessons learned.

Individuals can join the AccessERC CoP by contacting doit@uw.edu. 

For information about other CoPs hosted by DO-IT, consult ​Communities of Practice on the DO-IT website.

ERC-INCLUDES partners with AccessERC to maintain a searchable database of frequently asked questions, case studies, and promising practices related to how educators and employers can fully include students with disabilities. The Knowledge Base is an excellent resource for ideas that can be implemented in programs in order to better serve students with disabilities. In particular, the promising practices articles serve to spread the word about practices that show evidence of improving the participation of people with disabilities in postsecondary education. 

Examples of Knowledge Base questions include the following:

• Are electronic whiteboards accessible to people with disabilities?
• Are peer review tools accessible?
• Are there computer keyboards designed to be used with only one hand?
• Are touch screens accessible?
• Do postsecondary institutions have to provide assistive technology (for example, screen enlargement or voice recognition software) to students with disabilities who enroll in distance learning courses?
• Does a postsecondary institution have to provide specific hardware or software (known as assistive technology) that an individual with a disability requests so that they can access information technology used on campus?
• Are funds available specifically for captioning?
• Are there any web-based tutorials on web accessibility?

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to propose questions and answers, case studies, and promising practices for the Knowledge Base. Contributions and suggestions can be sent to doit@uw.edu.

For more information on making your campus technology accessible and to learn more about accessible learning or universal design, review the following websites and brochures:

• The University of Washington’s hub for information on accessible technology, featuring how to create and develop accessible documents, videos, and websites, can be found here.
• Accessible University’s website featuring common web accessibility principles and solutions can be found here.
• A brochure on universally designing distance learning programs can be found on Equal Access: Universal Design of Distance Learning Programs​.
• A brochure on what accessible distance learning is and how it helps students can be found on Accessible Distance Learning.
• A brochure on why accessible web design matters, and some resources to make your website accessible, can be found on Accessible Web Design.

More information on universal design in education can be found at the Center for Universal Design in Education.

More information and resources for engineering research center accessibility practices can be found at the AccessERC website. Furthermore, information and resources for engineering education can be found at the AccessEngineering website.

What is meant by Neurodiversity and what do Neurodiverse students want?

Ronda Jenson, Northern Arizona University and Scott Bellman, NNL Project Director

Video Link (Length: 1:03:05)

As shared by Scott Bellman, DO-IT’s Neuroscience for Neurodiverse Learners (NNL) project provides hands-on experiences in neuroscience disciplines, networking opportunities, and resources to high school and early post secondary students. The project also provides resources for educators and stakeholders such as a website and online knowledge base, workshops, video productions, and publications.

Neurodiverse learners we work with in the NNL project face academic challenges related to specific learning disabilities (e.g., dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia), attention deficit disorders (ADD, ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Tourette syndrome, and other conditions impacting cognitive processing.

Within the NNL project, high school and early postsecondary students learn about and engage in scientific communication, social skills and teamwork, college preparation, leadership building, self-advocacy, neuroscience and neural engineering, and ethics related to emerging technologies.

NNL uses principles of universal design (UD) by proactively designing materials and activities that are accessible and inclusive for individuals with a broad range of characteristics, including disabilities. Below are examples of how we implement these principles:

• Offerings are available both on-site and online.
• All activities provide dedicated spaces for reflection and quiet.
• Materials are provided in a variety of formats, and captions are provided for videos and video conferencing activities.
• Students are offered multiple ways to engage in learning.
• Project staff prepare “social narratives” to describe what students can expect before an activity occurs, or before coming to campus. For example, prior to NNL's annual summer camp, students are sent images of the campus, buildings, and classrooms where they will be conducting work. The images are supplemented with descriptions of each space.

The project offers hands-on learning and student-guided learning. For example, during summer camp activities, students are asked about topics they would like to explore, and then the topics are added to the camp curriculum. Such student-driven topics have included the effect of meditation on the brain, the impact of music on the brain, and neuroscience in movies. 

The project promotes near-peer leaders, defined as neurodiverse STEM students who are slightly older than our main project participants. Near-peer leaders are very effective at helping students navigate the learning content, participate in discussions, and engage in activities.

Another project that focuses on neurodiverse students is the Discover Your Unique Advantage in STEM (DYNA STEM) project. DYNA STEM has gathered information to elevate the voices of 21 neurodiverse undergraduate students in STEM across three states: Arizona, Missouri, and Ohio. The project encourages developing an understanding of universal design, adult learning principles, trauma-informed approaches, and embracing intersectionality. It offers the following suggestions for STEM educators:

• Acknowledge undergraduate students as adult learners who bring diverse learning histories to the classroom.
• Acknowledge that learning histories may be positive, negative, or indifferent.
• Acknowledge the intersectionality of cultural backgrounds, identities, and personal histories.
• Acknowledge differences in the ways undergraduate students perceive, approach, and interact with new information and skills.

The students who engaged with DYNA STEM shared what they want in education settings:

1. Specific, clear instructions
2. Flexibility for self-guided learning
3. Balance of peer learning, hands-on, and direct instructions (aka-not just lecture or not just group project)
4. Choice: Options to choose and not choose activities or steps
5. Visuals and graphics, not just text-based
6. Opportunities to be creative
7. Clear, logical applications to real-world STEM work
8. Sensory stimuli focused on specific tasks
9. Physical space options for standing and sitting, with options for orientation in the space
10. Clear social expectations

Through interactions with neurodiverse students, educators are encouraged to explore the following questions:

• What does intersectionality mean to undergraduate neurodiverse students?
• In what ways do we acknowledge neurodiverse undergraduate students as adult learners?
• What can we do to show respect for the trauma-histories neurodiverse undergraduate students may have?

How Can Universal Design Impact Neurodiverse Learners?

Sheryl Burgstahler, NNL PI 

Video Link (Length: 1:00:52)

An inclusive environment embraces all potential participants who meet requirements with or without accommodations and makes sure everyone feels respected and engaged. Ability exists on a continuum, where all individuals are more or less able to see, hear, walk, read printed material, communicate verbally, tune out distractions, learn, or manage their health. This is also true of abilities related to neurodivergence, such as learning differences and differences in cognitive processing–such differences exist on a continuum.

Most disabilities of neurodiverse learners have invisible disabilities—meaning they aren't obvious to most people—and many students don’t report their disabilities to postsecondary disability service offices. Regardless, we want to ensure that students have access to the classes and labs we teach, as well as the learning resources we share. 

Students’ identities are also multi-faceted, which means we must take an intersectional approach that acknowledges that some students are from more than one underrepresented group. Students who are neurodiverse may also identify as black or African American, a woman, or other minority identities. It is important to listen to students and to be sensitive to their identities and ways they have been discriminated against.

How society views disability has changed throughout the years. People with disabilities historically have been eliminated or excluded from society, segregated from the general population, aimed to be cured, rehabilitated, accommodated, and finally, accepted and included as they are. The modern approach has its roots in social justice and aims to allow all people to feel included, including those with disabilities.

There are two approaches for making college and university campuses accessible: accommodations and universal design (UD). Accommodations are reactive and address the inaccessible features of a product or environment to make it more accessible to a particular individual (e.g., captioning a video when a student with a hearing impairment requests it). Universal design is a proactive approach for creating a product or environment accessible to the most diverse group possible (e.g., captioning all videos by default). A building with stairs at the entrance and a separate ramp for people with wheelchairs is technically accessible, while a building with a single entrance that everyone can use is universally designed.

Universal design doesn’t just help people with disabilities—sloped entrances help people moving carts, and captions help those learning English or in noisy environments, as just a few examples. Universally designed technology should have built-in accessibility features and ensure compatibility with assistive technology.

UD is an attitude that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. It can be implemented incrementally, focuses on benefits to all students, promotes good teaching practice, does not lower academic standards, and minimizes the need for accommodations. UD can be applied to all aspects of learning, including class culture and climate, physical environments, delivery methods, products, and information resources, delivery of feedback, and assessments. 

To review an easy to use checklist, visit Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction. For more tips, you can follow the 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course.

Disability Representation in the Media

Kayla Brown, DO-IT Project Coordinator

Video Link (Length: 0:30:32)

Media representation is the way in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, and experiences. This includes the accuracy of portrayals, the diversity of perspectives, and whether those portrayals perpetuate negative stereotypes. It's not just about quantity—it's about quality. This session explored common tropes in the media about disability and examined examples of neurodivergent characters.

Examining the media is important because television and movies influence the way people think. If portrayals exhibit negative stereotypes, this will affect how we see groups of people as a whole. One unique aspect of many neurodiverse characters is that they are coded as having a disability. Coding characters means that they are written in a way to imply something about them, such as having a disability. A character may have the behavior of someone with autism, but it is not confirmed explicitly through dialogue or from the writers. 

If we can increase the number and quality of media representation of people with disabilities, we can begin to introduce the world to more accurate depictions of people with disabilities. We can start a real conversation about disabilities and establish points of reference for it. In this way, fictional characters in television and movies have the power to alter prevailing ideologies and attitudes in society.

Accessible Technology for Neurodiverse Learners

Gaby de Jongh, University of Washington

Video Link (Length: 0:52:09)

Accessible electronic and information technology can be used by people with a wide variety of abilities and disabilities and incorporate the principles of universal design. Assistive technology can maintain or improve functionality and provide numerous benefits to neurodiverse learners by addressing specific learning needs, supporting strengths, and promoting independence. Assistive technology helps remove barriers to learning by providing accessible alternatives to traditional methods. It can accommodate various learning styles, sensory sensitivities, and physical challenges, ensuring equal access to educational materials and opportunities.

Assistive technology should be selected based on individual needs and preferences, and it should be accompanied by appropriate guidance and support from professionals and educators to ensure effective training and implementation. There are many examples of assistive technology that may benefit neurodiverse learners:

• Social communication aids, such as social skill training apps, video modeling tools, or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices
• Social engagement opportunities and classes or discussions on communication skills
• Text-to-speech software that reads text aloud, making it easier to comprehend and process information--text-to-speech software can adapt to the specific needs, preferences, and pace of neurodiverse learners, which allows for individualized instruction, customization of learning experiences, and easier engagement
• Visual schedules, reminders, task managers, and digital planners that help learners stay organized, manage time effectively, and improve executive functioning abilities
• Noise-canceling headphones, ambient sound generators, or apps that block distractions, enhance concentration, and create a more conducive learning environment
• Sensory-friendly interfaces, adjustable lighting, and/or noise reduction options create a more comfortable and inclusive learning environment

Stakeholder groups represented in the CBI included

• disability student service leaders and administrators,
• postsecondary IT professionals, and
• Policy #188 coordinators.

The following individuals participated in the CBI.

Ana Thompson
UW Bothell

Anna Marie Golden
University of Washington

Ashley Magdall
University of Washington Bothell

Bridget Irish
The Evergreen State College

Carly Gerard
Western Washington University

Curtis Perera
Bellingham Technical College

Dale Coleman
Tacoma Community College

Dan Comden
University of Washington

Danny Messina
Eastern Washington University

David Engebretson Jr.
Western Washington University

Doug Hayman
University of Washington

Gaby de Jongh
University of Washington

Hadi Rangin
University of Washington

Ian Campbell
University of Washington

Jeane Marty
UW Bothell

Jessica Carey
Clover Park Technical College

Joel Gavino
Pierce College

Joetta Sieglocki
Eastern Washington University

Justin Busby
Yakima Valley CC

Karla Ealy-Marroquin
WSU Spokane Health Sciences

Kathleen chambers
North Seattle College

Linda Schoonmaker
Big Bend Community College

Lora Allen
Big Bend Community College

Lyla Crawford
University of Washington

Marisa Hackett
Renton Technical College

Mary Gerard
Bellingham Technical College

Max Bronsema
Western Washington University

Rose Madison
Everett Community College

Ryan Leisinger
WA State

Sheryl Burgstahler
University of Washington

Susie Hawkey
University of Washington

Terrill Thompson
University of Washington

The Washington State Accessible IT Capacity Building Institute on Policy #188 was funded by Access Technology Services at the University of Washington. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the CBI presenters, attendees, and publication authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Washington.

Accessible Technology Services
University of Washington
Box 354842
Seattle, WA 98195-4842
www.washington.edu/accessibility/
doit.uw.edu/
206-685-3648 (voice/TTY)
888-972-3648 (toll free voice/TTY)
206-221-4171 (FAX)
509-328-9331 (voice/TTY) Spokane

© 2018 University of Washington. Permission is granted to copy this publication for educational, noncommercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.