What is Critical Disability (Dis-Crit)/Accessibility/Anti-ableist Pedagogy?
In this short video, FCIP Anti-Oppressive Pedagogies Specialist Justin D. Wright provides a brief introduction to Critical Disability Pedagogy.
Critical Disability/Accessibility/Anti-ableist Pedagogy seeks to acknowledge and validate the challenges those with impairments and disabilities face daily. An important part of the justice aspect of this framework is that we should acknowledge that simply going by what is legally and medically defined as a ‘disability’ is not enough. We should account for the full range of impairments, be they physical, mental, neurological, or otherwise. In this field, it’s about going beyond what is required and defined that truly validates and acknowledges the struggles, experiences, and overall lives of those with disabilities.
How do we understand Critical Disability (Dis-Crit)/Accessibility Pedagogy in the Ignatian context at LUC?
See Mission and Vision page of the Loyola Student Accessibility Center
- Empower students with diverse needs by enhancing their self-awareness, self-determination, and self-advocacy.
- Promote awareness of the needs of students with disabilities and encourage the Loyola community at large to respect and care for everyone.
- Create inclusive physical, academic, and social environments by engaging and supporting the campus community to reduce barriers for students with disabilities.
- Improve the recruitment, transition, retention, and graduation of students with disabilities.
- Ensure the effective delivery of reasonable academic and Residence Life accommodations under Section 504 and the ADA.
- Partner with faculty and staff to provide opportunities for collaboration, professional development, personal growth, and staff interaction as they relate to students with disabilities.
What are the key tenets of Critical Disability (Dis-Crit)/Accessibility Pedagogy?
- Provide access to students with all types of impairments.
- Physical, mental, neurological, or otherwise.
- Variety in the ways students can interact with coursework and academic materials.
- Expansion of the understanding of “disability” beyond what is merely medically or legally defined.
- Awareness of the challenges those with disabilities and impairments face daily.
- Constant self-reflection and criticism are needed to employ this pedagogy’s continual success.
What are some resources?
Texts/Manuscripts/Articles/Journals
B/LV Laboratory Accessibility Technology Adapted for Neurodiverse Chemistry Students
- Text-to-speech (TTS) technology is a common accommodation available for students with disabilities. Despite the ubiquitous nature of TTS, this technology has not been explored in laboratory settings for neurodiverse college students. This study explores the adaptability of laboratory accessible TTS technology (originally developed for blind/low vision (B/LV) students) for neurodiverse students.
Effects of Item Modifications on Test Accessibility for Persistently Low-Performing Students with Disabilities
- Construct-irrelevant cognitive complexity of some items in the statewide grade-level assessments may impose performance barriers for students with disabilities who are ineligible for alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards. This has spurred research into whether items can be modified to reduce complexity without affecting item construct. This study uses a generalized linear mixed modeling analysis to investigate the effects of item modifications on improving test accessibility by reducing construct-irrelevant cognitive barriers for persistently low-performing fifth-grade students with cognitive disabilities.
Evaluating the Accessibility of Web-Based Instruction for Students with Disabilities.
- This paper presents the methods and results of a year-long evaluation study, conducted to determine disability accessibility barriers and potential solutions for those barriers found in four World Wide Web-based learning environments.
If You Build It, They Will Come (And persist): Exploring Learning Accessibility for Students with Disabilities in the Ontario College System
- Ontario's colleges accept learners with many backgrounds, experiences, and academic needs. Students with disabilities are a growing and diverse population. This article explores whether the Ontario College system is equipped to provide for this ever-growing population of students or not.
Mathematics instructors’ awareness of Accessibility barriers for disabled Students
- In this paper, the author discusses the results of a staff survey on accessibility barriers to participation and success for disabled students in higher education in the UK and Ireland. Focus on the range and complexity of student difficulties encountered by staff involved in the lecture of mathematics or the provision of Mathematics Learning Support.
Nothing About Us Without Us: Practical Strategies for Accessible Pedagogy
- This chapter explores practical strategies based on the lived experiences of the authors, who are disabled graduate instructors.
Towards a pedagogy of accessibility: The need for critical learning spaces in media accessibility education and training
- Until now, the debate on education and training in accessibility has largely ignored the core competences of the accessibility expert, as it has tended to focus exclusively on context-and field-related skills.The article contributes to such a reflection by advancing and discussing the inclusion of critical learning spaces within vocation-and research-oriented courses. Using the critical lens of accessibility studies, the article also investigates whether education and training in audiovisual translation and media accessibility have been mostly dominated by some discriminatory normative frameworks, such as the medical model of disability, and how this is influenced by and in turn influences practices.
Transcripts and Accessibility: Student Views from Using Webinars in Built Environment Education
- Transcripts and captions make videos more accessible to everyone. However, the time and resources required for manual transcription are a known barrier in creating accessible videos. This paper presents a small study where students (283) and tutors (27) reported their views on automatic transcriptions for recorded webinar videos
What are other universities doing?
ASU- Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services
Learn more in the following link: ASU- Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services
Rush University- Office of Student Accessibility Services
Learn more at: Rush University- Office of Student Accessibility Services
University of Chicago- Student Disability Services
Learn more at: University of Chicago- Student Disability Services
University of Rochester- Universal Design for Learning
- The three research-based principles of UDL provide a framework for optimizing learning for all students. Learn more at University of Rochester- Universal Design for Learning
University of Washington- Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology
- Provides various resources and opportunities for students to learn about/utilize resources that sponsor and support equal opportunities for disabled/impaired students on campus. Learn more at the University of Washington- Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology
Critical Disability/Accessibility/Anti-ableist Pedagogy seeks to acknowledge and validate the challenges those with impairments and disabilities face daily. An important part of the justice aspect of this framework is that we should acknowledge that simply going by what is legally and medically defined as a ‘disability’ is not enough. We should account for the full range of impairments, be they physical, mental, neurological, or otherwise. In this field, it’s about going beyond what is required and defined that truly validates and acknowledges the struggles, experiences, and overall lives of those with disabilities.