Personal Experience

Adaptive technology and digital accessibility are topics that I continue to greatly considered. This is due to my personal experience having a learning disability and my professional experience as inclusive worker & special needs caregiver. Due to my ADHD diagnosis, technology has always been a “problem” area for me. Not only does technology distract me because I loose focus easily, but I also end up forgetting the task I am trying to complete and end up researching say “flights to Hawaii”. Whereas, digital accessibility for me looks like being allowed to use my laptop during lectures to copy and paste the slides prior to the lesson and reading over them. Instead of being expected to listen actively, take notes, and not get distracted by peers.

Photo showing brain map of someone with ADHD
Image of ADHD Brain Paths. Photo by https://www.additudemag.com/stop-procrastinating-tips/

Professional Experience

In my professional domain, I have worked with countless adaptive technologies as a: caregiver, inclusion worker, high-incident room EA, summer camp inclusion worker, and outdoor preschool teacher. This ranged from students having iPads, communication devices, specialized wheelchairs, eye trackers, high-tech wheelchairs etc… Below I will include some images of a motorized wheelchair that is connected to a ACC devices. There are countless features he can use since he is mostly non-verbal. If you want to know more about his journey with navigated the education field and walking, please watch this beautiful video his family created.

(I have parent permission for these pictures)

These pictures of wade who I worked with for 5 years as a family caregiver
Video of my client’s inspirational journey graduating high school.

Is all tech inclusive?

Though these technologies help to “include” students and give them some autonomy, that does not mean the classroom itself or teaching style considered digital technology. Even images found can not be inclusive, due to to way information is presented. For instance the image I’ve include below is considered accessible because:

  • The contrast is visible
  • The colours help separate ideas
  • There is both images and text included
  • I have included the related copyright info

Accessible Photo

Building web accessibility by considering different types of disabilities. 2020. By Apurva Shah
Alison Sizer

Are there any digital accessibility practices that you often see being missed? Are there any that you know YOU often miss?

In regards to digital accessibility practices that I often miss or see missed is: simply using closed caption for videos, movies, TedTalks, etc. The reason I forget to include closed captions is with my ADHD diagnosis, watching a video, listening to the sound, and trying to look at the caption is EXTREMELY distracting. So I focus on watching just the images and trying to listen to the audio. Even though that works for me, it doesn’t mean every student benefits from that practice. Thus, not just assuming that everyone benefits from subtitle will important in my practicum and professional life. With that being said, having options for closed captions or other inclusive digital accessibility needs to be prioritized. To practice this, I will be included a video below where I have added subtitles for the viewer.

Why do you think many digital accessibility practices aren’t more well-known ?

Well there are countless reasons this can be explained simply with an equity framework, but I will focus on 5 common misconceptions that we discussed this week.

  • People think assistive technology is cheating
  • Assistive technology is expensive
  • Assistive technology is more work for the teacher
  • Assistive Technology is seen as only for students with significant or severe disabilities
  • Assistive Technology is seen as only used in the classroom.
Digital Inclusion. by https://commonlook.com/events/introduction-to-digital-inclusion/

(See Rich’s Post for an in-depth description of each misconceptions)

Though we know these are myths and there are ways to make technology inclusive and affordable, society still holds bias and judgement.

Accessible Video