Preconference

Disabilities and Universal Design in Academia

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Abstract

Approximately 25% of adults in the United States report living with at least one disability, including approximately 20% of undergraduate students, 12% of graduate students, and 30% of the professional workforce. However, many people with disabilities do not report their status (~39%) due to fears of teasing, harassment, discrimination, and negative impacts on interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, some people with disabilities are denied accommodation. Consequently, many people needlessly struggle navigating their coursework and/or career.

The goal of universal design is to foster an environment that can be fully accessed, understood, and used by all people regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. This idea can be applied to the physical environment (e.g., facilities), tools (e.g., font size, color, or type on reading materials and presentations), or daily structure or design (e.g., flexible scheduling). In this manner, work and school can become more accommodating to everyone including people who have not requested accommodations, are awaiting a decision, or have been denied accommodations.

This session aims to describe some of the more commonly experienced disabilities, myths regarding disability, and foster discussion for implementing universal design in the classroom for lectures, laboratories, assessments, and in the workplace.