Using AI to Support Students with Disabilities

This report shares findings from Ontario postsecondary students and staff about how generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly are used to support learning, with a focus on accessibility for students with disabilities and the need for clearer policies and training.

This talk by Brenda McDermott of the University of Calgary highlights how generative AI tools like ChatGPT, OtterAI, and AI-driven transcription blend flexibility, personalization, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to help students with disabilities engage, comprehend, and succeed in higher education.

Hume is an AI platform that specializes in text-to-speech (TTS). Hume AI offers advanced “empathic voice” and emotion-recognition models—like Octave and EVI 3—that generate emotionally nuanced speech and analyze emotional cues in voice, text, and video, enabling more human-like, context-aware AI interactions.

ElevenLabs delivers ultra-realistic, AI-powered text-to-speech and conversational voice tools—supporting over 70 languages and natural emotional delivery—to enhance accessibility for users with visual impairments, reading difficulties, or language barriers.

In this episode of Tea for Teaching, a live panel from the November 2024 OLC Accelerate conference explored how generative AI intersects with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to enhance equity and access in higher education. Panelists Liz Norell, Sherri Restauri, and Thomas Tobin share practical strategies, institutional examples, and policy considerations for using AI to support learners with varying needs.