These videos address the growing need to make electronic content inclusive and usable for all users, including students who use assistive technology, students without disabilities who prefer to access content in alternative ways, and instructors who discover that inclusively designed documents are more useful, and easier to build and update.

In each video, speakers tell their stories, helping viewers understand their specific challenges. Students and faculty recount their experiences living with disabilities, using assistive technology, and building inclusive design solutions.

The following user stories represent the experiences of some people with disabilities. They do not address all disabilities or all impacts faced by people with disabilities. These and other disabilities may be present from birth or may develop as a results of an accident, illness, or aging.

1. Ade, reporter with limited use of his arms
2. Ian, data entry clerk with autism
3. Lakshmi, senior accountant who is blind
4. Lexie, online shopper who cannot distinguish between certain colors (color blindness)
5. Sophie, basketball fan with Down syndrome
6. Dhruv, older adult student who is deaf
7. Marta, marketing assistant who is deaf and blind
8. Stefan, student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia, and
9. Elias, retiree with low vision, hand tremor, and mild short-term memory loss.

Half of disabled college students in our survey weren’t diagnosed with their disability until college… Disability prevalence is far higher than expected, but many disabled students are not disclosing their disability status to their institutions, instructors, or even — for fully one-third of them — their peers and friends on campus.

Student identities are complex and many resist being described in just one way. Furthermore, the disabled student experience on campus is very different from the non-disabled student experience. Disabled students are less socially engaged, struggle with daily barriers, perceive their campus differently, feel isolated and misunderstood — and some decide to transfer or drop out as a result.

Students repeatedly told us that because of a lack of access and inclusion on campus and in classrooms, their grades suffered, they initiated transfer or withdrawal actions, or they questioned their self-worth and hopes and dreams for the future.

“The effort of maintaining a façade is exhausting, so in that respect being a student is quite tricky.” – Ethan, Ph.D. student on the autism spectrum

“I’ve had close friends tell me it doesn’t really seem like it’s a real thing. It does sound unbelievable if someone is in pain 24/7, [but] that doesn’t diminish the fact that people go through it.” – Elin, master’s student with fibromyalgia

“I think it would be really helpful if people stopped deciding that it’s up to them whether or not they think someone is disabled. Just because someone isn’t in a wheelchair doesn’t mean that they’re not allowed to use that facility.” – Ria, 3rd year student with POTS, colitis, anxiety and OCD

“Having people understand me is still something I’m not quite used to, but I feel like slowly, the world’s finally starting to understand what it’s like.” – Charlotte, 3rd year student on the autism spectrum

“What is assistive technology?”, “How does it work?”, “How can I make sure my content is accessible for people using assistive technology?”

These are questions we hear often at Digital Access. They are important questions for anyone aiming to design content that is accessible and Inclusive for people with disability.

To help provide some answers, we’re starting a series of informative videos showcasing different assistive technologies. In each video we chat to an assistive technology user to cover:

• What the assistive technology is
• A demonstration of how it helps them access content on the web
• Some common accessibility issues to consider

We modified websites on two dimensions: low vision accessibility and cognitive accessibility. Cognitive engagement is an individual’s active involvement in information processing. To measure cognitive engagement, we employ a multimodal data approach providing continuous and objective insights into how people explore websites enhanced with accessibility features. We triangulate self-reports and psychophysiological methods – eye-tracking and heart rate variability metrics – to understand how different accessibility features influence cognitive engagement during website exploration. ...

This study provides compelling evidence that accessibility features, such as cognitive enhancements and low vision adjustments, significantly improve cognitive engagement for all users, not just those with disabilities. Our findings demonstrate that web design practices focused on accessibility can enhance ambient/focal visual attention, sustain cognitive focus, and reduce mental fatigue for everyone, leading to a more inclusive and engaging user experience. By empirically validating these benefits through both subjective and objective measures, the study underscores the universal value of accessible design.

The best place to start with designing an accessible course is to think of ways to make your course accessible to all types of learners. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing curriculum in a manner inclusive of all types of learners, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender, cultural background, race, ethnicity, linguistic background, etc. A course that is universally designed will include multiple ways for students to receive information and demonstrate their learning… Invite students, via your syllabus and verbally in class, to meet with you to discuss disability-related accommodations and learning needs.