People can best help dyslexic students once they understand dyslexia's association with anxiety and effective coping strategies, both cognitively and emotionally. By highlighting the perspectives of dyslexic students, this book evidences the prevalence of anxiety in dyslexic communities. The shared experience from a range of dyslexic learners pinpoints best practice models and helps combat the isolation felt by many with learning difficulties. The author targets academic areas where students struggle, offering techniques to overcome these barriers. Such obstacles are not always due to cognitive factors but may be associated with negative experiences, leading to fear and uncertainty. Recounting these sticking points through student voices, rather than from a staff viewpoint, enables readers to find meaningful solutions to dyslexia-related problems. Through this dynamic methodology, the book shows researchers and practitioners how to understand dyslexic needs on an emotional level, while presenting dyslexic readers with practical coping methods.
In Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education, Sheryl Burgstahler provides a practical, step-by-step guide for putting the principles of universal design into action. The book offers multiple ways to access, engage with, and transform the higher education environment: making physical spaces welcoming to students of all abilities; creating digital learning and assistive technology programs that meet the needs of all users; developing universal design in higher education (UDHE) syllabi, assessments and teaching practices that minimize the need for academic accommodations; and institutionalizing universal design supports and services. A follow-up to Universal Design in Higher Education, Burgstahler's new book will be a valuable resource for leaders, faculty, and administrators who are interested in acquiring the tools needed to create barrier-free learning environments. Filled with applications, examples, recommendations, and above all, a framework in which to conceptualize UDHE, this volume will help educators meet the design needs of all students and honor the principles of diversity and inclusivity.
Higher education institutions continue to address an increasingly complex set of issues regarding equity, diversity and inclusion. Many institutions face mounting pressure to find innovative solutions to eliminate access, participation, and achievement barriers as well as practices that impede retention and graduation rates in higher education. This volume provides educators with a global understanding of the challenges associated with the growing diversity of student identities in higher education and provides evidence-based strategies for addressing the challenges associated with implementing equity and inclusion at different higher education institutions around the world.
Academic Ableism brings together disability studies and institutional critique to recognize the ways that disability is composed in and by higher education, and rewrites the spaces, times, and economies of disability in higher education to place disability front and center. For too long, argues Jay Timothy Dolmage, disability has been constructed as the antithesis of higher education, often positioned as a distraction, a drain, a problem to be solved. The ethic of higher education encourages students and teachers alike to accentuate ability, valorize perfection, and stigmatize anything that hints at intellectual, mental, or physical weakness, even as we gesture toward the value of diversity and innovation. Examining everything from campus accommodation processes, to architecture, to popular films about college life, Dolmage argues that disability is central to higher education, and that building more inclusive schools allows better education for all.
Create campuses inclusive and supportive of disabled students, staff, and faculty Disability in Higher Education: A Social Justice Approach examines how disability is conceptualized in higher education and ways in which students, faculty, and staff with disabilities are viewed and served on college campuses. Drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks, research, and experience creating inclusive campuses, this text offers a new framework for understanding disability using a social justice lens. Many institutions focus solely on legal access and accommodation, enabling a system of exclusion and oppression. However, using principles of universal design, social justice, and other inclusive practices, campus environments can be transformed into more inclusive and equitable settings for all constituents. The authors consider the experiences of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities and offer strategies for addressing ableism within a variety of settings, including classrooms, residence halls, admissions and orientation, student organizations, career development, and counseling. They also expand traditional student affairs understandings of disability issues by including chapters on technology, law, theory, and disability services. Using social justice principles, the discussion spans the entire college experience of individuals with disabilities, and avoids any single-issue focus such as physical accessibility or classroom accommodations. The book will help readers: Consider issues in addition to access and accommodation Use principles of universal design to benefit students and employees in academic, cocurricular, and employment settings Understand how disability interacts with multiple aspects of identity and experience. Despite their best intentions, college personnel frequently approach disability from the singular perspective of access to the exclusion of other important issues. This book provides strategies for addressing ableism in the assumptions, policies and practices, organizational structures, attitudes, and physical structures of higher education.
This book is for higher education faculty and staff who wish to deepen their approach to mentoring all students, but it is especially concerned with "outsider" students--those who come from groups that were long excluded from higher education, and who have been marginalized and minoritized by society and academia. Mentoring is difficult work for an abundance of reasons, and--given higher education's troubled history of exclusion, as well as a contemporary context fraught with social and power imbalances--it can be especially challenging when the mentorship takes place across dimensions of difference such as social class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, or ability. Mutuality, Mystery, and Mentorship in Higher Education examines the seemingly spontaneous and serendipitous connection between mentor and prot g , and points to a new vision of mentorship based on a deep sense of reciprocity between the two. Hinsdale proposes that if more mentors take a responsive, decolonizing approach to their work across difference, then the promise of social and class mobility through education might be realized for more of our students and the tide might begin to turn toward an increasingly inclusive, intellectually open academy.
Access to university is a right for all people; however, access to higher education for people with disabilities is still a challenge. The present study, based on a systematic review of the literature, aims to report on the challenges faced by students with disabilities in accessing and participating in higher education. The systematic review of four databases resulted in 20 studies published between 2011 and 2021. The results indicate that students with disabilities face numerous challenges in accessing university education. Based on the results, strategies are proposed in order to provide equal opportunities and success in higher education for students with disabilities.
In higher education, we are reckoning with the ramifications of our exclusive history but do not seem to know how to include disability in these efforts. Like other systems, higher education is built upon institutionalized ableism. Ableism is a system that advantages nondisabled people and centers their experiences. For example, campuses often have limited accessibility. Perhaps wheelchair users need to enter around the back of a building to avoid stairs or are limited to just one accessible seat in a classroom. Captioning—though required by law on websites or media for places of public accommodation (including colleges and universities)—is still inconsistent, rendering that information inaccessible to current or prospective Deaf students. Few campuses have cultural resources to help disabled students or faculty build community. To begin to understand institutionalized ableism, we might ask ourselves how these common experiences of disabled students and employees compare with the experiences of nondisabled people.
To fully embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in higher ed, academic leaders must meet the unique needs of the disability community. Postsecondary students with disabilities face numerous obstacles to an educational experience on par with their peers without disabilities. While many challenges are known, others are not known due to a lack of sufficient data. Institutions are already making efforts to ensure accessibility, but opportunities remain for greater transformation.
Disability is inherently diverse—it is a category that includes people from every gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, geographic region, age group, and socioeconomic level. It’s also a group to which all of us can belong at any time. In 2016, one in four adults in the United States reported having a disability. This number increases to 40 percent for people age 65 and older. Disability is part of the human condition. To ensure inclusion in higher education, campus leaders must consider how to fully embrace all students, faculty, and staff with and without disabilities. When developing a culture of inclusion, colleges and universities have specific responsibilities to students with disabilities to ensure they can learn and achieve their goals.
In the midst of the pandemic’s long-term effects, including, for some, the disabling effects of Long COVID, we wondered what disabled students could tell us about what makes university classes more (or less) accessible to them. Their insights highlight practices that can benefit a wide range of students. As the Council of Ontario Universities points out, accessible teaching means designing courses from the get-go with accessibility for a broad range of students in mind, rather than introducing accommodations as needed. With this approach, instructors can improve student learning, deepen inclusion of students and reduce instructor workload associated with dealing with exceptions and individual accommodations.
In the current learning environment, students with disabilities encounter significant challenges due to the lack of inclusivity and accessibility in the education system. This article aims to share ideas and strategies that can help reduce barriers to learning, ensuring equal access to education and the opportunity for all students to achieve their full potential, regardless of ability. Students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other cognitive differences often experience auditory, visual, and spatial processing difficulties, affecting their reading, writing, and overall learning. These challenges may include problems with left-right distinction, depth perception, spatial awareness, language skills, and vocabulary. Neurodiverse learners and those with cognitive differences may also struggle with maintaining focus and staying on track, necessitating structured and flexible assessment pedagogical tools.
Students with disabilities make up around 20 percent of learners in higher education, but they complete at lower levels than their peers without a disability, according to the most recent National Center for Education Statistics data. Access and inclusion for all kinds of disabilities are required for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, so colleges must remain vigilant in removing barriers to access. William & Mary established an online form for community members to report barriers, allowing for real-time updates and promoting inclusion among campus members.
According the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey (ACS), in 2022 13% of the civilian population reported having some form of disability. There are also considerable differences in disability reporting by race/ethnicity, with Native American (16%), non-Hispanic White (14%), and Black (15%) populations the most likely to report having a disability. Asian (8%) people are the least likely to report having one. Among the 40 million people who are 25 or older and report having a disability, 8.2 million (21%) held a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2022, up from 14% in 2012. However, this is considerably lower than the 38% of the population who does not report a disability in 2022.
With the ADA in effect for almost three decades, there is a growing number of students with disabilities going to college. In fact, estimates show that 19% of undergraduate students and 12% of graduate students have disabilities.1 Access to higher education is a vital part of the ADA’s broader social promise to promote equal access and full participation in all aspects of US society; especially considering that postsecondary education is often a pre-requisite for many jobs in the U.S.2 The U.S. legislature has responded by creating policies to enhance the accessibility of higher education. Institutions of higher education are responsible for fulfilling the social and legal promise of disability rights laws. The promises entail providing accommodations, creating accessible learning environments, and complying with laws such as the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).4,5 Both the ADA and Section 504 prohibit universities from discriminating against students and staff/faculty with disabilities, and requires institutions to provide accommodations and auxiliary aids, which are devices or services that assist with communication.The following brief is intended to provide an overview of the current state of research regarding the ADA and higher education for students with disabilities. It also includes real-life examples from the ADA National Network about technical assistance related to access in higher education. The review of the research is intended to provide a snapshot of the recent research landscape on the topic.
Key Findings: Mental health disorders and learning disabilities are the most common types of disabilities students report, with more female students than male students reporting having a mental health disorder.
Nearly half of students with disabilities do not register with their institution's disability services office for support. One in three students with disabilities do not have positive responses to how their institution supports their need for accessible content and/or technology accommodations.