Universal Design

There are multiple strategies that an instructor can take to include information about accessibility in engineering courses. Having an entire class focused on accessibility in web design or engineering is great. However, it is possible to incorporate accessibility topics into almost any engineering class. An instructor could focus part of or a full lecture on an accessibility topic. Teaching about accessibility or inviting including a guest speaker can help increase knowledge and the perspective of engineers as a whole.

Following are examples of strategies for integrating universal design, accessibility, and disability topics into the engineering curriculum, facilities, and programs.

The Engineering Place at North Carolina State University (NCSU) educates K-12 students, K-12 teachers, families and other the citizens of North Carolina about the nature of engineering and the opportunities and careers within engineering. The Engineering Place offers hands-on, inquiry- and problem- based programs and informational workshops and tools. The vision is that every student, educator, and parent, including those with disabilities, in North Carolina will know when engineering is and its impact on everyday life.

Many students with disabilities have successfully completed computing courses during their K-12 education. As a result, some individuals with disabilities have successfully completed postsecondary degrees in computing and now have careers in computing fields. However, more work needs to be done in order for all students with disabilities have opportunities to pursue these careers.

A hackathon is a one-day event where teams of people collaborate to solve a problem. ATHack is a multidisciplinary hackathon with a focus on helping people with disabilities as it increases awareness regarding the need to develop assistive technologies.  It was conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Captions make the content in video presentations accessible to individuals who are deaf. They also benefit many other video viewers. Beneficiaries include

There are several things that professional organizations can do to increase the participation of people with disabilities in their field. Suggestions include:

Background

My name is Debra. I am a college student who is deaf. Over the summer, I participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates summer program where I helped develop an open-source 3D-printed wrist orthosis for individuals who have had a spinal cord injury. I attended and presented the results of this research at a national conference focused on prosthetics and orthotics.

National Science Foundation grant proposals must include a description of the broader impacts of the proposed work. One consideration is how project activities will promote the full participation of people with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There are many ways to include people with disabilities in your work and to otherwise address access issues for people with disabilities. This might include: