AccessSTEM

In October of 2004 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it would create a state-of-the-art program to ensure that electronic and information technology is accessible to employees and consumers with disabilities. As Chief Information Officer Steve Cooper explained, "Making electronic and information technology accessible for people with disabilities is a good business management strategy." He added that "complying with Section 508 ensures our information technology will be more capable of responding to technology changes in future years.

Examples of how you can adapt specific science activities from a general curriculum can be found in a joint project between DO-IT and MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement). For each activity of each book in the MESA series, DO-IT staff created a list of suggested accommodations for students with specific disabilities.

Many publishers can now provide students with disabilities with an electronic format of their textbooks. The following resource can assist you in finding publisher contact information. The list is an exhaustive list of all publishers, but rather a good place to start your search.

• AccessText allows postsecondary members to request files and permissions from leading publishers with one simple form. All post-secondary institutions in the United States and Canada are eligible to join at no cost.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:

No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States…shall, solely by reason of…disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

While there are no specific time lines, some professionals recommend that students be re-evaluated at least every three years or whenever there is going to be a "significant change in placement." The campus 504 committee should reconsider the student's plan every year to make sure that his or her accommodation plan is appropriate, based on their current schedule and individual student needs. The accommodation plan may be revised during the school year if needed.

Designing an accessible website is not difficult when accessibility is considered along with other design issues at the beginning of a project. To create resources that can be used by the widest spectrum of potential website visitors rather than an "average" person, webmasters can apply "universal design" principles. Designers should routinely think of the broad range of characteristics their site visitors might have and design their resources so that they are accessible to everyone.

Individuals with cognitive disabilities can benefit from the use of technology in a variety of settings. For example, a student with a cognitive impairment can utilize computer programs designed to teach and reinforce not only subjects such as math and reading but also social and basic life skills. There are also a wide variety of products and devices that can be used by students with cognitive disabilities to access computer technology.

There are many vendors who provide a wide range of captioning services. One of the best resources for selecting a vendor is the U.S. Department of Education, which, in collaboration with the Described and Captioned Media Program administered by the National Association of the Deaf, officially approves captioning service vendors. Approved vendors are listed in the document Captioning Service Vendors.

The information brief Math, Science, and Technology: Essential Skills for Career Success in the 21st Century (2003), highlights the importance of math, science, and technology coursework in preparing young adults for high-tech, lucrative careers. It provides a quick and easy checklist for youth service practitioners to share with students as they explore careers of interest to them.

Some students have sensitivities to chemicals used in science labs. These sensitivities can range from allergies to one or two specific chemicals to a generalized condition such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

A student with chemical sensitivities and their instructor can brainstorm alternatives that allow the student to participate as fully as possible in lab activities. Possible solutions include the following: