Volume 18, Number 1, Winter 2005
- The Importance of Direct Communication During Continuing Education Workshops for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Professionals
- A Comparison of Accuracy and Rate of Transcription by Adults With Learning Disabilities Using a Continuous Speech Recognition System and a Traditional Computer Keyboard
- Development and Validation of the Accessibility of Campus Computing for Students With Disabilities Scale: Service Providers’ Perspective
- Postsecondary Disability Service Providers’ Perceptions About Implementing Universal Design for Instruction (UDI)
- A Validated Curriculum to Provide Training to Faculty Regarding Students With Disabilities in Higher Education
- Eligibility Assessment Requirements at the Postsecondary Level for Students With Learning Disabilities: A Disconnect With Secondary Schools?
- Perceived Usefulness of Recommendations Given to College Students Evaluated for Learning Disability
- The Impact of Visibility of Disability and Gender on the Self-Concept of University Students with Disabilities
- Book Review
The Importance of Direct Communication During Continuing Education Workshops for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Professionals
Abstract: The Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) was developed at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at the Rochester Institute of Technology through a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant with goals including the provision of continuing education for deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals. Instructors skilled in sign language delivered 21 technology-focused workshops to 145 professionals over the initial 3-year grant period. (The project has been funded by the NSF for an additional 3-year period.) Qualitative and quantitative measures were used to evaluate the workshops and obtain participants’ perceptions. Findings indicate that deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals often experience frustration and report difficulties comprehending content material when attending traditional, lecture-focused workshops supported by sign language interpreters. These findings are contrasted to successful DIIT workshops where participants were able to communicate easily with the instructor and other attendees without the use of interpreters.
A Comparison of Accuracy and Rate of Transcription by Adults With Learning Disabilities Using a Continuous Speech Recognition System and a Traditional Computer Keyboard
Abstract: A single-subject, alternating-treatments design was implemented for three adults with learning disabilities to compare the transcription of college-level texts using a speech recognition system and a traditional keyboard. The accuracy and rate of transcribing after editing was calculated for each transcribed passage. The results provide evidence that the accuracy of transcription using the speech recognition system was slightly lower than the accuracy of transcription using the traditional keyboard for all of the participants. The rate of transcription using the speech recognition system was very similar to the keyboard for two of the participants. For the third participant, the transcription rate using the keyboard exceeded the rate using the speech recognition system for all four sessions. Following the fourth and final session, 1 participant indicated that she preferred the speech recognition system, and the others participants stated that they had no preference between the speech recognition system and the keyboard. Educational implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Development and Validation of the Accessibility of Campus Computing for Students With Disabilities Scale: Service Providers’ Perspective
Abstract: Responses by 156 Canadian college and university professionals who provide disability-related services to students were used to construct, develop, and validate the Accessibility of Campus Computing for Students With Disabilities Scale (ACCSDS): Service Provider Version. This is a 19-item, self-administered tool that evaluates institutional computing accessibility for students with disabilities from the perspective of disability service providers. The measure contains 4 empirically derived subscales: Access to Adaptive Computers, Infrastructure and Collaboration, Academic Inclusion, and Adaptive Technology Competence. Results indicate that these 4 factors account for 54% of the variability in total scores. The data also show good internal consistency for the subscales and the full scale. Data concerning validity show strong relationships between scores and a key criterion variable. The ACCSDS can be used to evaluate disability service providers’ views about an institution’s technology accessibility, to provide empirical data to influence information and instructional technology policy, and to pinpoint areas of strength as well as areas needing improvement.
Postsecondary Disability Service Providers’ Perceptions About Implementing Universal Design for Instruction (UDI)
Abstract: Sixteen disability service providers from 2-year and 4-year public and private postsecondary institutions were divided into 2 focus groups, each with 8 participants. When asked to share their perspectives on the implementation of Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) on their campus, service providers described strengths and weaknesses of UDI, potential changes to their current roles and responsibilities, and support structures they would need to promote the adoption of UDI on their campuses. Participants’ comments reflected detailed knowledge about successful change agentry at the institutional level.
A Validated Curriculum to Provide Training to Faculty Regarding Students With Disabilities in Higher Education
Abstract: The dramatic increase in students with disabilities enrolling at institutions of higher education in recent years (9% of incoming freshmen) has created a need to see that college and university faculty are provided with the knowledge required to enable the success of these students and to comply with federal statutes, such as ADA and Sections 504 and 505 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and with the policies established by their institutions. Exactly what information do faculty need? This study examined the importance and comprehensiveness of the content of a training curriculum for faculty developed at Utah State University as evaluated by a national sample of professionals employed in the disability services offices of colleges and universities throughout the United States. The results indicate that the respondents perceived the curriculum taken as a whole and each of the components as important (mean of 6 on a 7-point scale) and as providing a reasonably comprehensive representation of the essential information (91.8% taken as a whole).
Eligibility Assessment Requirements at the Postsecondary Level for Students With Learning Disabilities: A Disconnect With Secondary Schools?
Abstract: In order to gain access to services at universities and colleges, students with learning disabilities must provide documentation of their disability. However, secondary schools are not required by law to provide the documentation often requisite at the postsecondary level. Also, it appears that secondary schools may collect even less psychometric data if proposed changes to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act 1997 are adopted during the current reauthorization process. This disconnect between what is provided and what is needed in terms of eligibility requirements has become a hot topic in the field. Recently, the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities held a discussion on this issue, and it was decided that an initial piece of information needed for examining this issue was data about postsecondary institutions’ of higher education eligibility requirements. This study presents findings about the eligibility requirements of 104 colleges and universities in 36 states. Results show several variables highlighting the discontinuity between evaluation data collected in high school and what is required at the university level, which include evaluation currency, examiner qualifications, areas of diagnosis, use of adult-normed tests, use of discrepancy, and establishment of functional impact.
Perceived Usefulness of Recommendations Given to College Students Evaluated for Learning Disability
Abstract: The present study evaluated the utilization and perceived usefulness of recommendations made to college students as the result of an evaluation and subsequent diagnosis of a specific learning disability. Participants were 47 college students who had received a diagnosis of learning disability within the previous two semesters at a university assessment clinic. Students rated 31 different recommendations in terns of past usage (prior to their evaluation), usage subsequent to their evaluation, perceived usefulness, and barriers to utilization of recommendations. While all recommendations were rated as useful, higher ratings tended to occur for recommendations including program modifications (e.g. course waivers) and training strategies (e.g. study aids). Least utilized recommendations were those with a significant time or monetary commitment.The Impact of Visibility of Disability and Gender on the Self-Concept of University Students with Disabilities
Abstract: This study is the result of a series of group and individual interviews in which 25 university students with a variety of disabilities discussed their experience of disability. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed qualitatively using an inductive procedure. Data were then sorted by gender and by hidden versus visible disability. Here we present themes related to self-concept; specifically how the students (1) thought of themselves, (2) presented themselves to others, (3) imagined others’ views of them, and (4) perceived the supports they received. Results of these analyses provide indications of differences, both predictable and unexpected, between the perceptions and experiences of men and women and between persons with visible versus hidden disabilities. Implications of the study for the delivery of services to students with disabilities are explored.
