TEACHING STUDENTS WITH PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS

TEACHING STUDENTS WITH PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS

A wide range of conditions may limit mobility and/or hand-function. Among
the most common permanent disorders are such musculoskeletal disabilities
as partial or total paralysis, amputation or severe injury, arthritis,
active sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and
cerebral palsy. Additionally, health impairments such as cancer, HIV/AIDS,
cystic fibrosis, or respiratory and cardiac diseases, may be debilitating
and consequently, affect mobility. These conditions may also impair the
strength, speed, endurance, coordination and dexterity that are necessary
for proper hand function. Conditions such as cerebral palsy often involve
sensory and/or speech dysfunction. While the degree of disability varies,
students may have difficulty getting to or from class, performing in class
and managing out-of-class tests and assignments.

Going to and from Classes

Physical access to classrooms is a major concern of students who are
physically disabled. Those who use wheelchairs, braces, crutches, canes, or
prostheses, or who fatigue easily, find it difficult moving about,
especially within the time constraints imposed by class schedules.
Occasional lateness may be unavoidable. Tardiness or absence may be caused
by transportation problems, inclement weather, elevator or wheelchair
breakdown or the need to wait for a physician to see them. Going from class
may pose similar problems especially in cases of emergency.

Consider whether physical access to a class room is a problem before or
early in the quarter and discuss it with the student.

Be prepared to arrange for a change of classroom or building if the
classroom or building is not accessible to students with mobility
impairments. Also be prepared to move class temporarily if an elevator is
out of service.

Familiarize yourself with the building's emergency evacuation plan and
assure that it is manageable for students who have mobility impairments.

In-Class

Some courses and classrooms present obstacles to the full participation of
students who have physical disabilities. In seating such students, every
effort ought to be made to integrate them into the class. Relegating
students to a doorway, a side aisle or the back of the room should be
avoided. Even such apparently insurmountable barriers as fixed seating may
be overcome by arranging for a chair to be unbolted and removed to make
room for a wheelchair.

Laboratory stations too high for wheelchair users to reach or transfer to,
or without sufficient under-counter knee clearance, may be modified or they
may be replaced by portable stations. Otherwise, the student may need the
assistance of an aide to perform the laboratory experiment.

Students with handfunction limitations may have difficulties both in the
laboratory and in the classroom, taking inclass writing assignments and
taking written tests. The instructor should be prepared to utilize the
following accommodations:

Encourage use of a note taker or tape recorder.

Team the student with a laboratory or assistant.

Allow in-class written assignments to be completed out of class with the
use of a scribe or other appropriate aid, if necessary.

The instructor is responsible for arranging alternative test dates and/or
times; however, the ADA Office and/or the Office of Disability Services
will administer oral or taped tests or will provide space and supervision
for extended testing time in an emergency. These offices are also available
for alternative testing arrangements.

Out-of-Class Assignments

For students who have mobility impairments or hand-function impairments,
the use of the library for reading or research assignments may present
obstacles. The student may have to arrange with library personnel for
access to book shelves, microfiche and other equipment, or for a laboratory
partner or manipulating the pages publications. Because the completion of
required work may thus be delayed, assignments to be the extension of
deadlines and the use of similar problems of access to resources.
Instructors should consider such expedients as advance notice to students
who rely on special transportation, the extension of deadlines, and
alternative assignments and the use of "Incomplete's" .