Access and Inclusion
What is access?
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a comprehensive civil rights law in the US prohibiting discrimination by public entities (e.g., buildings, schools) on the basis of disability. The law ensures: "...that buildings, facilities, rail passenger cars, and vehicles are accessible, in terms of architecture and design, transportation, and communication, to individuals with disabilities."
Access is thus about physically being able to reach or receive or "get at" public information, buildings, services, etc. Depending on a person's disability, this could mean:
Auditory markers of printed warnings (e.g., street crossings)
Visual signs for spoken messages (sign messages about flight delays at an airport)
Ramps and elevators for physical access to upper entrances and floors.
Educational inclusion refers to efforts to include students with disabilities and special educational needs in the classroom alongside their peers without disabilities. In practice, this can mean students with disabilities are mainstreamed into regular classrooms, with no additional attention to pedagogy. We argue that this is not enough for full inclusion - which instead describes a space where students with and without disabilities are on an equal footing. This requires not only access, but pedagogical attention to leveling the playing field. Universal Design for opening doors is one way to make this point:
A doorknob works for those who have normal use of their limbs for walking up to a door and opening it with their hand.
A door lever additionally works for those who have different control of their hands such that it is harder (or not possible) for them to twist the doorknow
An pushbutton electric door opener additionally works for those who ambulate with wheels, or those who use assistance dogs.
Here is where faculty can make a difference. With some strategies and planning, relatively minor changes in teaching can result in much greater levels of full inclusion in the college classroom.
