Accessibility

Creating accessible teaching and learning institutions for disabled students, staff, and faculty means removing barriers in the practices, norms, and beliefs found within an institutional culture. Everyone should have access to a barrier-free environment and true accessibility means proactively taking action to create access across our institutions.

Accessibility, simply put, means being able to access something without barriers. For Titchkosky (2011), “access is a way people have of relating to the ways they are embodied as beings in the particular places where they find themselves.” Accessibility requires proactivity and planning. It is not individual accommodations or retrofits that occur after the fact. Instead, we need to think about access and accessibility beyond just individuals but within systems and norms as well.

True accessibility and access means disabled people can exist as themselves in relation to their surrounding environments. As Emily Ladau (2021) puts it, “accessibility is about making things more equitable so that disabled people have the same opportunities and support to thrive as do nondisabled people.” Accessibility is not about convenience — that is, if something is inaccessible it is not simply an inconvenience for the individual. Instead, if something is inaccessible, it is exclusionary.

Within this module we’ll explore the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and our responsibilities as educators that stem from it. We’ll discuss what true accessibility means in post-secondary education and provide resources for you to start designing your course with accessibility in mind. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to:

• Identify the responsibilities under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) as an educator
• Explain why a proactive approach to accessibility in postsecondary institutions is critical for equity and student learning
• Incorporate accessibility standards and best practices into your course design
• Create and use accessible course materials
• Respond to letters of accommodation
• Develop an action plan for improving the accessibility of your course(s)

References

Canadian Human Rights Commission. (2017). Left out: Challenges faced by persons with disabilities in Canada’s schools.

Ladau, E. (2021). Demystifying disability: What to know, what to say, and how to be an ally. California: Ten Speed Press.

Titchkosky, T. (2011). The question of access: Disability, space, meaning. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.