Accessible education is more than providing closed captioning to a video presentation (although this is a crucial provision to consider always).

 

Accessible education is:

• Designing learning/teaching experiences, materials, evaluation methods/feedback, etc. in a manner that reduces the need for accommodations because ease-of-access is built-in and built for everyone
• Considering intersectionalities such as class, culture, disabilities, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
• Inclusive
• Proactive

Accessibility means my son is humanized in his learning environments, whether at home or in a rehabilitation center. When I consider all aspects of who he is and what he needs, I better design learning to be inclusive.

It’s also important to understand what it is not.

 

Accessible education is not:

• An after-thought
• Focused on accommodations
• A charity/a favor

No one should have to thank you for considering their child.

You don’t have to be a specialized educator or clinician to consider inclusion and accessibility.

Everyone needs to think about how to include everyone.

Education must be accessible to all.

 

Related articles:

• Inclusion: Who’s left out?
• Why We Need to Prioritize Accessibility
• Accessibility is a Human Right