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Lesson 3: Disclosing my Access Tools


Name(s) of students(s):


Age and grade level:


Goal from IEP connected to lesson:


Objective from IEP connected to lesson:


Objectives for student learning: 

After completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

  1. Disclose the efficiency tools he or she uses to access printed information, access electronic information and produce written communication.
  2. State what entitlements are conferred to people with disabilities by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Materials needed: notetaking device, Internet access

Discussion

“During the last lesson you learned how to search AccessWorld for information about the efficiency tools you use. In short, you began your journey to becoming self-aware and taking ownership of your tech needs.”

  • Instruct the student to locate the July 2014 Issue, Volume 15, Number 7 of AccessWorld and read the Editor’s Back to School page.
  • “The editor of AccessWorld, Lee Huffman, suggests you take personal responsibility for what?” (Your education.)

“He further encourages readers to advocate for themselves as well as to plan ahead (in order to prevent poor performance). Think about the people in your life who advocate for you. Your parents, friends, and teachers may come into mind. Who is your best advocate? Essentially, you are. You need to begin to take full ownership of educating your teachers about the accommodations you need to access the content in their classes as well as the efficiency tools you will use to access and produce information. You can do this through disclosure. Disclosure may sound like you are going to tell a really big secret—like you missed curfew. However, disclosure simply means to reveal or inform. Your teacher wants to be able to give you the best instruction possible and may have questions or concerns about how best to teach a student with a visual impairment. You need to inform your teacher about the efficiency tools you use with confidence. In order to do so, you need to be self-aware of the efficiency tools you need to complete the variety of tasks associated with your educational curriculum.”

Activity: Disclosure Statement

Instruct the student to create a disclosure statement geared toward school.

“How do your efficiency tools help you complete school tasks as efficiently as your sighted peers? Your disclosure statement should include the following (as applicable to the individual student):

  • how you access printed information
  • how you access electronic information
  • how you produce written communication
  • a simple, easy to understand description of your efficiency tools

You may find it helpful to share how you will complete the following common educational tasks:

  • access PowerPoint presentations
  • give PowerPoint presentations
  • access lecture notes from the smart board, overhead, or white board
  • read assigned novels
  • access the school website
  • complete a research project
  • take a multiple choice test
  • complete a worksheet
  • complete a group project
  • participate in a science lab”

(Additional resources regarding disclosure can be obtained from the CareerConnect website, where you can find the article Tools for Finding Employment: Writing a Disability Statement.)

Activity: Search AccessWorld

“Looking ahead to your postsecondary school plans, you will continue to need to be your own advocate. Learning to disclose your efficiency tools now will be a skill you will need to apply as a college or technical school student and future employee.”

  1. Have the student search AccessWorld using the keywords “Higher Education.”
  2. Read Navigating Higher Education with Visual Disabilities, by Marc Grossman.
  3. “What two laws give you equal access to postsecondary options? What software does the author recommend for accessing PowerPoints? What is one reading resource the author mentions in his article you did not know about?”


Progress notes:

 

 

 


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