Accessible learning for students with disabilities

By Karen Seidman. McGill University takes the lead implementing Universal Design.
MONTREAL - As a McGill University student with a learning disability, Cedric Yarish hates when professors rely on “chalk and talk.”
What helps him with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is when professors engage students in discussion, present their material in a variety of interesting ways and provide options for student evaluation, such as a choice between exams or papers or other types of multimedia projects.
And he is pleased to see that, in the last year at McGill, there has been a push to make learning more accessible to students such as himself. This is being done through the concept of Universal Design (UD), which focuses on in-class adaptation to widen access for those with difficulties rather than turning to outside accommodation, which can stigmatize students.
With an explosion in “invisible” disabilities such as ADHD, universities are having to adapt to this emerging clientele — and the buzz term for that is Universal Design.
For example, the number of disabled students — including those with physical, learning and mental health disabilities — on the McGill campus jumped to 1,300 this academic year, from 860 the previous year. In 2004-05, the number was just over 400. Read more...