Some students have difficulty accessing printed information. This may be because they:
- Have vision impairment or are blind
- Have physical disabilities which limit their ability to hold or manipulate information in a printed form
- Have perceptual disabilities which limit their ability to follow a line of print, or which affect their concentration
People who are unable to comprehend print material because of insufficient language or literacy skills are not usually referred to as print disabled. For these people "plain English" versions of documents are helpful.
There are a range of strategies that can help make information more accessible for all students. However, for these to be effective you will need to make some accommodations for students with print disabilities. The following is an overview of the most common alternatives to print used by students with disability.
Audio
If a student is unable to access course material in print, the institution has an obligation to offer it in audio format. The type of format can vary according to specialist recommendations and restrictions of accommodations. Some of the ways you can provide print material in audio format:
- Recruit volunteer readers to record printed material while you are having course texts produced by a blindness service agency.
- Use a screen reader program. The student can be emailed the original electronic copy in an accessible Word format and can use a reader to listen to the content.
- Use assistive technology software
Tactile graphics
Blind and partially sighted people are finding tactile graphics extremely valuable and, in some cases, vital for successful study, work and leisure. While blind people are routinely provided with text transcribed into Braille, audio or large print, the pictures, diagrams and maps which accompany text are often omitted or only very briefly described.
Visual graphics can effectively be converted into tactile graphics, even for the highly graphical information contained in maps and scientific material. This is not simply a matter of taking a visual image and making some kind of tactile photocopy – the tactile is a considerably less sensitive sense than the visual.
Visual graphics need to be re-designed by experts, in a variety of formats such as vacuum-formed (thermoform), swell paper (microcapsule paper) and embossed (such as that produced on a Braille printer). They can also be accompanied by labels and descriptions in Braille or audio format.
Tactile graphics are useful when:
- The user is print-impaired but has some tactual ability
- A concept not easily described in words
- A real object is unavailable for touching
- The shape, form or pattern is significant
- It is necessary to illustrate scale and explain maps, technology or biological relationships
- A one-time reference or reminder is needed
- The educational experience can be enhanced
Tactile graphics are not, however, exact replicas of the original, nor are they good for fine detail and representing very large graphics. They should not be used without training and support materials.
Braille
Many students who are blind require course materials to be transcribed into Braille, which is an embossed language that enables them to read and write through touch. The basic Braille cell consists of an arrangement of six raised dots representing letters of the alphabet. By arranging the dots in various combinations, 63 different patterns are possible. Braille can be embossed on paper or by using a computer equipped with a Braille display.
Three grades of Braille currently exist – Australian producers of Braille comply with the recently adopted international standard, Unified English Braille. New documents should be developed electronically to enable easy conversion to Braille. Diagrams, maps and pictures can also be transcribed into Braille, as can music and mathematical and scientific data. Transcriptions can be done in-house or through an organisation such as the Vision Australia.