ADCET UDL Symposium: UDL in Action - Rethinking 'Representation'

In-person workshop

Rebecca Rosenberg is a teacher working in Queensland, Australia who has spent decades working with teachers and students across kindergarten to year 12 classrooms. She is currently completing her PhD focused on early career teachers becoming impactful, inclusive educators. She also launched a podcast this year titled 'UDL in Action Podcast'.

Libby Arnold is an accessible graphic designer working in New South Wales, Australia. She has a passion for transforming accessibility in education and is also currently completing her PhD focused on enhancing accessibility guidelines for Kindergarten to Year six educators.

This is Libby's response to the question from Rebecca 'So when teachers hear accessibility, what do they usually think of and what are they missing when it comes to understanding what cognitive accessibility is?'.

Libby - "So, teachers often think about reasonable adjustments as an accessibility thing. However, cognitive accessibility is looking at the way things are designed or information is designed so that it reduces the cognitive load of students with autism. A prime example of that is, if you've got a slide that has lots of information, reducing that with the use of dot points and bolding key points can really reduce that cognitive load for a student with autism and encourage engagement within the classroom.

Rebecca's response was "That's an excellent example. Thank you. That's cognitive accessibility in action."

Presenters

Rebecca Rosenberg is a teacher in Queensland who works with students with disability from kindergarten to Year 12. She has however recently accepted a role at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) as Lecturer (Curriculum and Pedagogy - Special Education). Rebecca has taught in government, Catholic, and independent schools. She holds a Bachelor of Education (Primary), Master of Education (Inclusive and Special Education), and a Graduate Certificate of Educational Research. Currently Rebecca is studying a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Education focused on early career teachers and inclusive education. In 2025 Rebecca also launched the “UDL in Action Podcast”.

Libby Arnold is a visual communication design researcher and practitioner based in Newcastle, Australia, with a strong focus on accessibility and inclusive design. She is currently undertaking research at the University of Newcastle, exploring how accessibility guidelines can be translated into practical tools for primary educators supporting K–6 students with autism. Alongside her research, Libby works in graphic design, branding, and design research, contributing to creative and educational projects. Her work sits at the intersection of design, education, and advocacy, with a strong commitment to making inclusive design principles accessible and actionable in everyday practice.

(June 2026)