Breaking down barriers

Rustling crisp packets, shuffling feet and the general buzz of conversation made lectures a problem for Gemma Long during her first degree. She suffers from sensory overload connected to her autism, which was only diagnosed after she graduated.

But when she started a teacher-training course at the University of Huddersfield, she received access to software to help her deal with dyslexia and found it transformative. It allowed her to listen to lectures quietly at home, which dramatically improved her marks. She went on to take an MA at the Open University and is now studying for a PhD at Sheffield Hallam University.

“I struggled to understand the point of lectures until I got that software,” recalls Long. “I didn’t realize how much useful information was in them. As someone who is hypersensitive to noise, I spend most of my time in lectures trying to filter out the background noise, which means I miss much of what the lecturer is saying. Being able to audio-record the lectures and listen back to them in a silent room meant I was finally able to digest the content.”

Overcoming obstacles

Technology is breaking down barriers faced by students with disabilities. This matters, because a lower percentage of disabled students go to university than the percentage of their non-disabled peers who attend university. Online journal articles or reading lists now enable those with visual impairments to zoom in and read printed text or convert it to easier-to-read formats such as Braille.

Universities are also increasingly recording lectures that students can replay at their own pace, which benefits students with dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Often, all of this can be done through laptops at home, giving students greater independence.

According to Alistair McNaught, a digital learning consultant, more and more universities are tracking how students learn, and then directing them to the accessible resources most suited to their personal needs. Staff can also receive automated feedback on the accessibility of material they upload to the virtual learning environment.

McNaught appreciates the way assistive technologies can help all students, whether they have a disability or not, but stresses that it’s important for universities to get the basics right first. “Many higher and further institutions have inaccessible websites or inaccessible digital content. If the content is inaccessible, investments in assistive technology can be undermined at a stroke,” he comments.

This is something that new European regulations aim to deal with. New material published on university websites and virtual learning environments will need to meet standards on accessibility.

Technological innovations

This effort is complemented by other technological innovations. There are new mobile apps to guide students through difficult periods or situations. For example, Brain in Hand is designed specifically for people with autism, mental health conditions, brain injuries or specific learning difficulties. It suggests personalized coping strategies to students in distress, offers reminders about tasks, and allows users to monitor anxiety levels and access help swiftly when needed.

Some universities are taking a wider approach. At De Montfort University in Leicester, around 200 students can record their moods via a traffic light system — green when all is OK, amber when they are feeling uncomfortable and red when they need help. Specialist mentors track these notifications and step in when needed, as well as observe what activities seem to cause each student particular stress. For example, many students seem to record high anxiety levels on Wednesday afternoons, which have traditionally been left free, so the university now offers drop-in sessions on those days.

Universities are feeling the pressure to improve accessibility after the UK government reduced funds for Disabled Student Allowances (DSA) in 2016–17. The universities were given more money to persuade them to “create a more inclusive learning environment” overall, rather than focusing on targeted support for individuals.

Targeted support is important

Although disability campaigners have broadly welcomed the change, they point to some problems. Piers Wilkinson is head of Ramping Up, a consultancy on accessibility in higher education, and disabled student officer-elect at the National Union of Students. Wilkinson says that a general, inclusive approach can be helpful in determining that a particular style of teaching or assessment does not work for all students, not just their disabled peers. But he argues that although that is important, universities still need to provide targeted support for disabled students.

Furthermore, analysis by Policy Connect, a cross-party think tank, shows that the number of students receiving technology equipment through DSA has dropped since the £200 charge for DSA-issued laptops came in, despite a substantial increase in the number being assessed as needing support. It recommends removing these upfront costs.

Rachel Hewett, fellow in the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham, adds that even when students receive laptops, the fact that they are issued by the DSA can make them unsuitable. “Once they have put on all the different software they need and are trying to run them in conjunction with other laptops, they aren’t powerful enough,” she says. Many students struggle to use the equipment, as they aren’t given any training.

Hewett would like to see the DSA fund mainstream technology such as iPads, which increasingly include functions such as Braille-writing capability. Getting used to mainstream technology would also be more helpful to students in the long term, she argues.

More promotion necessary

For Gemma Long, universities just need to get better at promoting the support that’s already there. She says that making specialist software and training generally available, rather than limiting it to disabled students, makes it more widely known, as well as removing the stigma associated with it. For someone like her, who received her diagnoses late, it would have been particularly helpful. That is why she has founded an assistive technology network to represent staff who support their disabled students with technology. The group held its first awards ceremony in August.

Universities are slowly tackling the barriers for disabled students, helped along by developments in technology. There’s more yet to come: Wilkinson is excited about the prospect of virtual reality — particularly when it comes to fieldwork. “It can be incredibly difficult for a disabled student to get a wheelchair on to a salt marsh,” he says. “But if the learning aims are being immersed in an environment, and making discoveries, VR can achieve that.”

© Guardian News & Media 2019