Accommodations

I receive disability accommodations in college for two different medical conditions- an eye condition that causes low vision and a neurological condition called Chiari Malformation. Both my eye and brain condition cause me to experience light sensitivity, sometimes referred to as photosensitivity, and my accommodations…

I’ve received hundreds of messages over the years from parents asking me questions about Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), specifically low vision IEPs and IEPs for visual impairment. Since I had an IEP in elementary school and again in high school for low vision, I’ve been…

Instead of traveling to the Disability Services testing center on-campus or taking exams in a traditional classroom environment, many of my professors and professional certification exams provide students with remote testing options that allow them to take exams from home with their own technology. My…

A few years ago, one of my best friends called me late at night feeling extremely distressed, because they were trying to figure out if they should report disability accommodation violations. Their professor hadn’t been following the accommodations listed in their Disability Services file, and…

As a student with low vision, I am used to requesting and explaining disability accommodations in my college classes and in other testing environments. However, one of the things that surprised me when I started taking primarily virtual classes and exams is that I needed…

I’m taking a couple of classes at a community college this summer to transfer back to my university, and one of the first things I did after enrolling as a visiting student was contact the Disability Services coordinator so that I would be able to…

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 21, 2020), and if someone told me that I would be celebrating accessibility and using assistive technology on a public platform, I would not have believed them. When I was a teenager, I wasn’t very confident with using…

This week, I had the awesome opportunity to be a guest on the AT The Heart: Assistive And Inclusive Technology Stories podcast, which is hosted by one of my Twitter friends, Hillary Goldthwait-Fowles. I had a lot of fun getting to talk about the importance…

At the beginning of the semester, I often sit down with my professors and go over my Disability Services File so that they can have a better understanding of what I can and can’t see in my physical and virtual classes. One of my professors…

Even though I took over a dozen online classes in high school (and over three dozen in college), I seemed to always find ways to practice self-advocacy in the virtual classroom. While it may have seemed frustrating at the time, my case manager and other…

After taking over three dozen virtual classes and countless more online hybrid classes, I have learned firsthand how using web browser extensions for virtual learning can make a huge difference in how well I do in my virtual classes. While these extensions don’t help me…

In response to recent school closures, VISTAS Education Partners (based out of New Jersey) has started a free resource called the National Homework Hotline for blind and visually impaired students to receive support and help with accessing classroom materials during this time. I am super…

In recent times, many of my friends have been asking me for tips on attending live video lectures and attending classes remotely with video chat. I’ve attended many of my college classes via video chat in the past, and have also given guest lectures over…

As a college student with a disability and chronic illness, there have been times where I’ve been unable to attend my physical classes due to issues with my health or other factors. Luckily, my professors are awesome and allowed me to attend my physical classes…

Educational posters are common fixtures in K-12 classrooms, as teachers love to find ways to present information in a fun and visual way that students can easily reference by looking around the classroom. However, blind students or students with low vision frequently do not have…