Creating Access
There is no ‘one size fits all’ way to create an accessible classroom. Many disability activists and scholars have shown that access is not a check-list of things to do. It is a collaborative, revisable process that requires us to be willing to make mistakes. I have compiled resources (some my own, some from others) that help me work toward creating accessibility in the classroom. If you would like your work (or someone else’s) to be added to this list, please message me.
Image description: Black and white sketch of a person in a wheelchair facing a sink and mirror. They are holding up a hand towel with their left hand. A series of measurements are inscribed to indicate knee clearance, toe clearance, depth, etc.
Access in the syllabus
I have found it helpful to include a section about access in my syllabi titled “Access in Our Classroom.” This section is distinct from the mandated section about accommodations required by each university. The use of two separate sections helps students know that legal accommodations and collective access can mean different things. I have copied the language I use in my syllabus on the right. Feel free to take inspiration from it, adopt it, and/or tailor it to your own needs. [You can also find this text in Word format here.]
“In my classroom, you are not required to have any documentation to require accommodations. However, this may not be the case in other classes. I encourage you to register with [name of disability services at your institution] if you have a documented disability because you have a legal right to access the accommodations that you need. As a professor with a disability, I understand that this process can be burdensome. I am here to help you in any way I can if you want assistance.
We all have different capacities, body-minds, and learning preferences. If you have ideas, suggestions, or requests to make the class format, the calendar and deadlines, the readings and/or any other element of this class more accessible, I would love to hear them and discuss them with you. We can discuss these questions anytime throughout the semester, as access needs arise and/or change. It is never too late to bring these things up. I am committed to holding space for these questions in the classroom in an ongoing way.
Here are some examples of access needs:
I find it easier to process information by speaking and listening, rather than in a written handout (or vice-versa).
I pay better attention in class if I have access to Power Points before/after class.
I get anxious about speaking in large groups and prefer working in small groups or in a pair
(or vice-versa).
I need to keep my hands busy during class and like to knit, doodle, use a stimming gadget, etc.
I have childcare responsibilities and may need to bring children to class.
During flare-ups (of pain, migraine, depression, etc.), I need to attend class on Zoom.
Who I learn about creating access from:
Books and journal articles
Margaret Price (2011) Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life (find more info here)
Aimi Hamraie (2017) Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability (find more info here)
Jay T. Dolmage (2017) Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education (find more info here)
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (2018) Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice (find more info here)
Kelly Fritsch (2016) “Cripping Concepts: Accessibility,” Review of Disability Studies (find the PDF here)
Tanya Titchkosky (2011) The Question of Access: Disability, Space, Meaning (find a review in DSQ by Aimi Hamraie here)
Sara Ahmed (2012) On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life (find it here)
Annika Konrad (2021) “Access Fatigue: The Rhetorical Work of Disability in Everyday Life,” College English (find the PDF here)
Online resources and blogs
Mia Mingus’ blog Leaving Evidence. I have been particularly moved in my thinking by Mingus’ notions of ‘access intimacy’ and ‘forced intimacy’. (find the blog here)
The Critical Design Lab describes itself as “a multi-disciplinary arts and design collaborative centered in disability culture and crip technoscience”. Check out the project ‘Mapping Access’, which includes a toolkit to replicate participatory access mapping at your institution. (find their website here)
Lydia X. Z. Brown’s website Autistic Hoya contains a wealth of resources on autism and neurodiversity, as well as a helpful primer on ableist language, among other things. (find their website here)