• Resource Guide Home
• Legislation and Policies
  • What Laws Might Apply?
  • Other Employment Laws
  • Roles & Responsibilities
  • Resources: Legislation
• Identification of Accommodations
  • Workplace Assessment
  • Types of Accommodations
  • Implementation
  • Resources: Programs
  • Resources: Funding
• Motor Impairments
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Vision Impairments
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Communication Difficulties
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Reading or Writing
  • Managing Work and Time
  • Using a Computer
  • Working in the Lab or Field
  • Case Example
• Cognitive Impairment
  • Getting Around
  • Communicating
  • Using a Computer
• Resources: Technical Assistance
• Research Findings

Module 3: Accommodations for Motor Impairments

Communicating with Students and Faculty (Lecturing, One-on-One, Phone)

In the classroom or lab, educators must be able to talk about the material, give instructions, and engage students in discussion. Outside of the classroom, educators must be able to communicate to students and colleagues both face-to-face and from a distance (e.g., email, phone).

For a person with a motor impairment, communicating with others is not a major barrier. The main challenges involves physically getting into and around the classroom or lab to talk to students (lower extremity), and possibly using a phone (upper extremity).

Accommodation options may include:

Lower Extremity:

• Maintain clear pathways within the classroom.
  Keep wheelchair or walker-accessible aisleway space between students.
• Ask students to come to the teacher instead of the reverse.
  Rather than walking among students, call them up to demonstrate their work or ask questions.
• Lecture from a seated position.
  Lecturing while seated may help if a person can not stand for long periods.

Upper Extremity:

• Use phones with large buttons or voice dialing.
  These features provide larger targets or eliminate the need to use the hands, respectively.
  Visit assistivetech.net entries for large button phones.
• Use a gripping aid to reduce required grip force on a phone receiver.
• Use a speaker phone, mount the receiver on a gooseneck at ear level or use a headset.
  Choose between these hands free options based on other considerations such as the need for privacy and difficulty with donning a headset.




Previous
Next