1. Information Design
implications for
Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)

2. Agenda
› ADA Background
› Designing ADA complaint
Instructional Messages
› Examples
› Summary
› Next Steps

3. Did you know…
43M
• # of people in the United States with a disability
25
• % of population who are hearing or vision
impaired
33
• % of college graduates age 25-64 with a
disability

4. History of ADA
•Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prevents discrimination
1973 against individuals with disabilities. It provides that
• President George H. W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Education for All Handicapped Children Act amended and renamed the
1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Supreme Court decides that individuals with disabilities
1999 must be offered services in the most integrated setting
• Youth Information Centers (YICs) created to be run by
2004 and for youth and emerging leaders with disabilities
• K-12 public school students now taught the history of
2006 the disability rights movement

5. ADA definition of a
Disability
Impairment
Physical or substantially
mental limits one or
impairment more major
life activities
Individuals Individual is
has a regarded as
record of having such
such an
impairment impairment

6. Disabilities that
affect Learners
Learning Disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Psychological and Medical Disabilities
Hearing Impairments
Visual Impairments
Communication Disorders

7. Keeping ADA in
mind…
› Properly designed messages
should accommodate all
students needs
› Employ Universal Instructional
Design
– Include alternatives to make it
accessible and applicable to
students with different
backgrounds, learning styles,
abilities, and disabilities

8. ADA vs UID
› Accommodate on › Reduce barriers for
a case-by-case all
› Individual › Few individual
accommodations accommodations
needed needed
› Accommodations › Inclusive delivery
made after built in as content is
content is developed
developed › Minimal extra work
› Extra work required during delivery
during delivery

9. Design Considerations

10. Text Presentation
› Avoid using very
small font sizes
› Use large, high
contrast text to
help students
with low vision.

11. Image and Text
› If you include an
image, add an
alternative text
label for that
image via the
“Format Picture”
option.

12. Color Presentation
› Follow Tufte’s
(1990) principles
of using color
– Bright and strong
colors
– Contrasting light
– Colors in
backgrounds
– Unifying colors

13. Content and
Organization
› Use text for hyperlinks that
make sense when read out of
context; avoid "click here"
› Accommodate students with
learning disabilities by
organizing information
– Blocks of texts
– Headings

14. Example
› Imagine conducting a
workshop on the importance
of ADA compliance in the
workplace and you show a
video...

15. Violations of ADA
› Background images are not
properly organized
› Text is not consistent and
sometimes too small
› It does not have an audio
component

16. Summary
› To accommodate learners
who are visually impaired:
– Enhanced verbal descriptions
– Presentation outlines include
text
– Video presentations include
audio

17. External Resources
› Designing Instructional
Messages
– ADA and classroom instruction
– UCONN ADA Fact Sheet
– ADA Official Website
› Blackboard’s self-paced
accessibility course
– Universal Design and Accessibility