For Faculty

By using “people-first language” (PFL) in speaking about disabilities, you describe the disability a person has, not who they are—you put the person before the disability. With PFL you use phrases like “person with a disability,” “individuals with disabilities,” “children with disabilities,” etc., as opposed to phrases like “the disabled” or “a disabled person,” which identify people based solely on their disability. 

Note that there are differences in preference among individuals with disabilities (see “Autism language” below).

Able-bodied Recommendation: The term “non-disabled” and the phrases “does not have a disability” or “is not living with a disability” are more neutral choices. “Able-bodied” is an appropriate term to use in some cases, such as when referring to government reports on the proportion of able-bodied members in the workforce. In some cases, the word “typical” can be used to describe a non-disabled condition, although be aware that some in the disability community object to its use.

Autism Language: Many autistic adults prefer identity-first language (autistic person) rather than person-first language (person with autism), similar to other marginalized communities that wish to reclaim their identity.
Some prefer identity-first language because it indicates that being autistic is an inherent part of a person’s identity, not an addition to it. Many people also feel that autism is a different way of seeing and interacting with the world, rather than an impairment.
Still, it’s important to note that no autistic individual can speak for everyone. On the individual level, it’s always polite to ask each person about their language preferences.

By making a general announcement about accommodations during the first session of each course you teach, you broach the topic in a neutral way, and helps students feel more comfortable initiating a discussion with you about their needed accommodation(s).

Similarly, including a statement about accommodations in your syllabus communicates that you are accommodating, encourages interaction to discuss accommodations and allows you to let your students know they can reach out to our office if they haven’t already requested accommodations.

More course and syllabus design resources are available from the Teaching and Learning Lab.

Faculty responsibilities

Ensuring accessibility is an ongoing responsibility shared by all members of the RISD community. To support students with visual, hearing or cognitive impairments that create challenges in accessing course content and require the use of assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers), it is imperative that we ensure online and print content is made accessible to the widest array of users.

To ensure that students with disabilities can access content at a similar pace to other students, it is vital that faculty attend to accessibility issues ahead of when students with disabilities will need them in order to engage with the material.

Changes to your course, like those listed below, will aid all students with a variety of learning needs, regardless of ability:

• structuring text in a way that supports students for whom English is not their first language
• simplifying course navigation in Canvas to aid students who are blind or have impaired vision
• adding captions that help students with hearing loss as well as those new to a content area and/or unfamiliar with key terminology

Avoid adding new materials during the semester. If you need to do so, ensure that you provide them at least two weeks before they’ll be used in class, in case a student needs to work with our office to have the new materials adapted into an accessible format.

Students with print disabilities may require texts in braille, large print, electronic and/or audio formats. We work in advance of each semester and then throughout the first weeks of the semester to convert required readings into usable formats for students with disabilities. Any delays in this process may result in students falling behind in the course—a challenge that is difficult to overcome.

To support students who use screen readers, upload materials in PDF format, ideally with limited images. Never post a scanned file, as these are images that screen readers cannot access.

If you are using a Microsoft Word file, make sure you create them with embedded structure before posting to the web or converting to a PDF. All course information you provide should be organized in a consistent and logical manner, using formats that contain headings and subheadings.

Best practices

Even before receiving an accommodation letter from a student, you can take steps to review the digital content of your course and ensure it is as accessible as possible. By making course materials as accessible as possible before the start of classes, you help reduce the time it takes for our office to convert them into additional accessible formats, saving time for everyone involved the accommodations process, and minimizing the impact of of complications and delays during the semester. Such complications and delays can place an additional, unfair burden on students receiving accommodations.

Classroom materials utilizing color should use simple color schemes.

Consider using Canvas to post your course syllabus and other important class information and materials electronically. While Canvas itself is accessible, you still need to post course files in accessible formats. RISD gives you access to Canvas Ally, a tool that helps make digital course content more accessible. Integrated into Canvas, this product helps ensure your courses are inclusive and, by optimizing usability, accessibility and overall quality, improves the learning experience for all students.

If you show videos in class, use closed captions. For Canvas users, an audio transcription tool is available to support you. You’ll also find live auto-captioning features in several platforms, including PowerPoint, Google Slides and Google Meet. Panopto—as well as YouTube—lets you add closed captions to videos. 

Whenever possible, assign books and textbooks with available electronic versions. Please list textbooks in your syllabus or on Canvas to give students with accommodations and our office enough time to review materials and create alternate formats, if necessary.

When using PDFs, avoid ones created from scanned paper documents. Instead, try using PDFs created from digital files. For all handouts and other paper materials, ensure that you make digital versions available.

During lectures, consider giving all students in your course direct access to PowerPoint presentations, as some students find it helpful to take notes within PowerPoint. This also makes it so you don’t need to send the PowerPoint file separately to individual students who need it per their accommodation.

Accessible PDFs

To support students who use screen readers, upload materials in PDF format, ideally with limited images. Do not post scanned files; these are in fact image files that screen readers cannot access.

When using PDFs, avoid creating them by scanning paper documents. Instead, try to use digital files in creating PDFs. For all handouts and other paper materials, ensure that you make digital versions available.

For Microsoft Word files, create them with embedded structure before posting to the web or converting to PDF format. All course information you provide should be organized in a consistent and logical manner, using formats that contain headings and subheadings.

Some resources for ensuring accessible PDFs are:

• the Fleet Library’s Bookeye scanner for creating accessible PDF files.
• Washington State University’s guidance for converting scanned documents into PDFs.
• Adobe’s tool for verifying PDF accessibility.