Providing Accessibility During Your Session
Describe anything that's visual
You know the drill -- you do this all the time when working with your consumers who are blind or visually impaired. You'd think it would be second nature by now but -- YOWSERS!
Apparently not -- maybe it's because we're nervous and concentrating on our presentation, and we forget to make sure everything that's visual is conveyed to participants who cannot see it.
So here are some pointers. Please take the time to prepare yourself, to share your valuable information with ALL of your participants.
YOU and your movement
- If you point to something (for example two things on your slide, saying "'this' is better than 'that'") explain what you're pointing to.
- If you demonstrate something, or make a gesture to illustrate a point, explain it verbally.
Slides
If you are using slides:
- Avoid decorating them with logos and pictures and graphics to make them "pop" (unless you want to take precious time from your presentation to describe them!)
- Keep the text simple -- outline is best
- You don't need to read the text on each slide word for word, but do make sure that everything on the slide is explained.
Don't put any information on the slide that you don't intend to explain -- that is what handouts are for!
Pictures
Of course you will explain why you are showing the picture and what the point of it is, but that is not describing the picture!
To describe the picture, you need to explain what is actually seen that is relevant.
Clothes and furniture are not usually relevant unless they tell part of the story, focus on the details that tell your story.
Examples:
This picture shows my 8-year-old student learning to make and read maps with the Wheatley Kit. This activity was engaging and helped him understand spatial concepts.
- Good example: This picture shows my 8-year-old student learning to make and read maps. He and I are sitting at a table, with the Wheatley Kit laid out on the table in front of him.
Yellow strips are attached to the black velcro mat in a grid of 4 squares, representing several blocks in his community. He has one hand on the strips and another hand reaching into a bag with more strips and shapes.
This activity was engaging and helped him understand spatial concepts.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and you wouldn't be showing pictures if they weren't worth it, so please take a moment to share it with all your participants!
Videos
Videos are almost impossible to describe well without careful planning, so think about what is important and how you can insert the description between the dialog and sounds.
You should write down what you want to narrate so it goes smoothly -- ideally you can record the narration to be presented with the video.
Just like with the pictures: explaining the purpose of the activity and how it went isn't enough, make sure those who cannot watch the video still get everything out of it that you wanted them to understand.
Examples:
Jack has been profoundly deaf since birth and now has lost all his vision from RP. He is at a dry cleaner and shows the clerk how to communicate with him, and it goes really well.
[video starts and we hear background noise. After a few moments, we hear the clerk saying, "Can I help you? How can I help you?" then we hear more background noise for a minute or two, and the video ends.]
- Good example: Jack has been profoundly deaf since birth and now has lost all his vision from RP. He is at a dry cleaner, and as the video starts, Jack is standing at the counter, with a sales clerk behind it.
[video starts and we hear background noise. We hear the clerk saying, "Can I help you? How can I help you?"
Narrator says, "Jack holds out his left hand with the palm up, and with his right hand he draws a letter on his own palm, then holds his left hand out to the clerk.
She hesitates, then reaches out and takes his hand in hers, and starts to draw letters in his hand." We hear more background noise for a minute and the narrator says, "She finishes writing in his palm and he nods, then reaches into his bag to pull out his laundry." and the video ends.]
If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how much a video is worth! Let's make sure all your participants can benefit from the wealth of insight and information that your videos can bring them.
Microphones!
We have participants who have a hearing loss or are using on-line interpreters and captioning apps which require that everything is clearly audible.
Therefore we will have two microphones for each session, and expect you and your participants to use them, regardless of the size of the room. If you plan to take your participants out of the room please let us know so we can alert participants and make arrangements to enable them to access what's happening.
Please do not ask if everyone is okay with you not using the mike -- it's not!
If a participant declines to use the mike, explain that it is the SOMA/SWOMA policy and anyone who refuses to comply will be immediately escorted to the principal's office and have to stay after school in detention.
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