Written assignments & Project work (PW)

Individuals with processing and memory diffculties:

• may have an SpLD or neurodiversity, be on the Autistic Spectrum (ASC) or have Fibromyalgia, Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) Chronic pain, Epilepsy, and similar conditions which may need ongoing medication for management.

• may experience

  • interruptions to production of work due to a disability or medication side effects;

  • that tasks take longer;

  • difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proof-reading,

  • problems with word retrieval,

  • difficulties with processing receptive oral information

• may use assistive technology for research and writing and this can be time-consuming.

To support these individuals:

• When planning formative tasks and opportunities for feedback, you need to ensure students who need coursework extensions are not disadvantaged

• Consider offering a choice of how students can demonstrate their answer eg a podcast, poster or short text.

• Could a formative submission be in a different format such as a mind map or audio recording?

• For group exercises where extensions are not possible a student may need a particular role within the group to avoid being disadvantaged.

Individuals with sensory overload:

• may have ADHD, ASC, IBD/Crohn's Disease/Ulcerative Colitis, Mental Health difficulties and similar conditions which may need ongoing medication for management.

• may experience

  • interruptions to production of work due to disability or medication side effects.

  • tasks takes longer.

  • difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofreading,

  • Possible perfectionism.

• may use assistive technology for research and writing which can be time-consuming.

To support these individuals:

• For people who have extensions, and especially longer ones, try to ensure formative tasks and feedback opportunities are offered and timed in a way whereby they still optimize the benefits for the student.

• Consider offering a choice of how students can demonstrate their answer eg a podcast, poster or short text.

Individuals who are hard of hearing:

• May be D/deaf or have auditory processing difficulties.

• some people

  • are born Deaf or have hearing loss before they develop spoken language and they may regard their deafness as part of their identity and culture and not as a disability. They may predominantly use British Sign Language. They will not have been able to learn spoken or written English like a native speaker. They may have a sign language interpreter.

  • lose hearing or are deafened after they have acquired spoken language. They are more likely to use hearing aids and lipreading skills.

  • may have difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofreading.

• Will rely on captions or transcripts for audio-visual information.

To support these individuals:

• Ensure any digital content required for the assignment is captioned. Captions must be corrected. Captions that contain errors are not compliant with the legal requirement to make content accessible (Mote and Kelly, 2021)

• When planning formative tasks and opportunities to give feedback, you need to consider students with extensions, and what their equivalent schedule will be.

• Consider offering a choice of how to demonstrate your answer eg a podcast, poster or short text. If BSL is the student’s first language could they present a video with a spoken translation from their interpreter?

Individuals who have a Visual Impairment or Visual Difficulties:

• may have no vision, only some light perception, some colour vision, double vision, nystagmus or tracking difficulties or be short and/or longsighted.

• some people may

  • have been born with little or no vision or may have lost their sight for some reason.

  • need enlarged texts.

  • may need to use a screen reader on their phone or computer to hear information read out loud.

  • may need more light or be able to control light or to reduce glare and to maximize their available vision.

  • need information in Braille if that is a system they have learned.

• A visually impaired person may use a short or a long cane to help with navigation.

• A visually impaired person may have a guide dog.

• A "mild" visual impairment may be harder to deal with than a severe one especially if someone is having difficulty adjusting to a new way of working.

To support these individuals:

• It is best to ask an individual what they need from you in terms of format and support.

• For group exercises where extensions are not possible, can their role in the group take this into account?

• If a project has a visual output e.g. a poster or album consider offering an oral alternative if required

• When planning formative tasks and opportunities to give feedback, you need to consider students with extensions, and what their equivalent schedule will be.

• Offering a choice of how to demonstrate the learning outcomes can remove the barriers many disabled students face. Could they have the choice of doing a podcast, poster or short text answers?

Individuals who have Speech/Speaking Difficulties:

• May have

  • a Stutter or Stammer - it is not helpful to try and finish people's words or sentences.

  • Selective Mutism - it should be noted that although called selective individuals can't always choose when they can physically speak.

  • Cerebral Palsy that can affect their speech to varying degrees. They may need to use AAD or an Augmented & Alternative Communication Device to be their voice.

  • been born Deaf people and they may need to communicate through an interpreter.

  • Autism which means they may speak in a rigid or repetitive way, although this only affects some people on the autistic spectrum.

• May

  • not be able to speak at all

  • actually have a processing difficulty which means they find it hard to be put on the spot and formulate a spoken response immediately

  • actually have an anxiety disorder which means they find it hard to be put on the spot and formulate a spoken response immediately

  • take longer to get their point across

  • need to have a support worker

To support these individuals:

• Be patient

• If the project includes oral output (e.g. podcast) or if it is time-limited, then be flexible with timings.

Individuals who have Mobility Difficulties:

• May have these due to congenital issues, or a result of injury, muscular dystrophy (MD), cerebral palsy, amputation, multiple sclerosis (MS), pulmonary disease, heart disease or other reasons.

• some people

  • may use a wheelchair some of the time or a walking aid.

  • may have a visual impairment that affects mobility at least until they have mobility training, although obstacles and changes to familiar environs can also cause difficulties.

  • may take longer to travel between teaching sessions or project meetings.

• A visually impaired person may have a guide dog .

To support these individuals:

• Ensure that teaching spaces are easily accessible. (Student Disability Advisers can add a code to an ISP to request sessions are timetabled in accessible rooms (i.e. level access).

• If changes to room locations are needed, or external venues are being used check that these locations are still accessible.