Learn About These Intersections

Understanding Disabilities and the AODA

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005) exists to counter the historical and systemic discrimination people with disabilities face and lay a crucial role in "developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025" (Part 1; Purpose, 1a).

Accessibility Services Canada defines disability as "a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities." At times, a disability may be non-visible or invisible and include "mental health difficulties, chronic health conditions... learning disabilities or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder" (Accessibility Services, University of Toronto Mississauga). This definition is explored in greater detail in Section 10 of the Ontario Human Rights Code and is clearly articulated on page 6 of Demystifying Academic Accommodations, published by the Office of Vice-Provost, Students at the University of Toronto. 

• View the 5-part 2022 video recordings of the National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities - Addressing Ableism, Disability, and Accessibility 
• The Council of Ontario Universities has a well-resourced page on Accessibility with topics ranging from interacting with persons with disabilities, and information on creating accessible learning environments, to understanding the barriers to accessibility. 
• The Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN), "under the leadership of the Accessibility Institute at Carleton University, is a national collaboration to advance accessibility for persons with disabilities through Research and Innovation, Education and Training, Policy, Employment, and Community Engagement."
• NEADS, or the National Educational Association of Disabled Students "has had the mandate to support full access to education and employment for post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities across Canada." The organization has a well-developed resource section supporting "Student experience in class and on campus," one of the three Strategic Program areas of NEADS.

Ableism and the Mitigating Role of Universal Design for Learning

For institutions of higher learning to be truly inclusive for all learners, there must be an acknowledgment and understanding of what Ableism is and how it works. According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, it is a belief system which underlies "negative attitudes, stereotypes and stigma toward people with disabilities." Just as anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black racism exist, Ableism operates, according to the Law Commission of Ontario, as cited on the Ontario Human Rights Commission page on disabilities, in a manner  

analogous to racism, sexism or ageism, that sees persons with disabilities as being less worthy of

respect and consideration, less able to contribute and participate, or of less inherent value than

others. Ableism may be conscious or unconscious, and may be embedded in institutions, systems

or the broader culture of a society. It can limit the opportunities of persons with disabilities and

reduce their inclusion in the life of their communities.

Employing Universal Design for Learning's (UDL) framework promotes the idea that persons with disabilities are entitled to and worthy of participation in the teaching and learning process; UDL provides a means of "flexible curricular materials and activities that provide alternatives for students with differing abilities" (Do-It, 2023).  The qualifying phrase used in UDL, "providing multiple means of," acknowledges that there are many ways to engage students, the curricular material, and how students demonstrate and express their knowledge and understanding. The inclusionary nature of UDL creates a more accessible landscape for teaching and learning and, as was previously mentioned, the foundation for supporting students who may require specific accommodations in order to fully participate with dignity and respect in their learning classes. 

• Video from the Council of Ontario Universities, introducing the AODA [3:27]
• Universal Design for Learning and its Role in Ensuring Access to Inclusive Education for All: A Technical Paper by the International Disability Alliance (2021) by the International Disability Alliance
• The Educator’s Accessibility Toolkit is the resource section from the Accessible Campus website, developed by the Council of Ontario Universities, in partnership with the University of Guelph, the University of Toronto, York University, and the Government of Ontario to ensure that universities are inclusive, accessible, and compliant with the AODA. 

In "Demystifying Academic Accommodations," The University of Toronto explains that "Academic accommodations are provided when students experience disability-related barriers in demonstrating their knowledge and skills" (p.6). For example, if a student has challenges related to attention, memory, or hearing, a recording of the lecture with closed captioning provides options for perception. Also, with a recording, a student may return to the class content in manageable chunks to assist with the processing and comprehension of information. If a student is required to respond to a particular text and has challenges with written expression, they can be provided with options for expression and communication and assistive technology options through AccessAbility services. 

At the University of Toronto, there are many resources that can assist faculty and staff with the accommodations process to meet the university's commitment to supporting students with disabilities:

1. What faculty members need to know about accommodating students with disabilities
2. Academic Accommodations: Office of the Vice-Provost, Students
3. Statement of Commitment Regarding Persons With Disabilities

Video Length: 1:30

• Dr. Fady Shanouda is a "Critical Disability Studies scholar whose research examines disabled and mad students’ experiences in higher education" in the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women's and Gender Studies and a researcher at Carleton University's Accessibility Institute. In an article from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Shanouda explains why he does not require student accommodation letters for his students.
• View a dramatization from Mount Royal University where a student and professor discuss accommodations. [Video Length: 2:11]
• View a video discussing possible accommodations for learners with low vision from JD Aragón, a digital media activist who has Nystagmus, a visual disability. [Video Length: 7:07]
• "Not Just Accommodating: Pedagogy Beyond the Archetypical" by Rory Kraft Jr. and Kevin Hermberg in Teaching Through Challenges for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) (2020), presents some possible accommodations that can be made for neurodiverse learners. Citing the work of Steve Silberman (2016), Kraft and Hermberg explain that neurodiversity "is the label used to denote acceptance of those whose cognitive and perceptual processes differ from the "normal" (p. 18).
• "Building Neurodiversity-Inclusive Postsecondary Campuses: Recommendations for Leaders in Higher Education" (2023) by Patrick Dwyer et al. in Autism in Adulthood "was written by neurodivergent students and researchers, and their allies, who suggest a system-wide approach [detailed through 13 recommendations] is needed  to  promote  inclusion  of  neurodivergent  students,  staff,  and  faculty  on  postsecondary  campuses" (p.1). Related Reading: "Accommodations and Support Services Preferred by College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder" (2019) by Amy Accardo et al. in Autism. 

eCampusOntario 

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA)

UDL for IDEA: A Guide for Post Secondary Educators (2022) was a collaborative project between 10 colleges and universities across Ontario. It features six modules to help educators understand and incorporate the principles of UDL, EDI, and Indigenous Pedagogies into their course material:

1. Introduction and Overview of UDL

2. UDL in Post-Secondary & Technology Enabled Learning Environments

3. Legislative Requirements Under the AODA and OHRC

4. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

5. Indigenous Pedagogies and the Benefits for All Learners in Ontario

6. UDL for AODA, EDI and Indigenous Pedagogies in Post-Secondary Learning Environments

Universal Design for Learning: Inspiring Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education

This four-module online UDL course was developed by George Brown educators Mandy Bonisteel, Ravinder Brar,  Joanna Friend, and Jessica Paterson. The modules look at how “the principles of universal design, equity and inclusion, decolonization, and digital fluency are woven together to create flexible online learning environments that honour learner variability, diversity, and lived experience.” 

Introduction to UDL and Equity Education Frameworks is the first module and includes sections on Equity Education and Anti-Oppression frameworks and Decolonizing Curriculum. To participate in the modules and complete the certificate course, you must create an account with eCampusOntario.

• Nicola Dove is the former Anti-racist Pedagogies Educational Developer in the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Nicola developed the Anti-Racist Pedagogy module which provides resources and guidance for integrating anti-racist curriculum and pedagogical approaches.  
• "Strategies for Antiracist and Decolonized Teaching" (2021) by Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal and Daniele Carkin Lacorazza

The Centre for Global Disability Studies (CGDS)

The CGDS was developed in 2020 at the University of Toronto Scarborough and "serves a catalyst to bring together faculty members, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and others conducting anti-ableist, intersectional, and interdisciplinary social science and humanities disability studies research from across all three University of Toronto (U of T) campuses and [sic] broader community."

• "Disability as a Colonial Construct: The Missing Discourse of Culture in Conceptualizations of Disabled Indigenous Children" (2020) by Nicole Ineese-Nash in the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies "explores the concept of disability through a critical disability lens to understand how Indigenous ontologies are positioned within the dominant discourse of disabled peoples in Canada." (p.26).
• The Disability Justice Network of Ontario champions a world where " people with disabilities are free to be" by building "a just and accessible Ontario."​
• Broken: Institutions, Families, and the Construction of Intellectual Disability (2018) by Madeline C. Burhardt. The book examines the political, social, historical, and economic factors of institutionalization and "the construction of difference" as it relates to disability and, more specifically, intellectual disabilities (p.5).
• Disability Incarcerated: Imprisonment and Disability in the United States and Canada (2014), edited by Liat Ben-Moshe et al. "seek to identify points of convergence of race, gender, class, sexuality, and disability within the framework of historically developing modes of incarceration ... [and] point out that carceral practices are so deeply embedded in the history of disability that it is effectively impossible to understand incarceration without attending to the confinement of disabled people" (p. vii).
• Work in the Intersections: A Black Feminist Disability Framework, (2019) by Moya Bailey and Izetta Autumn Mobley in Gender and Society argues that "Disability Studies must adopt a comprehensively intersectional approach to disability and non-normative bodies and minds" (p.19). 
• Watch "Disability & Intersectionality," a video produced by the Disability Services Center at the University of California Irvine.
• Read "Placing disAbility Front and Center in EDI Studies" (2020) by Hyun Uk Kim in Teaching through Challenges for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) purposes "to challenge and to dismantle the persistent negative conceptualization of disability so as to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion for all through pedagogical strategies useful not only for teacher educators but also for faculty across the disciplines" (p.7)."
• "Thinking about Mental Health and Spirituality from the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Frame of Reference" (2021) by Lieketseng Ned et al. in Disabilities Studies Quarterly looks at "case material ... to demonstrate the importance of including an African Indigenous worldview for understanding disability issues" (para. 3).
• 10 Principles of Disability Justice was developed by Sins Invalid, a “disability justice based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ / gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized.”

In January 2020, the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) published a paper entitled "A New Decade for Assessment: Embedding Equity into Assessment Praxis," exploring the "intersections of assessment and equity related [sic] work." The article looks at three assessment models, which will be summarized in this section, and how it relates to components of the UDL/CAST framework. 

Culturally Responsive Assessment

Based on the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings, this type of assessment "calls for practices which respond to the need of the contexts in which we teach and learn, including the needs of the students we serve" (p.6). Checkpoint 7.2, optimize relevance, value, and authenticity suggests that instructors offer a variety of "activities and sources of information" that consider the layers of student identities. Related viewing: Review the Sylvia Duckworth image on Intersectionality   

Socially Just Assessment

The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) explains that "there must be an understanding that learning and assessment operate under dynamics of power and oppression" acknowledging that assessment "is not an apolitical process" (p.2). Often, students are not involved in the assessment process and are seen as "objects of the assessment" rather than participants (p.8). Checkpoint 8.1, heighten salience of goals and objectives asks instructors to "engage learners in assessment discussions of what constitutes excellence and generate relevant examples that connect to their cultural background and interests." Creating dialogue around the learning goals and how they relate to assessment welcomes students into another layer of learning and engagement that values the knowledges and experiences they bring to the classroom.

Critical Assessment

One of the components of critical assessment is the need to vary "the types of evidence used to assess learning outcomes" (p.9). This is consistent with the CAST UDL guideline five of providing "options for expression & communication." Although posted in a previous FAQ section on "real life" UDL examples, Professor John Lee demonstrated how students are still able to meet the assigned goals of a chemistry lab and are able to employ different media forms to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding (see Examples of Student Submissions, under the Benefits section). 

• "What Are Equitable Assessment Practices?" was developed by the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at Tufts University. While not directly connected to the CAST guidelines, there are points connected to:

Providing "mastery-oriented feedback" and enhancing "capacity for monitoring progress"

Creating opportunities for "self-assessment and reflection"

Developing "fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance"

Ensuring the "salience of goals and objectives" is clear for the class 

• "Inclusive Assessment" is a specific example of UDL expectation 6.4, developed by the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at Tufts University. Using a chart, it models how assessment is "generally" done and the possible "considerations or enhancements" to make it more inclusive and enhance student learning and engagement.