Engineering and Disability

[Music]

>>Narrator: Human ability
varies greatly with respect to

sight, hearing, learning, communication,
attention, and mobility.

The best engineers design products
that are usable by a broad audience.

Considering the needs of individuals
with disabilities in design decisions

can lead to better products.

>>Nils Hakansson: People with
disabilities are problem solvers

and engineering is about
solving problems

and improving quality of life

and designing environments and
structures and devices to help people.

And we’re experts at that

because we do it
every day in our lives.

>>Narrator: Engaging people with
disabilities in engineering fields

can help to meet the demand
for innovative engineers.

To make this possible, engineering
courses need to be welcoming

and accessible to
students with disabilities

and reasonable accommodations
need to be provided.

>>Grace: In school I use an
interpreter, a sign language interpreter,

and also have a note taker
for each of my classes

whenever I request one.

>>Nils: I was even able to
attend a machine shop class,

working with a lathe and an end mill,
non-computer controlled, hand controlled,

largely because the faculty
who taught that class

were open-minded and really
allowed me to dictate my limits.

>>Narrator: Engineering educators
can make their courses

more welcoming and accessible
to students with disabilities

by applying universal
design strategies.

>>Narrator: Engineering faculty can also
teach accessibility and universal design

in their courses.

>>Cynthia: By including
accessibility and universal design

in engineering curriculum,
you're making a statement

to all the students
that you're teaching

that the perspectives and the needs
of people with disabilities

is something that they
need to think about,

whether they’re engineering
specifically for that group

or for any other group.

>>Kat Steele: So just as we teach

safety and material
properties and dynamics

within our engineering curriculum,

incorporating universal design
can ensure that our future engineers

consider those small design tweaks
and consider the breadth of the population

in their design
and future innovation.