[Music]
>> Narrator: Engineers design,
create and innovate.
From airplanes and cars
to robots and electronics,
engineers design products
we use every day.
There’s a great demand
for skilled engineers
with a strong academic background
and work experience.
Increasing the participation of people
with disabilities in engineering
can help to meet this demand.
>> 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.
>> Cynthia: A lot of
society isn't really built
to be accessible for a blind person
so, throughout my life,
I either talk to role models about
how they have solved a problem
or I have to figure it out myself.
I think that the problem-solving
fits really naturally
into an engineering discipline.
>> Leyf Starling: So, just increasing,
when you're thinking about putting together
the best possible team to
work on an engineering problem,
you want as many different ideas
coming to the table as possible.
>> Constance Thompson: You will find
a lot of individuals
with varying levels of dis-Ability
think differently about solving problems
because they have to
and just by inserting that
into the conversation,
inserting that into the way
that you practice engineering,
it's going to change the game.
It's a game changer
and we need that type of
game changing attitude in the U.S.
to meet those innovation challenges
that we're going to face.
>> Grace: It's important
for people with disabilities
to go into engineering fields because
they've experienced problems themselves
and they probably have ideas on
how to fix that and what to do.
>> Narrator: Human ability
varies across a wide spectrum
including individuals with
visual impairments,
hearing impairments,
learning disabilities,
autism spectrum disorders,
attention deficits,
and mobility impairments.
>> Nils: I have a physical disability,
I ride a wheelchair.
>> Daniel: I have high functioning
autism spectrum disorder.
>> Grace: I'm profoundly deaf.
I grew up with two hearing aids
and then last year, when I was 17,
I got a cochlear implant on my right side
because I wasn't hearing anything
through my right ear.
>> Billy Price: Yes, I'm in a wheelchair
but being in a wheelchair
shouldn't have any impact whatsoever
on my ability to do my job.
So, in that sense,
I'm just the same as everybody else
so I don't think I should have
any sort of,
I don't think I should be
treated any different.
I mean, there's a job
that has to be done.
Yes I have an engineering background and
I can do it just as successfully
as anyone else.
>> Kat Steele: I think one of the challenges
for individuals with disabilities
is low expectations.
We all have different levels of ability
but often, I think, people make assumptions
based upon whether you move a certain way
or if you use assistive technology
during your daily life.
>> Cynthia: I don't meet enough
engineers with disabilities.
For example, on my campus, I am usually
the one person that people go to,
“Oh we need your feedback about this.
Is it accessible?”
I think that people with disabilities
still have to make a concerted effort
to find role models
who are engineers.
>> Narrator: Assistive technology
and reasonable accommodations
can make it possible for
individuals with disabilities
to successfully pursue education
and careers in engineering.
>> Daniel: I was able to get
more time on examinations,
which was extremely helpful.
Which gave me time to think on a problem,
not be compressed in a very short time span
to complete a problem,
have a very low
distraction environment.
I was in a room all by myself.
>> 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.
>> Leyf: So a talking calculator
it's a great tool not just for
someone with a visual impairment
but for someone with dyscalculia
who has trouble flipping numbers around.
>> Nils: I was even able to attend
a machine shop class,
working with a lathe and 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: Instructors can make
their classes accessible to all students
by applying universal design,
designing their classes and lessons
so all students have equal access
to the information.
>> Brianna Blaser: Captioning on videos,
not only is that great for students
who might have hearing loss or are deaf,
but students who are not
native speakers of English
often use the captions when
they are watching a video
so you know that's a
great example of universal design
that's benefiting all kinds of people.
>> Leyf: So for a student
with a learning disability
in reading for example,
if they have the opportunity
to gain the information
from an engineering design perspective
instead of just reading a textbook,
they're going to excel more
and they're going to feel
more successful in that area.
>> Kat: Many of the new
educational techniques
that incorporate active learning
and involving many different types
of educational material
really not only help
individuals with disabilities,
but all students.
Each year as you teach a class
you can introduce some of these changes,
hear how students respond,
and over time,
create a more accessible environment
within your department
and in your classroom.
>> Narrator: Many engineering assignments
involve group projects,
and faculty can encourage
classmates to be welcoming.
>> Cynthia: I think traditionally people
with disabilities are sometimes marginalized
to,
for example, write the lab report rather than
pouring liquids or using machinery
and that's where asserting one's self
can really come in handy to say, “No,
it's just as important for me to learn
how to use the shop equipment as you,”
and so I might need to touch the equipment
or be instructed on how to use it,
but I still need to take part
in that process.
I don't want a group member
to make an assumption
about what I may or may not
be able to do
or in what ways that
I could use some help
so I have to be able to
communicate my skills and say
“Well, this is what
I can offer the group,
and here, maybe formatting
the PowerPoint slides,
maybe that’s something
that someone else in the group
could do.
>> Sheryl Burgstahler: The key there
is to make sure that every
team member has a role.
And I suggest the first thing t
hey should do
is ask the student
with a disability
how they'd like to contribute
to the group work
and often they'll
come up with something
that maybe the faculty member
or other students
wouldn't have even thought of.
>> Kat: Many of our new tools
that we use on an everyday basis
such as CNC machines which are
computer numerically controlled machines
where we use them for mills
and lathes and drills,
a lot of them are
controlled by computers now
and so that actually
increases access
and makes it so that
more people can easily build
the products that they're
wanting to create.
>> Michelle McCombs: These are
great students.
They have a lot to offer.
You will learn as much from them
as they learn from you,
if not more.
And just the more
you work with them,
it just really
moves the field forward
in ways that you are
not going to expect.