Access to Learning Canada Goes Live

What Students with Disabilities Have Been Waiting For

By Christine Staddon and Rabia Khedr

A project of Access to Learning Canada, the Canadian Council on Learning, SNOW and the Canadian Abilities Foundation

Research shows that higher education and lifelong learning contribute significantly to the lifestyle that one enjoys. Canadians understand the power of education to transform people's lives by increasing their chances of gaining satisfying employment that provides financial independence. From this we can safely conclude that students with disabilities who have accessed post-secondary education will also improve the quality of their lives.

Over the years, expanded access to transportation, teacher training, technology and other factors have greatly increased the opportunities for students with disabilities to take advantage of higher learning. Obviously, there are still barriers, including inadequate preparation for the transition from high school to the post-secondary environment. If students with disabilities were able to know more about the availability of supports specific to their needs, this would help to make the transition smoother.

“When I was making my transition, I was unaware of the supports and services available and how to access them. I hear this same concern expressed by many students,” says Uzma Khan, president of Canada-Wide Accessibility for Post- Secondary Students (CanWAPSS).

All students are faced with important decisions when pursuing post-secondary education: “What program do I want to take? Where do I want to study?” For many students, once this is determined they are well on their way. For students with disabilities, this is just the beginning. Next they need to find out about the accessibility and services at their school of choice. To address this need, the Canadian Abilities Foundation (CAF) in collaboration with the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC) at the University of Toronto, with the support of the Canadian Council on Learning, is proud to launch Access to Learning Canada (ATLC).

ATLC is a new national online resource for students with disabilities, parents and people working in education and disability. In developing ATLC, we saw an opportunity to bring together a great volume of information on disability supports and services.

We connected with post-secondary institutions and asked them to share what their school offers to students with disabilities. In order to mobilize the knowledge we gained, we created an easy-to-use online resource.

The project organizers are grateful for the input of two key organizations, the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) and the Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in Post-Secondary Education (CADSPPE). We would like to acknowledge the support of these organizations in helping us to create this invaluable resource. The initial draft was also sent to campuses across Canada for their reaction.

The ATLC website allows people with disabilities to find out where and how to locate information on accessibility, services and technology at post-secondary facilities across the country. It is intended to be an entry point for institution-specific research on disability services.

ATLC is organized geographically and is completely accessible, according to the most recent web standards.

We hope that people who are considering pursuing higher education will be inspired by how schools are welcoming students with disabilities.

“The transition from high school to college or university is an important time for students with disabilities. The more information and tools that students with disabilities have about schools and programs ahead of time, the better able they are to make informed decisions about where to go and what to study,” says Mahadeo Sukhai, president of NEADS. “Students with disabilities should start thinking sooner rather than later about their accessibility needs and how to have those needs met. I think ATLC will provide a good starting point for students asking these questions.”

In addition to helping students find institution-specific information, ATLC will also act as a catalyst for sharing knowledge about topics related to education and disability. There are a range of articles pertaining to inclusive/accessible education already available on ATLC, with the capacity to add many more.

Events such as the Forum on Human Rights and Education of Students with Disabilities (www.canwapss.com) will be promoted to inform and educate interested parties in the area of integrated and inclusive learning. Relevant news and announcements will also be posted to keep users up-to-date and informed. Hyperlinks to relevant resources will also be available for further exploration.

Over 50 schools and campuses have already enthusiastically contributed their information to the website. We thank all contributors for taking the time to respond to the ATLC questionnaire. As ATLC continues to grow, we invite schools to complete the online questionnaire and update their information regularly.

ATLC is a new national online resource for students with disabilities Contributing to Access to Learning Canada is simple. Register online by creating a user account, emailing the ATLC administrator at atlc@abilities.ca, and filling out the questionnaire once authorization has been granted. You can also comment on listings by completing the basic registration/ login process. For details, please visit www.accesstolearning.ca.