The Challenge of Online Learning with a Disability

By: Sophie Gustafson

The transition to remote learning has been quite an adjustment over the past few months. With endless Zoom sessions and overwhelming course loads, online instruction is a challenge that took most of us by surprise.

And for students with disabilities, translating in-person accommodations to an online setting is yet another obstacle the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on.

Andrea Vassar, Director of Disability Resources and Services, acknowledged the difficulty a sudden transition to online learning has been for students with accommodations.

DRS serves as the main resource for students with disabilities at Temple in facilitating these accommodations. “We spend a lot of time talking to students about the kinds of accessibility accommodations we can arrange, both academic and non-academic,” Vassar said.

“We’ve been fortunate that our team, since March, has been doing an admirable job of supporting students with disabilities in a remote way,” Andrea explained. “In some cases, [remote learning] helps us communicate easier, because we can talk to students a little faster now, whereas it might have taken someone up to a week to actually get an in-person appointment.”

In addition to traditional accommodations like test proctoring and extended exam time for existing DRS students, Vassar noted the unprecedented overlapping of students with both learning disabilities and underlying health conditions that prevent them from campus activity.

“Before we went entirely online, we worked with a number of students that may not have been registered with DRS, who felt like they could not come to class in person,” she said. “These are conversations we’re having with individual students - it’s an interactive process on a case-by-case basis.”

Along with these new DRS registrations, Vassar acknowledged the challenges of maintaining pre-established accommodations for existing students.

“I don’t think the DRS process is the big issue, it’s more about how the accommodations are translating into the remote learning environment,” she said. “If you are a student who had a note-taker in a lecture class, what does that look like now, in a Zoom class?”

Claire Mullen, a junior early childhood education major and DRS student at Temple, spoke to the positives and negatives of online learning and communication.

“I haven’t found myself reaching out to DRS as much this semester, since I can communicate with professors one-on-one,” Mullen said. “I definitely still need the accommodations this semester, it’s just a little bit more streamlined because I can talk directly with my professors online.”

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

With the transition to remote learning, DRS developed an online appointment system, allowing students to quickly schedule meetings with counselors.

“The counselors I’ve talked to have all been very understanding and helpful,” Mullen explained. “I know some other people who have DRS accommodations, and they’ve said that DRS is very hands-on right now because some people are needing more help.”

With the stress of the pandemic and adjustment to remote instruction, Mullen acknowledged the ease in communicating directly with professors online.

“I think a lot of professors are more accommodating this semester,” she said. “And [DRS] will be there if my accommodations aren’t being honored.”

Despite the direct communication between professors and students through this online learning platform, Vassar pointed out the stress of this sudden adjustment.

“The online format is difficult for certain learning disabilities,” Vassar explained. “It can be a little overwhelming for some students.”

While Vassar and Mullen enjoy the benefits of one-on-one communication between students and counselors over Zoom, both acknowledged the unfamiliarity of these unprecedented learning circumstances.

“Overall, online learning [with accommodations] definitely has its challenges,” Mulled said.

Despite this new learning format, Vassar is proud of the consistent communication between students and counselors.

“We’re watching how things are going, and we’re making improvements as we need to,” she explained. “We’re constantly looking at how accessible we are by phone and email to make sure we're available for students.”