[Athen] Seeking Guidance: Supporting a Newly Blind Student in Online STEM Courses

[Ali Steenis via athen-list]

Hi colleagues,

I would want to have answers to the following questions for this student.

Do all 3 classes need to be taken in this term? Could the student take just 1 STEM course and supplement with humanities? Or better yet, could they take just 1 or 2 STEM classes for the term total?
How confident does the student feel with using Jaws? Will they be able to navigate to the LMS and within course materials?
Does the student know any braille? Nemeth? Familiarity with tactile graphics?
Is the student connected with vocational rehabilitation for tech, orientation and mobility, and braille training?

As a blind professional who navigated a similar situation personally during undergrad, I would be concerned that the student is not set up for success taking 3 STEM courses while lacking the technology skills to have a positive learning experience. If this were my student, I might have a candid conversation about the necessity of taking these specific classes at this specific time.

Of course, if the student is hard set on continuing with the term, we would do our best to provide access. I would recommend posing the question to admin about hiring part time workers to support with homework and reading if resources allow. I would also advise having a lab assistant and scribe for notes in all classes.

I would recommend getting all course materials in plain text Word documents that are easy for the student to navigate with Jaws. This will be especially helpful if homework can be in Word format so they can work in the same document and copy paste answers into an LMS if needed.

For any graphing in the stats class, you may want to discuss with the student the best way for them to graph. Is Desmos an option? Or could the student use tactile graphics and string/pipe cleaners/glue to plot points and lines? Peg boards can also be helpful for graphing if a lower tech solution creates fewer barriers for the student.

Happy to be a resource if it would be helpful.

Warmly,
Adjusting to vision loss can be incredibly taxing. The learning curve associated with learning how to function and do school at the same time can be daunting for the most prepared folks. The student may have a good idea of what they need now but that could shift once they get in the courses and understand the work load and materials.


Ali Steenis
Pronouns: she/hers
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From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman22.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Bishop, Jeff - (jeffbis) via athen-list
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2025 5:01 PM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Seeking Guidance: Supporting a Newly Blind Student in Online STEM Courses

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Hello all,

We are working with a student who will be taking statistics, organic chemistry, and physiology-entirely online. She is newly blind and is currently learning JAWS for Windows. Notably, she has taken the chemistry course before as a sighted student.
We are in the process of seeking academic aid, but we are also very concerned about how to best support her with aspects of these classes that are highly visual, particularly the 3D models and computer-based work that are integral to chemistry and physiology.
Have any of you faced a similar situation? If so, how did you approach accommodations for courses that rely heavily on visual and spatial content? Any specific recommendations for tools, strategies, or approaches that worked well for students in these disciplines would be very helpful.

We sincerely appreciate any guidance or resources you can share.

Thank you,

Jeff Bishop

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