Note-taker
Why disabled students need note-takers
Taking notes in lectures is very difficult or impossible for a number of disabled students for a variety of reasons.
The table below gives an overview of some of the issues disabled students face when taking notes. Some of them are more obvious than others.
|
Nature of disability |
Barrier to taking effective notes |
|
Blind / visual impairment |
Being unable to see materials presented visually, e.g. PowerPoint |
|
Deafness / hard of hearing |
Being unable to hear what is being said; being unable to take notes and lipread at the same time |
|
Upper limb disorders |
Being unable to write by hand or type for more than a few minutes, (or for any time at all) |
|
Stamina issues |
The student’s condition may make concentrating and/or writing/typing difficult over a long session |
|
Other |
Some disabled students may need to leave the lecture to use the bathroom, rest, stretch or take food and medication |
Having the support of a note-taker is therefore absolutely critical to some disabled student’s chances of success on a course.
