A visual, mobility, orthopedic or other health related impairment. (a) Visual impairment means a total or partial loss of sight. (b) Mobility or orthopedic impairments mean a serious limitation in locomotion or motor functions, which indicate a need for one or more of the services or programs available from DSPS. (c) Other health impairment means a serious dysfunction of a body part or system, which necessitates the use of one or more of the assistive/supportive services or programs available from DSPS.
Blind and Visually Impaired (Partially Sighted) students face a major challenge of the overwhelming mass of printed material. Most students who are blind use a combination of methods of assistance such as readers, brailed books and lectures, and computers. Instructors are responsible for accommodating both the student and the service provider. Most Visually Impaired students have measured vision, but they, too, meet the same challenges as the blind students. Academic accommodations for Visually Impaired/Blind students include the use of readers, audio taped texts and lectures, raised line drawings, computers with screen magnifiers, large print books, a Closed Circuit TV Magnifier, or other magnifying devices.
Mobility impairment can have various causes such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and muscular dystrophy, which can then vary the physical limitations, leading to the use of braces, crutches or wheelchairs. For students in wheelchairs, physical access is their main concern since stairs, curbs, narrow walkways, elevator doors without a delay mechanism, etc., stand in the way as barriers. Also, theatre-type classrooms with no room in front to park wheelchairs would present some difficulties. In classrooms, desks must be a certain height so that the wheelchair is able to fit under it.