VIDBE-Q Volume 69 Issue 4
addressed by EERs include compensatory skills, social skills, self-advocacy skills,
assistive technology skills, self-determination, and career exploration (Sapp &
Hatlen, 2010).
In the case of students with visual impairment, deafblindness, or other
disability, practitioners may not be aware that the added component of AT can
loom large socially and educationally for individuals. According to Cook &
Hussey (2008), "if the others in the environment do not support using the
technology, the individual faces more significant challenges to successfully using
the device" (p. 41). Students may feel that utilizing their AT to access the
curriculum may create additional barriers to social acceptance in the classroom.
Creating a situation, such as an Educational Escape Room, where the students' AT
skills are perceived by peers in a positive way can address the need to balance
social acceptance with AT use for access. As Sherwood and Kattari (2021) state,
"modeling inclusive environments and centering all bodies and minds helps to shift
student perspectives and, therefore, reduce ableism." According to Sanford (2012),
"Universal design reduces stigma by making invisible the modifications to the
environment that make it more accessible" (p. 74).
The intrinsic value of UDL is that it does not point one individual out,
addressing the need for social acceptance. Cooperative work on a team, be it in
written instruction, or spoken language, allows students opportunities to use AT
