How can a student with limited hand function participate in my science lab?
A. You can structure the activities so that students work with lab partners. Be sure the student with a disability participates actively and is not just an observer. For example, a student could input data into a laptop computer, while her partner carries out the procedure. There are also a variety of ways to adapt lab equipment (e.g., enlarging tool handles, using “grippers”) to make it accessible to someone with limited hand function. Using computer controlled lab equipment with alternative input devices (e.g., speech, Morse code, switches) is another possibility. See Science Labs for more information about making science labs more accessible to students with disabilities. Alternatively, if students in the lab don’t work in pairs, meet with the student disability services to determine if a lab assistant for the student can be secured. This person might be another student who is a major in the department. The lab assistant, for example, functions as the eyes or hands of the student, b
