Services for students who are blind or who have visual challenges

In the last two decades Lewis & Clark has been working to provide accommodations and make its campus more accessible to everyone, but we recognize that there is still more to be accomplished, especially in the area of physical accessibility.

Since Lewis & Clark is on the original grounds of a manor house that was built into a hillside alongside a ravine, finding one's way around the campus has sometimes been a challenge for blind and visually impaired students. Following a master plan for making the grounds more accessible and listening to the advice of visually impaired students themselves have brought us closer each year to our goal of making the campus more navigable for those with low vision.

We have worked with the staff of the residence halls and with members of other departments to provide students with an orientation to the campus and assistance in locating classrooms and other significant locations until they are comfortable in finding their way around. As in the case of all students, you must be a strong self-advocate and notify the our office of your needs in a timely manner.

In the past, we have provided the services listed below for students with visual impairments, but each case and each request for accommodations is considered individually. Please contact us (503-768-7156 or access@lclark.edu) as soon as possible if you are planning to visit or attend Lewis & Clark so that arrangements can be made to meet your needs.

Possible Accommodations

Please see Arranging for Accommodations for more specific information.

• Notetakers (who may type notes on a computer and enlarge them)
• Alternative texts and materials
• CDs from Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic
• Text in electronic form that can be enlarged or used with a screen reader
• Textbooks and other classroom materials embossed in Braille
• Permission to tape lectures
• Enlargements of course handouts
• Research aides (peers)
• Test accommodations (e.g., taped exams or readers, enlarged or Braille-embossed exams, readers, scribes, extended time)
• Kurzweil 1000 Reading software in Adaptive Technology room in Aubrey Watzek Library
• Zoomtext on computer in Adaptive Technology room in Watzek Library and Student Support Services office
• CCTV in Aubrey Watzek Library
• Use of a portable CCTV to focus on blackboard notations and transmit images to the student’s laptop
• Use of whiteboard technology to transmit and capture whiteboard notations to the student’s laptop computer
• Other accommodations provided based on individual need, student documentation, and campus resources