Glossary

Accessible: In the case of a facility, readily usable by a particular individual; in the case of a program or activity, presented or provided in such a way that a particular individual can participate, with or without auxiliary aid(s); in the case of electronic resources, accessible with or without assistive computer technology. () 

Accommodation: An adjustment to make a program, facility, or resource accessible to a person with a disability.(DO-IT, Glossary of Disability-Related Terms, https://www.washington.edu/doit/glossary-disability-related-terms)

Adaptive Technology: Hardware or software products that provide access to a computer that is otherwise inaccessible to an individual with a disability. () 

Adjustable Table: Tables move up and down to accommodate students with  limitation needs.

Assistive Technology: Technology used to assist a person with a disability, e.g., wheelchair, hand splints, computer-based equipment. () 

Braille: System of embossed characters formed by using a Braille cell, a combination of six dots consisting of two vertical columns of three dots each. Each simple Braille character is formed by one or more of these dots and occupies a full cell or space. Some Braille may use eight dots. )

Dictation: An assistive technology tool that can help individuals who have writing limitations. With dictation technology, individuals can write words by speaking them aloud. Dictation is sometimes called 鈥渟peech-to-text.鈥� ()
Captioned film or videos: Transcription of the verbal portion of films or videos displayed to make them accessible to people who are deaf. ()

Captioning: Text that is included with video presentations or broadcasts that enables the viewer with hearing impairments to have access to the audio portion of the material.

Closed Circuit TV Magnifier (CCTV): Camera used to magnify books or other materials to a monitor or television. ()

Communication device: Hardware that allows a person who has difficulty using their voice clearly to use words or symbols for communication. May range in complexity from a simple picture board to complex electronic devices that allow personalized, unique construction of ideas. ()

Compensatory tools: Assistive computing systems that allow people with disabilities to use computers to complete tasks that they would have difficulty doing without a computer, e.g., reading, writing, communicating, accessing information. ()

Disability: Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). Discrimination: Act of making a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit. ()


Dragon Naturally Speak (DNS): A voice recognition software. Students can navigate the computer by using voice commands.This software is useful for those who type less than 20 words a minute. It can dictate into most word processing programs at 50+ wpm. 

E-Agreements: Students are required to  sign E-Agreement(s) every semester, for accommodations on MyAEC. E-Agreement signatures are determined based on a student's prescribed accommodations. Student signatures ensure that the student is aware of AEC policies and will abide by them.

Faculty Notification Letter: Faculty receive a notification letter via email outlining a student's accommodations, with detailed information, following the student's accommodation requests for the semester. Faculty notification letters are emailed throughout the semester.

JAWS: A computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows. It allows blind and visually impaired users to read the screen using a text-to-speech output, and can be navigated using keyboard shortcuts.

Glean: Glean is a notetaking program that allows students to record lectures and presentations. Glean can also be used while using Zoom. 

Hearing impairments: Complete or partial loss of ability to hear caused by a variety of injuries or diseases including congenital defects. ()

Large print books: Most ordinary print is six to ten points in height (about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch). Large type is fourteen to eighteen points (about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch) and sometimes larger. The format of large print books is also proportionately larger (usually 8 1/2 x 11 inches). ()

Major life activities: Functions such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, and participating in community activities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). ()

Mobility impairment: Disability that affects movement ranging from gross motor skills such as walking to fine motor movement involving manipulation of objects by hand. ()

Multimedia: In terms of electronic information, any data which is presented through several formats including text, graphics, moving pictures and sound. ()

MyAEC: The student portal allows students to apply to the AEC view their accommodations, schedule all their exams, and view their notes from their notetaker. The Notetaker Portal allows notetakers to apply online, register their courses, and upload notes for students utilizing notetaking accommodations.The Faculty Portal allows professors to manage accommodations for all courses and all students in a single location. 

Notetaking: Notetaking services are provided for students whose disability impairment(s) prevent the student from taking notes during course lecture. Notetakers take notes during lectures or any discussions related to class learning including online and face-to-face. 

Optical character recognition (OCR): Technology system that scans and converts printed materials into electronic text. ()

Physical or mental impairment: Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). ()

Private Room: Situated  room  in a distraction reduced environment where only one student is testing. For example in AEC鈥檚 Testing Center there are 5 private rooms in which a maximum of 1 student/per room is used, 4 walls, and a floor to ceiling door that closes. 

Qualified individual with a disability: An individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modification to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990). ()

Read & Write: A text-to-speech software. E-text books, websites, and documents can be spoken aloud. Read & Write provides tools that can be used to better strengthen learning which include highlighting text, spell check, screen tint, and more. Read & Write can be installed on PC, Mac and Tablet devices.

Reader: Volunteer or employee of an individual with a disability (e.g., visual impairment, learning disability) who reads printed material in person or records to audiotape. ()

Reading system: Hardware and software designed to provide access to printed text for people with visual impairments, mobility impairments, or learning disabilities. Character recognition software controls a scanner that takes an image of a printed page, converts it to computer text using recognition software and then reads the text using a synthesized voice. ()

Real-time Captioner: 

  • A Captioner鈥檚 main function is to facilitate communication between the instructor, Deaf or Hard of Hearing student and their classmates.
  • A Captioners logistics in the classroom depend on the aesthetics in the classroom. It is important to have the most advantageous location, to optimally hear and see the lecture.
  • Real-time Captioner鈥檚 adhere to the same strict code of ethics as Interpreters.

Screen enlargement: Hardware and/or software that increases the size of characters and text on a computer screen. ()

Screen reader: Software used to echo text on a computer screen to audio output, often used by people who are blind, with visual impairments, or with learning disabilities. ()

Semi Private Room: A room with more privacy to aid in providing a distraction reduced environment. Semi Private rooms may be a large space where two students are seated apart with sufficient space. AEC's Testing Center semi-private spaces are cubical style with clear sliding doors. 

Sensory impairment: A disability that affects touch, sight and/or hearing. ()
Sign language: Manual communication commonly used by deaf . The gestures or symbols in sign language are organized in a linguistic way. Each individual gesture is called a sign. Each sign has three distinct parts; the handshape, the position of the hands, and the movement of the hands. American Sign Language (ASL) is the most commonly used sign language in the United States. Deaf people from different countries speak different sign languages. ()

Sign Language Interpreter:

  • An Interpreters鈥� main function is to facilitate communication between the instructor, Deaf or Hard of Hearing student and their classmates, when said student uses sign language.
  • An Interpreters鈥� logistics in the classroom depend on subject matter.
  • Interpreters adhere to a strict code of ethics pertaining to the delivery of effective and exact communication. This code of ethics is incorporated into the AEC鈥檚 Required Procedures. AEC interpreters are bound by these Required Procedures.

Sonocent: Sonocent helps students Capture by recording the lecture, Annotate by color coding recordings and adding slides, Review by listening back and adding notes in text pane and Engage by exporting lectures or text notes. Sonocent can be installed on PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices.

Specific Learning Disability: Disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which may manifest itself in difficulties listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling, or doing mathematical calculations. Frequent limitations include hyperactivity, distractibility, emotional instability, visual and/or auditory perception difficulties and/or motor limitations, depending on the type(s) of learning disability. ()

Speech impairment: Problems in communication and related areas such as oral motor function, ranging from simple sound substitutions to the inability to understand or use language or use the oral-motor mechanism for functional speech. ()

Speech input or speech recognition: A method of controlling a computer and creating text by dictation. Speech input software is combined with a microphone. ()

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) or Teletypewriter (TTY): A device which enables someone who has a speech or hearing impairment to use a telephone when communicating with someone else who has a TDD/TTY. TDD/TTYs can be used with any telephone, and one needs only a basic typing ability to use them. ()

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Open and closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, including cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. ()

Universal design: Designing programs, services, tools, and facilities so that they are useable, without modification, by the widest range of users possible, taking into account a variety of abilities and disabilities. ()

Universal design of instruction: The design of instructional materials and activities that make learning achievable by students with a wide variety of abilities and disabilities. () 

Vision impairments: Complete or partial loss of ability to see, caused by a variety of injuries or diseases including congenital defects. Legal blindness is defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses, or widest diameter of visual field subtending an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees. ()