The biggest barriers we have that would have major impacts on students with physical disabilities and mobility impairments is the equipment we have. We are a practically heavy course and when the machines are not accessible, this effects my ability to deliver technical workshops for these students.
I personally would find it unethical to expect students with disabilities to
use different equipment to abled bodied students. That in my opinion is not
inclusive but excluding. The ideal is to find options that all students can
use. As stated by Bunbury (2020) “Being inclusive involves minimising
barriers that hinder learning and participation” By not having equipment
and furniture that can be used by abled and disabled students, we are creating
a divide.
While doing desk research on industrial sewing machines for wheelchair
users, I came across the website https://movingmood.com/ a Spanish company that
have conducted extensive research on the needs of people with functional
diversity and clothing, and to create a system to evaluate garment
accessibility. Along with the desire to implement accessible clothing and
encourage fashion designers to consider these standard, the have also been
conduction research to make the production itself accessible. They have developed
attachments to make industrial sewing machines wheelchair accessible.
Bunbury, S., (2020). Disability in higher education–do reasonable adjustments contribute to an inclusive curriculum?. International Journal of Inclusive Education, pg. 967. Available at https://www-tandfonline-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/doi/epdf/10.1080/13603116.2018.1503347?needAccess=true Accessed 10th November 2023
Moving Mood (2023) Available at https://movingmood.com/ Accessed on 24th November 2023