It’s always important to include people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in research teams. It’s even more important to include people with IDD in research during public health emergencies. That’s because people with IDD can be most at risk during the emergency. This toolkit gives strategies that research teams can use to work remotely with people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) during public health emergencies.
This toolkit:
- Is designed for research team leaders who want to include research team members with IDD.
- Includes descriptions of strategies that can be used across different stages of a research process. For each strategy, the toolkit also includes:
- Accommodations to make sure everyone on the team can participate
- Adaptations to use strategies during remote collaboration
- Accessible resources for team members, such as video directions for frequently used technologies and forms that can be individualized for your project
- Suggestions of free and low cost technologies that teams can use to collaborate remotely
- Examples of other research projects that have used each strategy and accommodation
Watch this video to learn more about the toolkit:
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility means that an activity or material can be used by everyone. The strategies in this toolkit help make the research process accessible to team members with IDD. The toolkit also has information about accommodations that can be used with each strategy. The accommodations in this toolkit are based on two theories:
Universal design for learning (UDL)
Universal design for learning (UDL) requires that activities present information in multiple ways, engage users in a way that is interesting to them, and provide users with multiple ways to express information.
- Presenting information in different ways includes: using images and videos in addition to text, and using color to highlight similarities and differences, and linking new concepts with familiar concepts.
- Engaging users include: individualizing content to each user’s interest, or providing individualized support to help users successfully complete activities.
- Providing users with multiple ways to express information includes: options to write, type, speak, draw, or select images that represent their thoughts or feelings.
Cognitive Load Theory
Cognitive load theory considers the amount of working memory and other executive function tasks (maintaining and shifting attention, organizing action and responses) required to complete a task (Clark et al., 2011). When tasks require more steps and more executive functioning, they increase the cognitive load. High cognitive load can make research activities not accessible to team members with IDD.
Cognitive load can be reduced by breaking down complex tasks into multiple steps that are completed one at a time. Researchers without disabilities might help reduce cognitive load by identifying the different steps in a research task and creating smaller, simpler steps. Researchers without disabilities can also modify each step so it meets the needs of each individual, or works with their strengths.