Learners aged 14+ who want to understand access processes, including adult students, applicants, workers, and supportive peers; no diagnosis or disclosure is required.
Course 71 · Work course 24
Access Disability Support at Work and School
Describe an access barrier, find the responsible office, and prepare a focused request while protecting private information.
Before you start
Use Lee’s fictional case or a non-sensitive invented task.
See everything you’ll needWhat you’ll leave with
A private practice request for support, with the right contact, useful questions, and a follow-up plan.
Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.
Your project
Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.
Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.
- Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
- Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
- Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.
- Use Lee’s fictional case or a non-sensitive invented task.
- Choose a private paper or document workspace and use placeholders for all records.
- Read the setting-specific source summaries and keep employment, school, and college processes separate.
Finish with proof you can use.
Assemble a private access-support request and follow-up plan using fictional information.
Save a project record in My ProofSee project checklist and review criteria
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- Describe a task, access barrier, desired outcome, and possible changes.
- Map the responsible process for the chosen setting.
- Draft a clear request and a placeholder-only documentation plan.
- Compare two assistive options using task evidence and privacy questions.
- Include a status log, follow-up script, and verified-route questions for unresolved access.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Request clarity: a specific task and barrier connect to a practical participation outcome.
- Route accuracy: employment, school, and postsecondary processes are distinguished and the responsible role is named.
- Privacy: sensitive records are replaced with placeholders and authorized channels are identified before sharing.
- Follow-through: options are compared for effectiveness and the log distinguishes request, implementation, and participation.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas
The rules behind the steps.
Describe participation
Start with the task and barrier rather than assumptions about a person.
Keep information proportionate
Ask who needs which information and through what channel.
Test effectiveness
An arrangement is evaluated in the activity it is meant to support.
What do these words mean?
Key words
Key terms worth knowing.
- Access barrier
- A feature of a task or environment that limits effective participation.
- Accommodation request
- A request for a change linked to a disability-related need in a relevant setting.
- Assistive technology
- A tool or technology used to support access or functional participation.
- Interactive process
- A discussion of needs and possible effective workplace adjustments.
- Implementation
- Putting an agreed arrangement into actual use.
Your route6 lessons.
6 lessons.
One useful project.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Describe the barrier and the task
Write an access description focused on participation rather than diagnosis.
- 227 min
Find the process for the setting
Map separate request routes for employment, school, and postsecondary study.
- 325 min
Draft a clear, limited access request
Connect a needed change to the barrier and invite a discussion of effective options.
- 425 min
Keep support records relevant and private
Prepare a document-handling plan without gathering or sharing sensitive records.
- 525 min
Evaluate a tool by the access it provides
Compare assistive options using task outcomes, compatibility, and privacy.
- 629 min
Follow up and assemble an access plan
Track an unresolved request, evaluate a proposed arrangement, and identify next support routes.
Use the tools
See all tools Tools to help you practice.
Source transparency
Sources and further study.
Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.
EEOC — Reasonable accommodation request guidance
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read request, documentation, effective alternatives, and response sections. The guidance is dated 2002 and expressly notes later ADA amendments; used for request-process education, not disability diagnosis, coverage, or current individual eligibility decisions.
Access: The named EEOC guidance is publicly readable without an account. Reading it does not open a complaint, obtain representation, or determine a personal legal outcome.
Reuse: This specific EEOC — Reasonable accommodation request guidance resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
U.S. Department of Education — Postsecondary auxiliary aids and services
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read student notice responsibilities, institutional contact options, and effectiveness discussion. Postsecondary guidance is not treated as the process for elementary or secondary school.
Access: The Department of Education guidance is public and free. No disability records, institutional enrollment, or accommodation application are needed for these fictional exercises.
Reuse: This specific U.S. Department of Education — Postsecondary auxiliary aids and services resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
University of Washington DO-IT — Our Technology for Equal Access
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Opened and read the university’s description of its 2018 resource about varied assistive hardware, software, and peripherals. The embedded video is optional; product capabilities or current prices were not verified and are not prescribed.
Access: The university’s public resource description is free. Its embedded 2018 video is optional; all required practice data are supplied, and no device purchase or program enrollment is needed.
Reuse: This specific University of Washington DO-IT — Our Technology for Equal Access resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
OpenStax, Rice University — Communication context and channels
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read audience, purpose, channel, and privacy examples. Original request drafts and access scenarios are used; no source activity is copied.
Access: This specific OpenStax chapter is freely readable in a browser without an account. All required exercises are supplied here; no enrollment, certificate purchase, or university affiliation is needed.
Reuse: Original Life Starter examples, questions, and lesson sequence are informed by this OpenStax chapter. No source exercises, illustrations, quizzes, or logos are reproduced; consult the source’s own license for separate reuse.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Potential collaboration: Suitable for disability-access offices, vocational rehabilitation partners, schools, colleges, and workforce organizations providing request-process education; actual services, coverage, and eligibility remain with responsible providers.
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