College staff ‘must change attitudes to teaching disabled students’

COLLEGE staff need to change their methods and their attitudes to teaching students with disabilities, it was claimed.

The number of third-level students with disabilities has risen significantly and applications for third-level places from people with disabilities or specific learning difficulties rose by a quarter this year, but the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) believes much more can be done to facilitate these students.

“There are more than 4,000 students with disabilities studying in higher education. They can learn and want to learn, but they learn differently, for example, by using e-books and other technology to read and write,” said AHEAD director Ann Heelan.