Una aproximación a las condiciones de accesibilidad en los textos académicos en personas con discapacidad visual

Abstract

Visual impairment represents a major challenge for equitable access to education. Several studies report the barriers faced by visually impaired people at all levels of education, mainly due to the lack of adaptation of educational materials to accessible formats for this population. Particularly in higher education, this phenomenon is accentuated given the high reading component required for activities such as research, academic writing or the appropriation of scientific literature. Although there are currently several technical aids that seek to facilitate access to information for people with visual impairment, such as screen readers, text-to-speech recognition software, Braille materials, etc., these alone do not guarantee full inclusion in educational contexts (González, M. 2007). It is also necessary to implement strategies and institutional guidelines that facilitate the accompaniment of students with visual impairment, so that they can participate on equal terms with their peers without sensory limitations. This support should be oriented to different aspects, such as research, writing of academic and scientific texts, socialization of progress and results, access to bibliographic sources, among others. The present work seeks precisely to contribute in this sense, the identification and characterization of some reading strategies for people with visual impairment focused on promoting their accessibility to academic and scientific texts, from the experience of accompanying internships for the accompaniment of people with visual impairment. It is expected that this research will allow identifying the main tools currently used by students with visual impairment to access study material and how to accompany students with low vision in accessing academic texts.