Student Support Services Enhancing the Success of Students with Disabilities in Jamaica through Modern Assistive Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to articulate how technological support for students with disabilities at tertiary institutions in Jamaica can contribute to the immense success of those individuals. Through the use of a collective case study, the author examines an initiative by the UWI Centre for Disability Studies to assist students with disabilities in accessing modern technologies in order to facilitate their learning experience. Students with disabilities have reported that these assistive technologies have been of tremendous assistance to them. Indeed, this corroborates with the global understanding that effective student support systems promote the intellectual, personal, and academic development of students with a range of mental and physical abilities/disabilities and who come from diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and secondary school backgrounds.

In the case study, three students with disabilities, two who pursued a Bachelor of Science degree and another pursuing a Doctorate, featured in the research. The article concludes with some recommendations.