The Process to Create the Accessibility Promotion Program at the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL)

Abstract

The inclusion of special needs students in higher education demands collective work to overcome informational, communication, pedagogical, instrumental, methodological and attitudinal barriers, which lead to significant disadvantages in the appropriation of knowledge by and professional training of these students. This study presents
the experience of an intervention that provided special needs students better conditions to access knowledge and realize social exchanges in the university environment. Undertaken at a private university in Santa Catarina, the experiment has resulted in an improved capacity for inclusion of students with disabilities, more precisely ten people who are blind or have poor vision, five people with hearing impairments, three people with physical disabilities and two with reduced mobility. The results indicate
the importance of institutional investment in accessibility, to promote the consolidation of an inclusionary culture in higher education.