Accessible Computer Science for K-12 Students with Disabilities

Disability Inclusion and Accessibility in technology and education have today emerged as a necessity of national importance. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects like AccessCSforALL, Bootstrap, and CSforAll, are making efforts to make computer science inclusive to the 7.4 million K-12 students with disabilities. Bringing people with disabilities into tech workforce would not only create equal opportunities for all but would also better equip the society to serve its diverse population. Computer Programming is a growing and important field of the present and future. When the tools to learn programming from an early age are inaccessible to people with disabilities, they are denied the opportunity to succeed. This thesis focuses on making computer science concepts accessible to K-12 students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Blind/Low Vision and those with motor disabilities. It attempts to provide technical strategies to break this inaccessibility barrier and make computer science literacy, education, and, ultimately, careers accessible to all.