The Problem with UDL

This is either going to be a very long post or a short one so let's see. What I do know is that is will probably upset a bunch of people and maybe that will actually get them to do something about it so again let's see (I am not optimistic about any change happening but this needs to be written).

In the last month I have left not one but two UDL associations/groups. I left because what I was seeing was very scary and extremely harmful and I do not want to be associated with groups that consistently do things that are ethically really icky. I have seen the direct harms that these groups have done to disabled learners and folk in the UDL community who see themselves as UDL practitioners and I have raised these harms time and again to no change.

I enter these meetings and there is always the same refrain "I don't know why I am having such a difficult time getting UDL uptake at my institution." And it is so sad because the reason is that THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE PEOPLE. I enter these spaces where all these UDL folk are talking about how great UDL is when the space itself is devoid of any UDL framing. And this is not just a one off situation, this is every time:

• UDLChats with folk posting images and infographics with no alt texts
• Meetings with no agendas sent ahead of time or clarity of meeting goals
• PowerPoints in PD sessions overwhelmed with text in 10 font
• Ridiculous time frame turn around and productivity expectations of people, especially those who are precariously employed or underwaged
• Using and promoting tools that are inaccessible to folk who use assistive technology

I could go on but you get the picture. And there is a real lack of desire to critically engage with these gaps and to decrease these barriers. There is a real lack of acknowledgment of the harms that they continue to create and uphold by not being meaningful in the choices they make. Instead it is always the same yes people upholding the same yes discourse of the mothership, and it is the same white straight abled American/Canadian women (sometimes men) who perpetuate this lack of change. It is the people in these groups that are the problem with UDL. 

It is not the guidelines, it is the lack of transparency around the equity work that is needed to make the guidelines better and more inclusive. It is not the guidelines, it is the white saviour complex that runs deep in these groups that prevents inclusive work from happening. It is not the guidelines or even the framing of UDL which has been proven as supportive of disabled learners if done in a meaningful way, it is the lack of modelling of these practices in these organizational/conference/PD spaces that make UDL harder to support in institutions because if folk just do a quick Google or social media check they can easily see the hypocrisy.

So if you care about UDL, or you say you care about UDL, then model this in your spaces. Acknowledge the harm you have done and actively demonstrate how you will work to decrease barriers. If you care about UDL you should also be open to critiquing just how much these spaces are not UDL supportive at all. I am seeing a lot of Universal Design for Lemmings (and before an ecologist tells me that lemming thing is a myth, I know, but these folk also love learning styles so lets go with it shall we). 

What are you going to do? Name me one thing you will start doing in these spaces to make it better? May I also suggest you read sarah madoka currie's excellent article  (link opens in new window) on all this as well as a way to help you reflect on next steps. I am waiting. I am watching. Let's see if anyone actually does anything.