{"id":9176,"date":"2026-02-02T11:40:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T11:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/digital-learning\/?p=9176"},"modified":"2026-02-06T10:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T10:20:17","slug":"isolutions-at-disability-now-building-tools-sharing-knowledge-removing-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/digital-learning\/2026\/02\/02\/isolutions-at-disability-now-building-tools-sharing-knowledge-removing-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"iSolutions at Disability Now: Building Tools, Sharing Knowledge, Removing Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Group
Presenters and organisers at the Disability Now conference, November 2025. The group includes Dr Ben Whitburn, Ronda Gowland-Pryde, Wendy Appleby, and iSolutions colleagues Sarah Fielding, Tamsyn Smith, Zubair Shafiq, Piers Wilkinson, and Matthew Deeprose. Photo taken by Dean Wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 18 November 2025, over 100 colleagues gathered for the University of Southampton\u2019s Disability Now! symposium. The event brought together academic staff, professional services colleagues, students, and community partners to explore how disabled people shape our University and how we can remove barriers in education, research, and daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Ben Whitburn (Education), Vanessa Mar Molinero (CHEP), Ronda Gowland-Pryde (RIS), and Wendy Appleby (Vice-President Operations) organised the symposium, with AV support from James Ford, Manoj Patel, and Andrew Tyldesley. The Digital Learning Team chaired sessions and ran an accessibility drop-in throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hybrid format enabled both in person and remote attendees to view a choice from 33 presentations. Attendees ranged from entry-level staff through to senior leadership, spanning academic and professional services. The event also welcomed visitors from other universities, the private sector, and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the presentations, the symposium featured posters and exhibits exploring themes such as invisible disabilities in education, multisensory approaches to hearing difference, and peer support networks. These displays highlighted how disability research and lived experience intersect across disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three iSolutions colleagues presented their work on digital accessibility, disability representation within research, and institutional practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethinking Disability, Relationships, and Loneliness: What shapes connection when access isn\u2019t equal?  (Piers Wilkinson)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Piers
Piers Wilkinson presented research on disability, relationships, and loneliness at the Disability Now conference. Photo taken by Dean Wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Piers presented:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Piers Wilkinson, a Learning Technologist in the Digital Learning Team, presented research they co-authored on Disability, Relationships, and Loneliness. The session focused on three key insights drawn from the UK Government-commissioned thematic review<\/a> of 158 qualitative studies: disabled people\u2019s representation within research, what factors shape relational autonomy, and the interaction of service and support networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Piers chose this topic:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Research does not exist separately from the systems that shape people\u2019s ability to participate in education, employment, and community life. Connection is not a peripheral component of learning – it directly influences how safe people feel, how confidently they engage, and whether they can sustain participation over time.
The research findings presented stressed that autonomy is not purely an individual attribute;<\/strong> it grows or contracts depending on whether someone has access to stable digital connectivity, reliable transport, responsive services, and flexible institutional processes. When these conditions are absent or inconsistent, the result is not simply inconvenience. It can restrict people\u2019s ability to initiate or maintain relationships, to take part in academic or social communities, or to make everyday choices others take for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, many of the barriers that limit social connection operate quietly. A digital platform that works poorly with assistive technology, a timetable that assumes easy travel, or a service that requires burdensome administrative steps may seem minor in isolation. But together, these frictions accumulate, eroding people\u2019s sense of belonging and undermining their likelihood of staying engaged. This is particularly true for disabled people navigating systems that were never designed with their realities in mind. Even well\u2011intentioned support structures can unintentionally narrow people\u2019s opportunities for connection – especially where processes prioritise organisational efficiency over personal agency, or where support becomes something done to<\/strong> people rather than with <\/strong>them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key takeaway from Piers\u2019 presentation:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The choices we make in what we design, procure, and deliver help determine who can participate in research and who continue to be excluded – both as contributors and as creators of knowledge. Inclusive research and inclusive practice must start with lived experience. Co\u2011created and co\u2011produced work is not an optional extra; it leads to more accurate insights, more effective design decisions, and more equitable outcomes for all. Ultimately, the message was that connection is shaped long before people enter a classroom or research space. It begins with the systems we build, the assumptions we challenge, and the voices we choose to centre.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratising Digital Accessibility: AI-Enabled Tool Development for Barrier-Free Content Creation (Matthew Deeprose)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Matthew
Matthew Deeprose, Accessible Solutions Architect in iSolutions, presents on democratising digital accessibility through AI-enabled tool development. Photo taken by Dean Wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Matt presented<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Deeprose, Accessible Solutions Architect in iSolutions, shared how we can use artificial intelligence to create accessibility tools that go beyond the standard tooling in Microsoft Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial accessibility tools often fall short. Some tools we need do not exist. Others provide generic outputs that miss the context educators require. Many cannot adapt to match our workflows or address the specialist needs of particular disciplines. Consider image description generators. Most produce surface-level descriptions that ignore why an instructor chose a specific image to support a learning objective. They typically output alt text rather than extended descriptions and often default to US English. Busy academics deserve better: a streamlined workflow where they can upload an image, add context, and receive a description tailored to their teaching purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Matt chose this topic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Matt chose to present on this topic because skilled accessibility practitioners understand what good looks like. We know the gaps in current tooling. Working with large language models, we can create bespoke tools that address these gaps directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the symposium, Matt demonstrated several tools developed using AI-assisted coding:<\/p>\n\n\n\n