Assistive Technology – What is UDL, NIMAS, and AIM?

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The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) creates a national standard for print materials in accessible formats.

Schools and publishers must adhere to these standards when creating educational materials – textbooks, workbooks, and supplemental materials.

NIMAS also requires states to provide instructional materials in a timely manner.

Your child’s IEP team determines your child’s need for materials in an alternate format.  The team must document the child’s needs and required supports in the child’s IEP.

IEP teams need to be familiar:

  • UDL – Universal Design for Learning
  • NIMAS – National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
  • AIM – Accessible Instructional Materials

Learn more about IDEA requirements for AT, UDL, NIMAS, and AIM on the Assistive Technology page at Wrightslaw. https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/atech.index.htm

You’ll find a listing of resources including a link to the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials – AEM.

AIM serves as a resource to state- and district-level educators, parents, publishers, conversion houses, accessible media producers, and others interested in learning more about and implementing AIM and NIMAS.

Learn about Accessible Media, Policy and Practice, Requirements in IDEA 2004 and:

  • Accessibility Resources
  • AIM Basics for Families
  • OCR-DOJ Guidance
  • ADA Amendments Act
  • e-Books for Education

Find out What Your State is Doing on the newly updated AEM State Pages.

These pages provide the name and contact information for each state’s AIM coordinator as well as a host of information about the acquisition of accessible instructional materials, the production of materials, including textbook adoption/purchasing, state statutes and policies, SEA special education responsibilities, assistive technology, state-specific information and resources.

http://aem.cast.org/policies/state.html#.VbaLQUU3aOc

Choose your state or territory from the pull-down menu for information regarding AEM: acquisition, production, policy and procedures, provision of resources, and other topics—including NIMAS and related information—specific to your state or territory.

Primary Contacts for NIMAS and NIMAC in your state.

http://aem.cast.org/policies/aem-state-contacts-sea-information.html#.VbaL10U3aOc

  1. Thank you for sharing this information about some of the resources that can be found on the web site of the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM Center). I wanted to also point out a couple of others that may be especially interesting to families. First, in the LEARN section, “All About AIM” and “AIM for Families.” Second, in the EXPERIENCE section, The AIM Navigator” an interactive online tool that assists families and educators identify the need for AIM and the to think through selection and acquisition of formats and supports for use.

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