My CPACC Study Strategy
Resources Used
Many people choose to use the CPACC Exam Prep Course from Deque. As a Disabled person, I had access to it for free. However, I eventually decided to rely entirely on the Body of Knowledge as there were numerous instances where the Deque course either paraphrased in such a manner that it robbed me the wrong way, or included details that were not within the original scope as suggested by the Body of Knowledge.
Given that the BoK was updated in October 2023, I would guess some of these inclusions are legacy material that the Deque team didn't manage to scrub out.
But it does not matter. I also prefer to engage with the various linked sources directly and interpret them on my own accord, instead of having someone else do that for me. The information sticks with me better.
Material Memorized
There are some pieces of material that I committed to rote memory. Here's a list of the data points I committed:
- The nine disability types.
- All disability demographic statistics that were listed in the BoK. Here they all are in a chart/list, and interactive memory game.
- 13 main guidelines and four principles of WCAG 2.2.
- The 7 Universal Design Principles alongside all associated principles using the UDP mindmap
- Universal Design for Learning Guidelines 2.2's thirty-one subpoints, nine guidelines, and three principles. I memorized the UDL 2.2 numbering via Quizlet.
- Using acronym mnemonics to memorize WAI Organizational Implementation Strategy Recommendations, created a WAI Recommendations quizlet deck
- The seven core recommendations for implementation and the thirteen implementation pointers by the EU Agency for Inclusive Ed Recommendations via mindmap and acronyms.
- Principles of the CRPD, listed in International Standards, using an mnemonic.
This Blog
I engaged with the majority of content by writing this blog, taking from the various sources that are recommended in the Body of Knowledge. There were different approaches I used in writing my posts at each stage of studying.
For Domain 1B and 1C, I synthesized using the resources given alongside outside resources to fill in the gaps that I wasn't familiar with. I found YouTube videos made by Disabled people talking about their disabilities to be extremely helpful
For Domain 1A, Domain 2, and Domain 3F, I largely analyzed each of the texts presented as sources on their own, trying to see whether the underlying arguments were cohesive or incohesive. I also prioritized memorizing standards and recommendations and models that were presented in these sections.
For the rest of Domain 3, I mostly tried to understand how the laws compared to each other. I found Domain 3 the hardest to get through because of all the legal tedium.
I would encourage anyone who wants to make their own blog to do so! Learn everything out loud!
Learning Attitude
I really really tried to internalize all the new information. Whenever I didn't understand something, or the provided materials were not enough to give me a good enough visualization of all the implications of the new information I was learning, I sought out clarification. Google searches, mostly.
There were one or two instances where I sought out the clarification from the A11Y Slack. I also felt some comaraderie there in the channels #certification-prep
and #cpacc-study-group
. However, these spaces were not as active as I would have liked them to have been.
Are You Ready?
Based on an exchange that I had with Samantha Evans during the one time I sought clarification on a topic, I believe the Recommended Study Tasks in the BoK is used to generate questions. If you'd like to self assess your own readiness for the test, I've copied every single recommended study task from the Body of Knowledge into this list.
To determine areas you may need to work on, imagine the potential multiple choice style questions that could be generated by these recommended study tasks and ask yourself: is my understanding of the topic deep enough to see through a trick question?
This readiness assessment tool was conceived without knowing what the exam actually was going to be. I am guessing and staking my own readiness on it. Assess for yourself whether you think my self-assessment method is supported enough.
- Identify prominent theoretical models of disability.
- Describe their basic concepts and understand their strengths and weaknesses.
- Identify which models align most closely with the principles of accessibility and universal design.
- Apply the models to example scenarios in the lives of people with disabilities.
- Name the main categories of disabilities.
- Classify specific conditions under the appropriate disability category or categories.
- Describe the accessibility challenges faced by people with disabilities of a given category.
- Understand the concepts of assistive technologies, adaptive strategies, and accessibility solutions.
- Identify and provide examples of accessibility, potential solutions, and assistive technologies for different types of disabilities.
- Understand that potential solutions and assistive technologies are designed for or relevant to information communication technology (ICT) or the physical world
- Understand the rationale for collecting and using disability demographics and statistics.
- Understand the limitations of developing statistics of disabilities and people living with disabilities.
- Familiarize yourself with the demographics and statistics of populations living with disabilities in various regions around the world.
- Describe and follow disability etiquette guidelines for interacting with people with disabilities.
- Judge the appropriateness of ways of referring to or about people with disabilities
- Understand the relationship between accessibility, usability, and universal design
- Know the difference between universal design and accommodations
- Describe how accessibility benefits people with different types of disabilities.
- Describe how organizations and society benefit from including people with disabilities
- Understand the basic concepts of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.2.
- Learn the Guidelines’ four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of physical accessibility principles and guidelines for the built environment.
- Understand how the principles of universal design can apply in built environment settings
- Name the seven principles of universal design.
- Describe the goals and benefits of universal design.
- Understand key concepts of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines.
- Identify and describe the three UDL guidelines.
- Become familiar with the options instructors should provide for each
- Understand the concepts of user-centered design
- Understand how accessibility relates to user-centered design
- Describe the differences between usability and user experience
- Understand how usability and user experience complement each other
- Name the most prominent international declarations and conventions that protect human rights and the rights of people with disabilities.
- Explain the main purpose and protections of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Understand how prominent regional instruments, like charters and laws, are related to disability and human rights.
- Explain the main purposes of each
- Identify prominent national and provincial instruments, such as laws and acts, that protect people with disabilities.
- Explain the main purposes of each
- Identify prominent domain-specific laws that promote accessibility.
- Explain the main purposes of each
- Name prominent examples of accessibility laws and regulations applied to ICT.
- Identify the main enforcement mechanisms of each
- Describe recommended steps to follow to adopt an ICT accessibility plan across your organization.
- Understand the utility of accessibility maturity models.
- Describe the importance of management champions
Troublesome Readings
If you are also going to take my approach and do every single reading linked, here are the ones I will warn you about.
I did not finish this section.
Technology Resources for People with Vision Loss, listed under 'Visual Disabilities.' There's just a huge amount of content in this area. It's all worth reading, but takes a while.
What is Deaf-Blindness? by Deafblind International, listed under Deaf-Blindness, link is broken. Links to a lot of specific medical information and disease mechanisms that give me severe anxiety.
Deaf-Blind Communication Technology, listed under DeafBlindness. Article is from 2014 and discusses specific technology barriers relevant to that snapshot in time, information may be outdated.
Speech Disorder: Common Assistive Technologies, listed under Speech and Language Disorders. I would recommend they replace this source with an article on AAC by ASHA. I would also maybe not link to an article promoting Electronic Fluency Devices without any sort of additional commentary.
Muscle fatigue: general understanding and treatment, listed under Mobility Disabilities. This is a highly technical scientific article talking about the exact chemical processes that facilitate the general feeling of 'muscle fatigue' that anyone can experience after say, working out. It is not a good portrait of muslce fatigue-related disability, which is much more convincingly portrayed in the article tucked into the BoK's 'Additional Reading'.