Bridging the Accommodation Gap
A student-centered access and transition project examining how students with invisible or nonapparent disabilities move from secondary education into postsecondary systems—and how research can be translated into clearer, more usable pathways to support.
Research first. Then design.
The project intentionally avoids beginning with a predetermined app. It first identifies needs, then maps existing resources and residual gaps, and only then translates those findings into an applied response.
Self-advocacy, disclosure, navigation, responsibility transfer, implementation and continuity.
What already exists—and where fragmentation, translation-to-action and follow-up burdens remain.
Evidence-informed framework connecting verified needs and gaps to an accessible response.
A bounded demonstration of Prepare → Bridge → Navigate with human oversight.
Documents for committee review
These are working academic documents intended for review and refinement. They are not represented as final publications.
FYCS Non-Thesis Project Proposal
Bridging the Accommodation Gap: A Student-Centered Access and Transition Hub for Students With Invisible Disabilities
Preparing Students With Invisible Disabilities for Postsecondary Education
A structured review of self-advocacy, navigation and access needs.
From Information to Access
Continuity gaps in postsecondary disability support; committee/coauthor review draft.
Project Command Center
A concise dashboard showing the three-paper architecture, emerging contribution and execution roadmap.
Prepare → Bridge → Navigate
The prototype is designed to make the evidence visible in practice while keeping the student in control and verified human support central.
Prepare
- Know yourself as a learner
- Recognize barriers and what helps
- Practice self-advocacy
- Prepare questions for prospective colleges
Bridge
- Understand what changes after high school
- Organize documentation and questions
- Locate disability services
- Prepare for disclosure and registration
Navigate
- Activate approved supports
- Prepare faculty communication
- Review implementation
- Escalate to verified human resources when needed
Talk with the access technology demonstration
This live Anam conversational agent demonstrates one possible technology layer for Beyond the Accommodation: helping a student clarify a barrier, prepare questions, rehearse self-advocacy, and navigate toward verified human support. It is a prototype demonstration—not an accommodation decision-maker or official University of Florida service.
Beyond the Accommodation — Anam Agent
Interactive prototype. Use the agent below to experience the conversational interface.
What this technology is meant to demonstrate
- Plain-language access to verified information
- Student-controlled preparation and reflection
- Conversation rehearsal and question generation
- Support moving from accommodation approval toward meaningful participation
- Human handoffs instead of autonomous determinations
- Accessible, cognitively manageable navigation
The agent and linked tools are research/prototype demonstrations. They do not diagnose disability, determine eligibility, prescribe accommodations, or replace disability-resource professionals.
Develop the scholarship while completing the project
The three-paper architecture was designed so each manuscript can stand alone for refinement and possible peer-reviewed submission, while still contributing to one coherent non-thesis project.
Papers 1 + 2
Committee review, citation/method refinement, journal targeting and authorship discussion.
Paper 3
Translate verified needs and continuity gaps into an evidence-informed applied response with clear implementation and ethical boundaries.
Practice + Publication
Explore peer-reviewed manuscripts alongside practitioner-facing translation such as EDIS, without conflating dissemination with project completion.
What happens next
Committee briefing
Review scope, manuscript status, technology direction and publication strategy.
Proposal presentation
Refine proposal and Papers 1–2; continue Paper 3 and prototype development.
Integration
Align terminology, evidence, prototype functions, publication drafts and project documentation.
Final defense
Complete final revisions, project package and defense requirements.
Guidance requested
The meeting is intended to confirm direction, not simply report activity.
- Does the current three-paper structure remain appropriately bounded for the UF non-thesis project?
- Are Papers 1 and 2 ready to move into formal publication development, and which outlets should guide revision?
- What level of methodological refinement is needed before manuscript submission?
- Does Paper 3 appropriately connect the evidence to the applied technology component?
- Which prototype functions belong inside the UF project versus later organizational or doctoral work?
- How should authorship, faculty collaboration and submission timing be approached?
- What must be completed for the proposal presentation this semester, and what should remain for the Spring 2027 final defense?