Why Captions Matter: Supporting DHOH and Neurodiverse Students

April 2026 marks the federal deadline for digital accessibility under ADA Title II. At UC Davis, our commitment to accessibility will honor both the mandate and our Principles of Community as we remove barriers for all learners. Part of a series to be published during the fall of 2025, this post explores what accessibility means in practice and ways we can all contribute. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the yellow "Quick Access" label at the end of the post.

For more on campus compliance with this law, see UC Davis Digital Accessibility Program Manager Brad Starkey-Owens’ conversation on digital accessibility with Dr. Andy Jones and check the campus Accessibility site. Also consider joining the UC Accessibility Project or registering for the Universal Design for Learning Institute this fall (held each Friday this fall at 10:30AM on Zoom) for additional accessibility support.

At UC Davis, captioning is a vital service supporting accessibility across courses and events. AggieVideo automatically applies machine-generated captions to any uploaded video, while professional captioning ensures accuracy for deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHOH) students. Instructors can upload course videos to AggieVideo at no cost, making it the easiest way to meet captioning needs for multimedia content in Canvas.

In classrooms, the Student Disability Center (SDC) coordinates CART, Communication Access Realtime Translation, and interpreting services for students who need them. These captions stream directly to the student’s device, ensuring accessibility without displaying captions to the entire class.

Captioning is especially important in foreign language courses, where captions appear in the language of instruction so DHOH students can follow lessons without disrupting the learning experience. Captions also help neurodiverse students manage information overload by providing a second channel for processing and reinforcing ideas.

Note-taking presents an added challenge for DHOH students, who must focus simultaneously on captions, instructors, and visual materials. Looking away to write often means missing content, which is why notetaking is offered as an additional accommodation. Transcripts alone are rarely enough for review.

For events outside regular class times, instructors can request captioning through Academic Technology Services’ Media & Event Support team (fee-based). IET’s support page provides guidance on enabling Zoom captions.

Together, these resources help ensure UC Davis courses remain inclusive and accessible to all learners.