Universal Design for Learning
Overview
Universal Design for Learning —or UDL—is a framework created by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) for curriculum development that gives all students an equal opportunity to learn. It provides a blueprint for creating flexible, inclusive school communities that meet individual students' needs. UDL emphasizes designing curricula that provide multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression.
The latest iteration— UDL Guidelines 3.0, released in 2024—enhances previous versions by tackling barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion, ensuring equitable access to meaningful learning environments.
Key Issues
Educational audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are critical members of the school community and provide a variety of services within the school. A foundational knowledge of UDL principles and applications informs screenings, assessments, and intervention provision.
The UDL framework reduces barriers to instruction and increases opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding and skill proficiency. UDL is grounded in three primary principles that support multiple means of learning and learner agency:
- Engagement
- Representation
- Action and Expression
Principle #1: Multiple Means of Engagement
This principle focuses on increasing interest and motivation in learning by offering choices that align with students’ interests, backgrounds, and communication preferences.
- Encourage choice and autonomy: Allow students to select therapy activities—such as storytelling, digital tools, or interactive games—to work on auditory or speech and language goals. Include children in the selection process when choosing communication supports or when designing routines around the care and maintenance of their technologies.
- Practice family-centered intervention: Use books, visuals, and scenarios that reflect a variety of students’ experiences.
- Foster belonging and community: Promote an environment that normalizes communication differences among students and staff. Invite the student to take part in planning a classroom activity, in collaboration with the educational audiologist or SLP, where they share a brief overview of their preferred communication modality, introduce any assistive technology that they use, and respond to peer questions in a way that feels comfortable and empowering.
- Help students develop self-awareness: Educational audiologists and SLPs can support students in reflecting on their communication strengths and identifying challenges across different environments. They can introduce personalized self-advocacy strategies to help students navigate difficult situations more effectively.
EXAMPLE:
The educational audiologist or SLP might collaborate with the student to create a checklist or a visual tool that prompts self-reflection and problem solving. The checklist may include considerations such as
- Was my technology working? (And, if not, did I let someone know?)
- Were captions available?
- Could I see the teacher’s face clearly?
- Was the classroom noisy? (Check yes or no.)
- Did I ask for help or clarification when I needed it?
The educational audiologist or SLP can guide the student through a reflection on what went well and what they might try differently in a similar situation.
Principle #2: Multiple Means of Representation
This principle ensures that students receive information in different formats to support their comprehension and learning preferences. Offer information in accessible formats: Educational audiologists and SLPs collaborate with teachers to ensure that instructional materials, classroom communication, and assessments are accessible to all students—including those with a variety of communication needs.
EXAMPLE:
For students who are deaf and/or hard of hearing, this may involve providing printed or captioned materials to supplement auditory instruction or adapting assessments from oral to written formats. It may also include providing sign language interpretation, hearing assistive technology, transcripts, supplemental notes and handouts, or alternative text formats.
- Engage in pre-teaching: Educational audiologists and SLPs collaborate with teachers to review upcoming lesson plans to identify vocabulary, concepts, or scenarios that may be challenging for students with communication differences. They can proactively work with students and, when appropriate, collaborate with interpreters or other educators (e.g., teachers of the Deaf and hard of hearing) to “pre-teach” new terminology or concepts. Pre-teaching means preparing in advance to ensure that you will be delivering content in an accessible format.
- Clarify vocabulary, symbols, and language structures: Support students who have complex communication needs by incorporating speech-generating devices, communication boards, and digital tools into your intervention.
Principle #3: Multiple Means of Action and Expression
- Students vary in terms of how they show their understanding, so this principle promotes flexibility in communication (the “action”) and skill demonstration (the “expression”). Allow flexible response formats: Encourage and honor multiple ways of responding. Examples might include allowing students to use (a) non-speaking response methods (e.g., hand raising, button pushing, or play actions during hearing tests), (b) speech-generating devices, or (c) educational technology tools.
- Optimize access to educational content: Educational audiologists and SLPs can conduct functional communication evaluations and observations in the classroom. The goal is to determine if a student is effectively using their accommodations and/or technology to access the curriculum and maintain social relationships. SLPs train students and staff on how to use speech-generating devices and assistive technology such as speech to text. Collaboration across disciplines in the school setting is critical. In doing so, you ensure that educators implement tools and technologies seamlessly into the learning environment.
- Support the use of accommodations: Advocate for accommodations in learning environments and during test taking (e.g., a quiet testing space, visual supplements, speech to text, or extended time).
- Encourage the monitoring of progress: Support students in setting meaningful communication goals—and work with them to determine how you’ll measure their progress. Guide students in developing self-advocacy skills and plan for communication breakdowns. Educational audiologists and SLPs can partner with students to (a) harness their skills and (b) empower them to confidently communicate their needs across multiple learning environments.
Questions About Universal Design for Learning
If this is the first time you’ve heard about the concept of UDL—and perhaps even if it’s not—you may have some questions. Here are three commonly asked questions (and answers!) about UDL.
Who benefits from UDL principles?
All students benefit from the types of supports that UDL provides.
EXAMPLE:
Video captioning helps students who have hearing difficulties by giving them a visual representation of speech. Video captioning support may also benefit English language learners, and students working in a noisy classroom or who have difficulty reading. For more information, see the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) website.
Is UDL included in U.S. public policy and federal legislation?
Yes: UDL is included in the Common Core State Standards (see Application to Students with Disabilities [PDF]). Because the principles of UDL apply to all students, many UDL-specific concepts are embedded throughout the Common Core State Standards. See also the CAST webpage on Evidence and Benefits of UDL.
UDL is also referred to by name in several U.S. laws. As CAST explains on its UDL in Public Policy webpage, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008 (Public Law 110-315) makes specific references to UDL in the following sections:
- 202. TEACHER QUALITY PARTNERSHIP GRANTS
- 204. ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION
- 205. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PREPARE TEACHERS
- 231. ENHANCING TEACHER EDUCATION
- 232. USES OF FUNDS
- 251. TEACH TO REACH GRANTS
- 762. GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS
- 777. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
UDL is also mentioned in the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Over all, according to CAST, “more than 45 organizations work together to promote UDL in policy.” See the CAST webpage on case studies in UDL on for more information on how UDL is included and referred to in U.S. public policy and legislation.
How can I support UDL in my school?
Educational audiologists and SLPs play a valuable role in the classroom and directly support UDL in their schools.
Educational audiologists support UDL by promoting inclusive listening environments and ensuring that auditory information is accessible to all students. They engage with an interprofessional team to identify and mitigate acoustic barriers to learning. Using a combination of informal and formal assessment measures, educational audiologists determine a student’s unique communicative needs—whether those needs involve environmental accommodations, accessible materials, or assistive technologies.
SLPs address literacy as well as oral and written language; therefore, SLPs support UDL by providing unique insights for classroom teachers on how a student can demonstrate knowledge during assessments and lesson planning.
In partnership with students, educational audiologists and SLPs build students’ self-advocacy skills related to communication and support the effective use of technology so that all students can engage and learn in school.
Resources
For more information on UDL, please see the following resources:
- Assistive Technology in Schools—Learn more about assistive technology from ASHA.
- State and District-Wide Assessments and Students With Learning Disabilities—Consult ASHA’s guide for states and school districts regarding assessments at the state and district levels for students with disabilities (see second item in the table of contents).
- Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)—Learn more from the website of the organization that invented UDL and its principles.
- CAST’s UDL Guidelines—Download resources from CAST; available in different formats and translated into multiple languages.
- Webinars on CAST’s UDL Guidelines—Explore the future of inclusive education by attending webinars on the latest version of the UDL framework (Version 3.0).
- CAST’s webpage on Learner Agency—Learn about UDL’s primary goal: To support learner agency, which is the capacity to actively participate in making choices in service of learning goals.
- Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)—Consult the CEC’s webpage on UDL. This organization advocates for children and youth and provides special educators with information, resources, and professional development.
- The IRIS Center—Learn about the work of the IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, a national center that aims to improve education outcomes for all children through evidence-based practices and interventions. No cost; registration is required.
- OCALI—Learn about this organization’s work on behalf of people with disabilities. OCALI is a global leader and connector that serves as a trusted source of reliable information and data.
