Supporting Disabled Students

The end of August marks the end of school holidays, the beginning of many college courses and the start of the new university year.  

However, if you are a student with a Disability, some planning many have to go into the start of your academic year in order to facilitate the support you need to stay on course. 

First of all, it is important to remember that you are just as entitled to attend school, college or university as everyone else.

It is also important to always believe in yourself, you can do it.

Dyslexia as an Example

At times, the society we live in may make education difficult.

For example, if you are dyslexic and have difficulty reading, remembering and writing - the three "Rs" as far as Dyslexia is concerned - the need to hand in written work, read through pages of black and white text and then to sit a written exam on the subject, educational achievement may seem like a challenge.  However, it need not be.

In this case, you may be entitled to additional time with your course work, to additional time with written exams, to use a scribe, to additional toilet breaks if you need a breather, the use of a computer and assistive technology.

This list of support described above is by no means prescriptive nor is it exhaustive.

What the list reflects are the potential "reasonable adjustments" that can be put in place for you to help you stay on course.

Personal approach is necessary

It is also important to remember that no one person with a disability - whether it is dyslexia, a mental health condition, a physical support need or something else - is the same.  We are all unique, and with that, each of us may have different support needs.

Unfortunately, many school administrators like to group disabled students, misunderstanding that the support needs for one person may not be the same as those you require.  This can lead to some difficulty in determining what is "reasonable" in terms of the adjustments that any institution may have to make.

The Medical Model of Disability

For example, a number of years ago the issue of student mental health - as a disability - was hotly contested within the education sector.  There was, and still is, to some extent, a lack of understanding concerning mental ill health.

Many educationalists preferred to focus on the medical model; always seeking a diagnosis and determining from that whether or not mental health fell within the scope of "disability" in order to make any reasonable adjustments.

The over reliance on the medical model, is something that many more experience disabled activists will be familiar with.  For the sake of brevity, the medicalisation of a disabled person removes the personal, it dehumanises and it predominately sees the disabled person as a problem.

The Social Model of Disability 

This approach is contrasted with a social model of disability.  Under this model, it is society, with its focus on maintaining utility for the majority, that is actually the problem.

The majority of people are able bodied, do not use wheelchairs and  do not have support workers to enable day to day living.  This is why, amongst other things, buildings, services, educational assessments and the way our society operates are all designed to accommodate the utility for the majority.

The social model articulates that society is actually the disabling factor.  Unlike the medical model, the societal understanding of accommodation is the problem.  Importantly, the problem is not the disabled person themselves.

Mental Health as an Example

Returning to the example of mental health, the medical model almost entirely ignores the problems created by society in providing appropriate support - and reasonable adjustments - for people with mental ill health.

Additionally, the medical model also seeks to categorise - through diagnosis - the mental health problem in hand.  This means that people with depression, anxiety, bi-polar disorder or some other category are often grouped together rather than being looked at as individuals with personal support needs.

What is essential to providing support to any disabled person is that you have an understanding of the support needs for that person; not as a homogenised group of persons with a particular category code or diagnosis.

A student with a mental health problem may experience problems with motivation, concentration, memory and also experience fatigue and general ill health.  In order to support someone in this context, a support worker may be necessary, additional time for assessments allowed, no penalties for handing in work late or absence.  Again, this is not an exhaustive list.  

The Law

The legal position concerning reasonable adjustments is found in the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality Act is lengthy and for this reason, a summary of what it says is provided here; 

1. Disabled students are protected from discrimination - discrimination can either be direct or indirect.
2. Protection also extends to acts of harassment or victimisation for a reason connected with the disability (in some circumstances, the criminal law also provides protection).   
3. You do not need to be disabled yourself to benefit from protection; you are also protected from discrimination by association or a reason connected with the disability.   

Education providers, whether schools, colleges or universities must make reasonable adjustments to provide support for disabled students.  There is no prescribed list of what is reasonable and what is not, as this is always context and person specific.

In some cases, an education provider may decline to make a reasonable adjustment, if it is felt that the request is not reasonable.

If a dispute arises concerning a School, there are specific tribunals established to resolve a dispute.  Unfortunately, the tribunals do not have jurisdiction over colleges and universities.  In these cases, a dispute would have to be resolved through the local crown or sheriff court.

Getting Support

It is important to make contact with your education provider as soon as possible. 

The institution should then refer you to an appropriate service to seek support and discuss reasonable adjustments.  In many colleges and universities there is a dedicated student support service with disability advisers who can make recommendations.

It is important to be as open as possible about what support you may require.

The discussion you have is a two way process.  You do not simply have to accept what someone tells you, if you want something else or do not feel that it is appropriate.   

You may also be asked to provide evidence.  This is a reasonable request, but it should not be made too onerous.  For example, in the case of dyslexia a report summary from a Psychologist should suffice.  In the case of a mental health issue, a letter from a G.P.   

Please note, if you are told that the recommendations do not have to be accepted by the course provider, then this could constitute an unlawful act of discrimination, harassment or victimisation.  

The law says that reasonable adjustments must be made.  The law also prohibits discrimination.  Education providers are not given a choice about the law; it is there to protect you.

In Higher and Further Education, the Government provides a scheme called the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).  The DSA provides funding for you to buy equipment, software and to access non medical personal help.  In order to access DSA funding, your education provider may have to refer you to a specialist assessment centre.

Once you settle into your academic year, you should be able to enjoy your course and fingers crossed, that with a little planning in advance, you get the support you need.     

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has prepared various guidance notes concerning Equality in the Education sector.  For more information, visit: 
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/new-equality-act-guidance/equality-act-guidance-downloads/
         
Caveat:  This article is not legal advice. 

Edinburgh Fringe - Positive

HIV and AIDS is never far from the front as fundamental issues go in terms of either Equality and Human Rights.  

The need for education around potential sources of transmission, the needs to support people who are HIV positive and perhaps most importantly the need for both societal and self acceptable are also very important.  

Positive, by the West Avenue Theatre Company, takes on the lot.

Here we meet Benji, diagnosed with HIV a year ago and still unable to develop self acceptance.  He is depressed, doesn't sleep well and has little by way of a social life.  He is young, single, gay man but scared of rejection in love.   

We also meet Benji's flatmate.  She is straight and unlike Benji, has a loving partner who fully embraces her and her HIV positive status.  She later tries to push him away; not wishing to burden him with her HIV "problem".   

The show uses the contrast between the two to great effect.

At first glance, it would be easy to conclude that the subject matter would make the show heavy.

However, this could not be further from the truth.  The show uses humour and situation comedy to really develop the issues involved.  Witty and wicked one liners never fail to make you laugh out loud; even when exploring the topic of sex with someone who is HIV positive as Benji is told by someone who lacked understanding:

"...you want to dip my perfectly healthy carrot into your houmous of death..." 

It's not always directly about the HIV though, Benji's complex relationship with his mother and her preconceptions are also explored.  She is genuinely trying to reach out into a world that she knows little about and dearly loves her son.

Can HIV be transmitted from sharing a glass of wine?  What about touching, kissing or the passionate embrace?  This creates some awkward moments, highlighting the struggle that HIV positive people face when telling people - particularly potential lovers - about their HIV positive status.

It is not until the end, that the show covers the most difficult aspect of living with HIV - the diagnosis.  The humour works here as well as not everyone could get away with calling the clinic information as a "bit too primary school" handing out " the leaflets of death..." 

If anyone did not know anything about HIV, about the transmission of the virus, or how it affects the day to day lives of people living as HIV positive you would have learned something from the content.

Positive, is first class; an excellent, educational comedy.

To book tickets to see the show, or to find out more information, please visit the Edinburgh Fringe Online Booking site.  

To find out more about the show directly from West Avenue Theatre, you can visit there site:
http://westavenuetheatre.com/2013/05/17/positive-heading-to-edinburgh-festival-fringe-2013-cast-crew-confirmed/ 

***Stop Press***

You can now listen to an exclusive interview with Rob Ellis, the Director, Will Marsh, who plays "Benji" and Nathalie Barclay who plays "Nikki" in the show.   

Edinburgh Fringe - The League of St. George

Skinheads have a certain stereotype; jeans, braces, boots and of course, racist fascism.  
Being Gay just does not fit.

Punk and skinheads may be something associated with 1976 London but Bricks and Mortar Theatre's League of Saint George actually bears more than a striking resemblance to 21st Century Britain.  

There is nothing quiet about this performance and you are hit with that almost walking in the door.

Punk bellows from stage, shouting, screaming excessive overt expressions of masculine identity carefully suppressing anything vaguely feminine.  Its this caveman mentality that sets the scene for the skewed sociology that is to come.

It becomes clear that growing up in this era, in a working class estate with diminished educational achievement and little employment prospects has bred a particular mentality of looking for someone to blame.  In this case, anger vents on local Sikh shop and restaurant owners.

The clever dichotomy of character is thrust into conflict when the lead protagonist - who is also Gay and having secretly declared his love for a handsome Sikh waiter - discovers that it is his lover and his restaurant that is the next target of League.

Although the inner struggle between establishing self identify and submitting to the will of the group carries throughout, other more subtle themes are also explored.  For example, the mother figure - a traditional home maker, assuming the gendered stereotype matching her societal expectation.  The father figure - trying his hardest to be a man, suppressing every public display or affection for his son or his wife - another gendered stereotype explored.

However, there is also the unexpected.  The show demonstrates that fascism has a more acceptable public face than street thuggery portrayed in stereotype.  Its an uncle figure, a family man, middle class, monied, house and family portrait about the fireplace.

This could have been a deliberate insert - a covert inference to Nigel Farage perhaps - with the UK Independence Party (UKIP) as the more socially acceptable, middle class face, of the League today?

Modern day Britain remains full of internal struggle and the sociology of 1970s London can be recognized today.  This is why The League of St. George is so powerful.  It explores modern day struggles, gendered expectations, relationships with family, poverty, the rise of right wing politics in the subtle historic context.

This show is not about just about a Gay Skinhead struggling with his identity.  Its also not purposely described as a Gay show.  The League of Saint George has multiple, complex strands of equality and human rights discourse.  The show has to be highly commended for its educational potential from this point of view.

If you want to see a refection of today's complex, austerity clad Britain mirrored in history, then this one is for you.

The League of Saint George is on at C Venues C- NOVA.  To buy tickets, or to find out more visit the Fringe booking site by clicking here.

To find out more about the show and the Bricks and Mortar Theatre Company, visit their site by clicking here.