A person very close to me has a non visible disability. I wish years ago, when she studied at the University of Barcelona, she could have had the support provided at the UAL by the Disability Service. I hugely appreciate the one-to-one study skills support provided for students with autistic spectrum conditions. It means a great deal for them and their families. How hard it must be to have a disability, and how much harder it is when it is not visible and you need to explain yourself. As mentioned in the resource from Session 2 “ Not all disabilities are visible”.
It was comforting to visit the UAL Disability Service Webpages. I understood this this support covers a number of aspects including accessible course information, course materials, in-class adjustments (such as recording tough sessions), library requirements, health and safety/physical access requirements, access to IT and assistive technology, accommodated assessment and support in developing study skills. I am also glad to learn about the Disabled Students’ Allowances to fund disability related course costs incurred whilst studying. Reading the Access, Support and Facilities for Disabled students at the UAL, there is one sentence which stuck with me: “We offer advice before you begin your course and at any stage of your student journey”. This makes me think further and I wonder how these students will face their professional journey once they graduate. There is evidence they get aid from a holistic perspective whilst they are studying at UAL, so they can successfully achieve their academic goals. However, what happens next? How will they be able to face all the difficulties in the professional world? The Social Model of Disability at UAL mentions: “The social model of disability says that we are not disabled by our individual differences. We are disabled by barriers in the world around us”. I wonder if we are helping them to prepare for that and, if so, how we do it? Should that be also part of our responsibilities as HE practitioners?
Personally, as an associate lecturer, I know which students have applied for ISA but I am not aware of further details. I understand this is a personal and private topic but I am genuinely interested in understanding whatever they want to share, support them and actively help them to move forward. How UAL can help shape their professional futures with certain tools and resources, is something I would like to further explore and I am considering it as my Action Research Project subject.
I’ve just read and interesting article called “Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage” from Harvard Business Review which has given me further insights about how employees with disabilities an its workforce can build a business’s competitive advantage: Unique talents, Elevation of the culture of the organization, Reputation for inclusiveness and Capital & Talent Competitiveness. Definitely, this is they way I would like to approach it, there is richness in diversity.
I believe one of the keys of inclusivism is about looking at the bigger picture, as Christine Sun Kim says in her short movie, “Let’s listen with our eyes and not just our ears”. There are many ways of expressing and understanding, all of them should be accepted and respected. I’ve reached the same conclusion once I read the text ‘Deaf Accessibility for Spoonies: Lessons from Touring Eve and Mary Are Having Coffee’ by Khairani Barokka. Reading the interview to Vilissa Thompson about the #DisabilityTooWhite, it is very clear what she tries to express: “a lack of representation and diversity within the disability community from the organizations that are supposed to empower us as individuals”. I can link her idea to Khairani Barokka experience, where she mentioned that in many circumstances, she was the only one disabled asian artist woman and all the situations and biasses she suffered because of that. Both of them, Vilisa Thompson and Khairani Barokka, are increasing the visibility of being part of a minority, it is very powerful how they bring awareness to silent topics.
In terms of Disability I should be humble and recognise that I ignore few of the concepts and the first step would be to be aware of them. I believe the article “Understanding Disability, Impairment, Conditions and Diseases” from Shades of Noir has helped me to do that and to bring context to any possible situation I can face in class and in life. I will encourage my students to read it as well to be able to better understand each other and their individual realities.
See my comments on other posts on this topic:
https://simonbanks.myblog.arts.ac.uk/
https://tonichachildpgcert.myblog.arts.ac.uk/
Bibliography:
Barokka, K (2017) Deaf-accessibility for spoonies: lessons from touring Eve and Mary Are Having Coffee while chronically ill. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22 (3). pp. 387-392.
Blahovec, S. (2016) “Confronting the Whitewashing Of Disability: Interview with #DisabilityTooWhite Creator Vilissa Thompson,” Huffpost, 28 June. www.huffpost.com/entry/confronting-the-whitewash_b_10574994
Harvard Business Review (2023) Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage https://hbr.org/2023/07/disability-as-a-source-of-competitive-advantage
Saltzman, D. (2011) Christine Sun Kim, vimeo. A Selby Film. https://vimeo.com/31083172
TEDx Talks (2017) Not all disabilities are visible. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhXcP65h0sI
UAL (2023) Disability and dyslexia. https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia
UAL (2018) Access, Support and Facilities for Disabled Students
UAL (2017) Disable Student’s Allowances
“Understanding Disability, Impairment, Conditions and Diseases”, Shades of Noir. pp. 64-75