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different abilities The Daily and OU Disability Inclusion and Awareness teamed up to tell the stories of students with disabilities Ââ visible and invisible. Hereâs what students had to say about how disabilities affect their lives. PROJECT BY SUPRIYA SRIDHAR PHOTOS BY SIANDHARA BONNET
LAMIS AHMED is an international studies and political science junior with a severe hearing impairment.
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U has better disability accommodation and support than other schools I have been to in Egypt, but OU is still not doing its best when it comes to accommodating and ensuring students with disabilities on campus have the support they need. In my personal experience, the professors are willing to help, but they do not know how and they do not have a system to keep up with their disabled students. It is awkward enough to go on my first day of classes every semester and tell my professors that I am hearing impaired, so needing to remind my professors every week or two that I am disabled is very painful. Some students, including myself, choose to go through the class without proper accommodation just to avoid being the nagging student. I have been in many classes where I lost participation grades because it involved discussions in very loud classrooms or in very big groups. I lost grades for not answering questions correctly about videos I had to watch in class without closed captions. Students have a lot to worry about, and worrying about their right to accommodation should not be an issue. At the start of every semester I have to worry about all the labels I will get on my first day of classes: an international student, a Muslim veiled girl and a non-participating student. It is exhausting to spend time defying stereotypes and proving that I am as academically capable as any of my peers.
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BRADLEY MAYS is an adult and higher education doctoral candidate with cerebral palsy.
MATTHEW JACOBSON is a composition, rhetoric and literacy doctoral student with Crohnâs disease.
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y experiences as an undergraduate student and graduate student with a disability at the University of Oklahoma have been both challenging and rewarding. I have cerebral palsy, which impacts my balance and fine motor skills. As a result, my disability is very visible because I use a wheelchair. CP has not impacted my desire, my hopes or my dreams. My challenges at OU have been mostly physical. Regardless of the challenges, I learned the importance of perseverance. I learned how to navigate campus and I know where most of the accessible building entrances, elevators and bathrooms are located. For me, OU is mostly accessible. In places where the campus is not accessible, OU is striving to become better. Physical accessibility is very important; however, our attitudes toward disability are even more important. My experiences with faculty, staff and students have been mostly positive. In the few instances where I havenât been treated very well, itâs been because of ignorance and assumptions rather than intentional mistreatment. Improving attitudes regarding disability results from increasing awareness about disability issues. Iâve been blessed to speak about disability issues and my own personal experiences as someone who lives with a disability. I strongly encourage people who have questions regarding a disability to ask the person with the disability rather than make an assumption about that person. Being more open and honest can reduce stigma and improve experiences of people with disabilities.
y first experience with Crohnâs disease arrived when my twin sister was diagnosed with it her freshman year of high school. Her suffering terrified me. I thought, âIf this ever happens to me, I donât want to keep on living.â I was diagnosed the summer before my senior year of college. The cure wasnât much better than the pain of my immune system choking my intestines shut. Immunosuppressive steroids didnât let me sleep or regulate my emotions. It was hard to think. I was hungry all the time, and I had to inject a syringe of burning medication into my stomach every other week. Somehow, I finished my bachelorâs. The second year of my masterâs, I went to the emergency more than 20 times. My shortest stay was four days. Finally, my doctor put me on the strongest medicine available â an IV infusion drug that would cost $140,000 per year without the Affordable Care Act â and I havenât gone to the ER since. Now, I have my masterâs degree and am nearing the end of my second year as a doctoral student. I look as normal as any other tired graduate student. For the most part, I feel great. But I would hate if anyone read this piece without understanding the brutality of Crohnâs disease on a deeper level. Itâs worse than I imagined so many years ago. And yet, if nothing else, Iâm grateful that I can now put my hand on my sisterâs shoulder and tell her, âI understand.â
different abilities is continued on page 3