Disability and Work

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This week is about the barriers disabled people face in Higher Education.

Disability covers a wide range of conditions that can sometimes affect educational access and attainment. Do universities help those with disabilities have the same opportunities as their able peers? What societal/structural norms hamper disabled people? What can be done to make everything accessible, is it achievable? And what do ability and disability even mean?

Universities Offer Disability Support, But Finding It Is Another Matter – Ellie Drewry, The Guardian [article, 3 mins]
“It Removes Stigma”: How Tech Breaks Down Barriers For Disabled Students – Harriet Swain, The Guardian [article, 5 mins]
How Can Disabled Students Hold Universities To Account? – Mette Westander, WonkHE [article, 7 mins]
Let The Dog In: How Institutions And Colleagues Can Help Scientists Who Require Support Animals – Nina Notman, Nature [article, 10 mins]
Jay Timothy Dolmage Discusses New Book – Academic Ableism – Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Education [article, 7 mins]
Academic Ableism, John Kane and Rebecca Mushtare, Tea for Teaching [podcast, 50 mins]
Disability/Ability with Anamika Misra – Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Breaking Binaries [podcast, 48 mins]

Facilitation Notes

Discussion Questions

How can universities be kept accountable for holding up disabled students’ rights? Why do they need to be kept accountable in the first place?
Why is accessibility seen as a secondary thought and only accounted for when there is a necessity?
Does higher education have a stigma against people with disabilities?
What are the barriers to providing universal design? (Universal Design: the process of creating products that are accessible to people with a wide range of abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics)
Should accessibility accommodations only be given to those with a medical diagnosis?
How can we keep the privacy of disabled people while providing accommodations?

Resource Personalisation

It might be interesting to link to resources from your university about:

Disability policy/regulations; whether it is adequate and supports students and staff thoroughly enough
Activism around disability that is going on at your university
Pieces from your community on their experiences with disability at university and in academia

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