Disability Service – getting an ISA
Part 1: This was something I knew I needed to do from the start. I know that I am dyslexic and I was very apprehensive about the writing and reading needed for doing the PG Cert. I know that I am capable of doing it, but it takes me much longer and balancing that with my teaching workload was definitely something I wanted to get ahead of.
Cut to when I am writing this – I have just missed my first appointment because I was doing tutorials as my students had in on Monday.
At first I was being hard on myself, but then I sat back and reflected that I should give myself the grace I would give my neurodiverse students. It is making me think about my place as a neurodiverse staff member and how that effects my day to day. I am curious to see this process from the other side and will report back once I have had my appointment – could this be something that can also be applied to help staff too?
Update: I am now on my fourth appointment booking: 1 – missed, 2 – moved to accommodate Peer Review of Teaching, 3 – cancelled by Disability Advisor, 4 – hopefully 4th time lucky as this is now happening less than a week before the submission deadline.
This truly is a glimpse into what it is like to be a neurodiverse student trying to access help. I can see why students don’t mange to set things up and how easy it is just to give up.
If I was not older and did not have a lifetime of working through systems that seem set up to make you fail, I honestly may have given up myself. This reminded me that the only reason I was able to access a dyslexia diagnosis was because I did an MA. I was on the waiting lists all through my BA (at UAL) but never got to the top. It was only when I came back to UAL for my MA that I got a call asking if I was still interested in having an assessment.
Since the days of my being a student we have moved into the social model of disability, one that lets people advocate for their own experience and that does not have to rely on these assessments any more. However I am still waiting around, struggling to access the help I need.
Part 2: I finally had my ISA appointment. It was good, but not what I was expecting – I think I had built up in my head that it would this transformational experience that would give me a deep insight into the student experience. The reality was that it was super chill and helpful.
Things have moved on since 2014 when I last accessed any form of support at UAL (back when I was a student). Lots of the adjustments I knew about because of working with current undergrad students, but the assistive technologies have come on a long way. I have tried to use these before but with little success, but am now realising the barrier of having to use another programme was maybe the reason. ‘Immersive Reader’ built into Word 365 is something I can already see myself using.
Form this experience I think the main take away is that the support is there, but accessing it is still a very large barrier. This is supported by what I was writing about in Case Study 1; the biggest issue for most students is not what support is available, but the urgency and reactiveness of getting that support in place.
[I have left the Academic Support section for my own reference and reflection, but this it is over the wordcount so please feel free to stop here!]
Academic Support – how do I do the referencing?!?
Part 1: I desperately need help with the referencing. I did not think I would struggle with this so much and I know everyone keeps telling me there are tools online to help me, but I still don’t get it.
On my path of discovering what it is like on the student end of the support system, I am going to go to academic support. This has been quite nice as I am allowing myself to just write and record references as best I can, with the intention that I will fix them with help later!
Again, I will report back for part 2 once I have seen them.
Update: As we are close to the end of the unit I tried to access this online – it was actually super confusing and clunky to use. The website kept directing me in circles and there were not 1:1 tutorials I can access. When I looked it was 3 weeks until the deadline and the only session available is on the Thursday before the deadline, and is a drop-in.
Again, this feels like something that I am only able to navigate as I know what help should be available and have had many years of experience trying to work through these kinds of obtuse systems. I wonder if there was a dedicated space on site, like with the SU and Student Services, accessing help would be easier? If there was somewhere you could go in person to help you navigate the complexities of the booking systems and to highlight was help is actually available.
I am planning to try and attend the drop in session, so will report back on my experience of that if and when I manage to access help.
Part 2: I ultimately decided not to go to the drop-in session. I had a tutorial and Rachel was able to give me some examples of citations to copy – this was essentially what I had been trying to access via Academic Support.
Like with the ISA, it is the systems of access that are the barrier. In this case, my needs were not severe, but this would be much worse if I needed help with more than just referencing. I am not sure what the solution is to either of these instances, but I keep coming up against these barriers so there is clearly a need for improve the systems of access.