Disability And My Journey Into FE/ HE Education Bethany Young

1. Disability And My Journey Into FE/HE EducationBethany Young

2. Bethany Young • University of Kent MA Graduate • Hertfordshire I Can Make It Champion for Disability Rights UK • Community engagement advocate and project leader • Regional Access/Equality Consultation  • Interest in Higher Education

3. My journey into FE/HE education • Education history and achievements • Aspirations • Barriers • Strategies • Sources of support from colleges or universities • Reasonable adjustments • Assistive technology • library

4. My Education History • Part of the first generation of disabled people to be allowed to attend mainstream school, of any sort • Attended mainstream school, both primary and secondary • From 16-19 I boarded away from home at a specialist college, and attended a mainstream sixth form to complete my A Levels • I started my studies for a BA in English and American Literature at the University of Kent in Sept. 2008 and graduated with first class honours in 2011. • I then went on to achieve a distinction in my MA in Dickens and Victorian Culture at Kent, graduating in Sept. 2012

5. My aspirations- why HE? • Always felt my academic ability was my greatest strength and best chance to achieve an adult life, where I could use all my capacity and skills • To live independently and to my fullest potential • Planned to go to university, and have an equal student experience from childhood • Learning is a huge part of my identity, as a whole person. • I aimed to use university as a foundation for that adult identity, and well as my future career • I did not have a specific career path in mind, but I followed my love of writing, reading and literature. • Humanities degrees gave me flexibility post-graduation, but also formed challenges after I left university too

6. Barriers: Part 1 Prior to entering HE • Found independent living training, as I felt ongoing pressure to stay at home indefinitely, through any degrees and beyond • Unexpectedly, perhaps from my own naivety, the led to a situation where I had compromised, unequal access to both Sixth Form curriculum, resources and extra-curricular opportunities • Directly and indirectly pressured to be less ambitious and care less about my education • Assumptions within ‘special or specialist’ environments, which are very limiting, rather than inclusive in an appropriate sense • Was not supported or trusted in my plans or choices • Successful because I stuck to my own plan • Strong pastoral support from my subject teachers at my sixth form

7. Barriers - Part 2 During Application Process • Difficulty in getting support for my goals and aspirations from social services • I felt I needed to not discuss my applications with any unsupportive staff. I knew, at that age and time, they would try to actively undermine me, or dissuade me from certain universities • This meant that I got most of my emotional or advisory support from teachers or assistance on the mainstream side • I only spoke to those other people or services, either after I had accepted my conditional offer • I had strong relationships with both my academic department and the Disability Support Services. I was able to do a lot of preparation on my own terms • Social care was the only exception

8. Barriers – Part 3 After entering HE • Some barriers I could only tackle once I had started my course • Attitudinal barriers attached to a wider service user culture I could not counter before I started • Few people with my independent living requirements from my county had gone away to university before. • I was a minority within a minority and experienced a very specific type of discrimination • Some of this I had to coexist with, although I hoped to gradually dismantle it • These specific barriers existed outside of the university structure, and were invisible to them in the beginning

9. Key Supports

10. My HE experience & Social Model of disability • From the outset I experienced a lot of pressure to overcome assumed barriers, as defined by non disabled people • ‘The wheelchair’ • ‘My disability’ a.k.a my impairment • As opposed to barriers as defined by the social model of disability • The most restrictive barriers were the external ones, which were imposed on to me • Had I known about this discourse it would have facilitated a more specific discussion of a whole range of barriers

11. Disability, Disclosure and Identity • As someone with Cerebral Palsy and a full time powered wheelchair user I never had the opportunity to ‘identify’ as disabled, I just ‘was’ • Having a visible, physical element to my disability did not make disclosure easier or unnecessary – it put it into the hands of anyone who looked at me. • For me, identifying as disabled person is about owning experiences and reclaiming control • Combining this sense of identity with a disclosure process can be difficult because others can assume the chair is an automatic full disclosure - A foundation for all assumption

12. Disclosure: How to decide? Questions to ask yourself? • What will you gain from disclosure? What barriers will it help with? • Will disclosing make you feel more in control, or less? • Which individuals do your think are best to share the information with and why? Things to remember • It is about you – another person’s pro, might be your con • There is more than a yes or no answer with disclosure • If you decide yes, you still have control over how you disclose and the boundaries you put in place • Everyone across the disability spectrum should be able to exercise the same rights, choice, and control.

13. Graduation – Next steps • My graduate employment gap was created by Independent Living barriers, discriminatory attitudes and a lack of pathways • As a graduate I had good pastoral support from my Careers Services, but it was limited in terms of resources- only Employability Recent Years • Working on ICMI has given me opportunities to find peer job coaching/advice • Pushing to engage with Access to Work early • Equal employment recruitment events are easier to find – if I were in the age range

14. My experience of inclusivity and why it matters • At secondary and college level I have experienced the purpose/idea of inclusivity being poorly interpreted • To push capable disabled students to fit into the needs of other disabled students • As if one, mass identity • We are diverse and individual, like all people are • Inclusivity = creating a society that allows disabled students to pursue their educational goals or aspirations, without segregation • University was the most level education experience I ever had • It could have had been more equal in areas, but the structural barriers changed, compared to 6th Form and secondary and was more cohesive

15. What needs to change? From my own experience access into the social extra-curricular elements of university was restrictive. These things are the foundation of students’ connections during/post university. What can colleges and universities do to be more inclusive? Look at:- • How independent living challenges impact on study choices • Social barriers • Open out the dialogue on disclosure, reasonable adjustments and support services • Their own bias

16. My recommendations for students • Identify the most helpful people in your decision making • You are not obligated to any services or bodies in this process • Figure out your main non- negotiables • Forge bonds with your prospective Universities’ depts. and services before you apply, accept and go. • Identify key advisors and keep in contact • Plan out the things you need to organise before you go – in terms of support When at university • Stay in touch with people • Identify a few key peers you can be open with if you need to. • Find out who you need to talk to if you have financial or DSA related issues ahead of time • This might include housing

17. Resources: what is out there? • To get ready for Post 16 I used Connexions Helpful Resources • MyPlus Students Club, Prospects, Employability Tips • Which organisations are you already involved with? • What type of employers are you interested in? • How can you be more engaged with student services and your SU? • Can you get peer support/advice through an NGO or DPO?

18. Publications

19. Thank you • https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org • DR UK Disabled Students helpline 0800 328 5050 • www.disabilityskillsunit.org • rabia.lemahieu@disabilityrightsuk.org