Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training

Background

Zoe was undertaking study in a social sciences faculty. She was in her 20s and had cerebral palsy. She used a motorised wheelchair which she was able to leave, but only with difficulty. Zoe had some difficulty in performing tasks with her hands and could not write. She was able to speak and she had no intellectual impairment.

Zoe had failed the first year of this course at another university. She had been unable to complete the year there due to the lack of provision of support for students with a disability.

Zoe was an animated, strong, outgoing person who expected to have full involvement in the course. She participated in everything that the class did, even warm-up activities that involved rapid movement around the room.

Zoe was active in the community in advocating the rights of people with a disability.

Resources used

For some of her subjects Zoe had a note-taker provided by the disability office of the university. She also had a personal reader/writer/facilitator whom she provided for herself.

Interaction with Zoe

When Zoe arrived she was the first student in a wheelchair to enrol at that campus and physical access was poor. There was no wheelchair access to the toilets, the student amenities building and many of the lecture rooms. Only one car park could be exited by wheelchair.

The course coordinator began a long and difficult process to make it possible for a wheelchair-user like Zoe to negotiate the campus. The coordinator also initiated other measures which she felt would assist Zoe successfully complete her studies.

• Through the disability office of the university she arranged for bitumen and ramps to be installed and for buildings to be made accessible. Public telephones were also lowered.
• The coordinator arranged for all Zoe's classes to be held in rooms that were wheelchair-accessible. Zoe requested tutorials that followed the lectures so that she could reduce her travelling and minimise her fatigue.
• The coordinator negotiated with other staff about support measures such as the photocopying of notes and overhead materials for Zoe. The coordinator had to follow this up constantly as staff continually forgot to do it.
• The coordinator advocated on Zoe's behalf with other staff and gained approval for Zoe's course to be completed over 6-7 years.

Reasons for Zoe's success

Zoe's determination was an important factor in her success. (She was halfway through her course.)

The coordinator also attributed her success to the attitudes of the individual staff who taught her. Without their willingness to provide support and to be flexible, Zoe's task would have been considerably more difficult, as evidenced by the fact that she had been unable to succeed in the same course when previously enrolled at a different university.

Problems identified

The inaccessibility of the campus caused major difficulties and inconvenience in the initial stages of Zoe's study. Even after the installation of ramps and paths, long distances in the open had to be traversed to reach amenities. This was very difficult in wet weather. Late one Friday afternoon, for example, on a deserted campus, she became bogged when attempting to shorten her trip to the carpark by cutting across the grass. If it had not been for her mobile phone, Zoe believed she would have been there well into the night.

Assessment

Zoe sat her exams at an external location arranged between her facilitator and the coordinator. She had an invigilator and a scribe and was granted extended time. Zoe also had extra time for assignments, as necessary, negotiated between the coordinator and Zoe's facilitator. These extensions were usually lengthy.

All assessment materials were sent by the coordinator to Zoe's facilitator early, to give Zoe maximum time to complete the work, but there was no modification to the content of Zoe's course.

Coordinator comments/observations

The coordinator commented that staff who provided and coordinated extra support for students such as Zoe did this as an extra load and responsibility for which they were not given formal acknowledgement or reward by the university. The assistance provided was not factored in by the institution and thus the form it took would always be ad hoc.

The chance for success for students with a disability was therefore a hit-and-miss affair, dependent on the personality and commitment of individual staff rather than on recognised, uniform, mainstream support procedures that were automatically followed

Background

Cathy was undertaking study in a computer technology faculty. She was 20 and had cerebral palsy. She had coordination problems and walked slowly. She spoke slowly and with difficulty and others found her quite hard to understand. Additionally, she did not have full use of her hands and was not able to write.

Cathy was lively, friendly, confident and outgoing. She had a good sense of humour. She was also persistent and tough, and demonstrated above average intellectual ability.

Resources used

Cathy used note-takers arranged by the disability office of the university. These were other students from her classes.

Cathy had her own computer so it was not necessary for the university to supply one for her home use.

It was observed that Cathy had trouble logging on when using the university computers because she could not remove her hand quickly from the keys and the letters were automatically repeating. Arrangements were then made to provide her with a keyboard that did not repeat.

Interaction with Cathy

The disability contact officer was made aware of Cathy by the disability office of the university prior to her enrolment. He was therefore able to liaise with staff members of her courses before the teaching started. Cathy, for example, required copies of overheads and lecture notes to be provided for her. Cathy met regularly and often with the disability contact officer to ensure that her study was progressing smoothly.

She was put into a tutorial group run by the lecturer of the course (at the lecturer’s own suggestion) because he was experienced and was sensitive to the needs of students with a disability. Cathy participated fully in the tutorial. The other students accepted that she took longer to say something, and she accepted that she had to make her comments briefer.

Assessment

Cathy did not require any modifications, other than time extensions. Seventy percent (70%) of the mark was by exam. Cathy was permitted to take a three hour exam over two or three days. (Different questions were done on different days).

Cathy started off doing her exams by means of a scribe but this proved extremely stressful for both the scribe and her. She then decided to do her exams by means of a computer, using an enlarged mouse which she provided herself, and this proved more satisfactory. She had long time extensions for assignment work.

Problems identified

The note-takers provided for Cathy were not always satisfactory. Sometimes the notes were not given to her until much later and they varied in quality. It was clear that care needs to be taken in matching note-takers with students.

Reasons for Cathy's success

Cathy passed well and was enrolled as a part-time student in the third year of her degree. Her success was attributed to her indomitable attitude, her energy, her persistence, her preparedness to try different strategies, and her above-average ability.

The supportive environment offered by her faculty was also an important factor in Cathy's success, although the disability contact officer raised a concern he felt about giving students extra time, in that if it became widely known other students might object that it was

Background

Susan was undertaking study in an education faculty. She was 20 and had cerebral palsy. She was in a wheelchair and was constantly in considerable pain. She had limited movement of her hands and became weary quickly with writing. She used a laptop computer.

Susan was able to speak well but needed to do some work on the volume and projection of her voice. She was described as ‘extremely gutsy and independent’. She was a high achiever and her aim was to work with children with disabilities.

Resources used

Susan had a support person/note-taker arranged by the disability office of her university.

Interaction with Susan

First practicum

For the first practicum the coordinator did considerable preliminary work on Susan's behalf. Students view a range of teaching situations so they move to different locations in a school. The coordinator checked all rooms for accessibility and arranged changes where necessary. The coordinator paid particular attention to ensuring that an appropriate support person was found for Susan during the practicum.

Second practicum

For the second practicum, which involved a week of teaching, the coordinator took considerable care in choosing the class for Susan. Another full-time support person was found. The coordinator worked out a statement of all the things that Susan needed to address, strategies for getting children's attention, use of aids such as ‘stop’ signs and bells, and what she should carry on her wheelchair. She also worked out pathways through the classroom and had discussions with the university supervisor.

During the second practicum Susan struck problems with transport, having to get up very early to get to school because of the difficulty in getting access cabs. Because of this it was decided that Susan's week of teaching would be split into three days one week and two days the next week.

Third practicum

Susan was a part-time student so there was a year with no practicum. During this year Susan went through considerable difficulties in her life, having several changes of accommodation. At the end of this year she also underwent major surgery which reduced her level of pain. She also acquired a better wheelchair.

The third practicum lasted for four weeks. The coordinator managed to place Susan in a school with a teacher who was also in a wheelchair. Once again Susan had a very good, highly qualified and experienced university supervisor.

Susan had been worried about her ability to use the chalkboard so the coordinator bought two white-boards for her to use in class.

In this placement Susan did not need a support person because the environment was already geared to a teacher in a wheelchair and the children were used to this.

Problems identified

The coordinator noted that negotiation on Susan's behalf with teachers in schools was hard. She commented that there was a good deal of global support for people with a disability and for the principle of equal access, but teachers were still very worried about whether a teacher in a wheelchair could do all the necessary tasks associated with teaching and whether it was safe.

The coordinator observed that teachers' knowledge about legislative obligations was generally rather poor.

Reasons for Susan's success

Susan was extremely tough, persistent and highly motivated. She was also intellectually capable. Susan's university provided her with a very supportive environment.

Coordinator comments/observations

The coordinator liaised with the course coordinator and the head of school in everything she did for Susan, but ultimately took the responsibility herself for decisions about the practicums.

In one of Susan's practicum situations there was a boy in a wheelchair in the class. Susan commented in her report that he had made her feel that she had invaded his space.

The coordinator observed that classroom management posed additional difficulties to a teacher in a wheelchair and stressed that the bottom line in determining modifications for student teachers with a disability is safety of the students.