Student Perspectives on Accessibility in Learning
Student Voices
Students living with disabilities present a variety of perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and needs. The testimonies shared on this page come from undergraduate students at the University of Virginia in Fall 2023.
As you read the student testimonies shared in this chapter, consider the following questions:
- What barriers to learning do students with disabilities encounter?
- What effect do these barriers have on students’ academic success, sense of belonging, health, and wellbeing?
- What questions would you ask these students to better understand their experiences?
1. Momore: Student Perspectives on Accessibility at UVA
In what ways can having a disability be discouraging as a student?
Symptoms of my chronic illness often progress rapidly and without warning. This means that I go to bed some days perfectly “normal” and then wake up unable to walk, suddenly get searing pains in my hands in the middle of notetaking in lecture or pounding headaches from the decreased flow of oxygen to my brain.
But these are symptoms I have 19 years of practicing how to address; however, certain classes exacerbate these challenges unnecessarily. In classes where the professor does not provide slides, there is no way for me to catch up on the material from home. This forces me to come to class in my lowest state. Not only is this physically taxing, but it prolongs my sick episodes. I can’t take my prescribed pain medication before I go to class because it makes me drowsy, but I also can’t miss class because I have no other way to learn the content; Additionally, I do breathing treatments because my pain episodes are so severe that I have scarred my lungs from gasping for air in the past. Sometimes I also have to forgo those because I cannot miss class and do not know people who would share their notes.
In a very real way, I toe the line of serious injury to my body because I genuinely love school. I sacrifice so much of myself to be here, but it is discouraging and almost dismissive when professors force attendance rather than prioritizing the academic growth of their students. And as a student who has most accommodations except notetaking (which I never requested because I have previously had access to lecture material)— I strongly believe that being able to re-teach yourself is not information that should be gatekept behind an SDAC process.
The only reason my disease was discovered was because the hospital tested all babies for it. Without it, my family could never afford to screen me for the disabilities SDAC accommodates for. By forcing students to present that documentation just so they can learn, it is not only a constant reminder that to be disabled we must constantly “rise to the rational” of needing support, but also that the support is very much behind an inequitable paywall.
Examples of good accessibility practices: What are things that have helped support your learning process? Are there examples of things that instructors have done to successfully support your learning as a student living with disability?
- Providing access to course material outside of class
- Ability to request lecture recording via Canvas
- Ability to view our test answers from home
- Notes should be available to ANY student who had to miss class due to illness, chronic or otherwise
What barriers have you encountered as a student living with disability?
- Being forced to attend class due to lack of course material provided outside of lecture
- Unclear attendance policies
- Being unable to view my test responses outside of office hours—this is an inaccessible method because it creates more walking for me to go to a late office hour period. I struggle to get around in cooler weather because cold is trigger for my pain episodes.
- Assignments not being posted on the canvas site (hinders my ability to make up work).
- Mandatory handwritten notes. I understand and support the rationale behind this, but many professors say if you cannot handwrite then you can type on an iPad. For days I physically cannot use my hands well, writing on an iPad would present a similar challenge but it is also an equity issue that using an additional expensive electronic is the attempt at accessibility. Professors should be able to require handwritten notes but expand accommodation exceptions to laptops.
What suggestions do you have to address those barriers? What changes would better support your learning?
- Ability for all students to request lecture videos
- Ability for all students to have access to notes when they are sick
- Explicit attendance policies (defining what counts towards attendance: participation, in class quizlet, iclicker, etc.)
- Course material should be made available to students outside of class time
- Students should be able to view their test grades and responses at home
2. Anonymous: Student Perspectives on Accessibility at UVA
My history with academic accommodations began in my sophomore year of high school. I began taking more academically rigorous courses and my mother wanted me to have a 504 to protect myself. What I was not aware of is how much help this decision would be, especially to validate my accommodations for college. I was allowed extra time on exams and lengthy assignments, carrying into college. Specifically, I have a form of cerebral palsy, hemiparesis. This disables the left side of my body. Everything is done with my right hand, to an extent. My arm is impacted far worse than my leg, but I still struggle with balance and often trip when running due to not picking my leg up enough.
Through high school and college, I also seeked out accommodations while going through many surgeries related to my disability. As I am still continuing my surgeries, I found it extremely useful for the switch towards online during COVID. With the pandemic, it ironically brought higher accessibility of my assignments. I was able to stay caught up while also missing physical class due to my surgeries and physical therapy processes. With all these surgeries, it was common to encounter the “what did you break?” or “what happened?” questions, as if something went wrong. It is important to recognize that casts go far beyond the average “breakage” of bones and people may not be comfortable with speaking of physical limitations. Overall, there are many benefits to the online change, as compared to the in-person and pen and paper strategies.
By speaking up about my experiences in college, I finally got to meet a few other students with similar disabilities. I had never met someone with a similar disability before, only pictures my mother would show me off of Facebook. This was meant to be some type of reassurance, I was not the only one. Please think about that again, going 18 years without meeting someone else like you. By speaking confidently about my experiences, some of my classmates even reflected that they were not aware that there were less severe cases of cerebral palsy. In fact, I went on a hike with my boyfriend of 5 years last year and he made a comment after I kept tripping to “pick my feet up more” and I would not trip on all the tree roots. He did not mean harm by this, he was not even aware that my disability impacted areas other than my arm. He described how well I have done “hiding” my weaknesses, which I thought were too obvious to explain in greater detail to him. I highlight this story to show the importance of how classmates, friends, coworkers, and professors should not assume able-bodiedness from anyone.
As I meet with other students with disabilities, I have learned that it is impossible to assume what disabilities they encounter. Expectations on students, such as hand writing out your notes, has severely impacted my disability experience at UVA. Before implementing rules, it should be considered the impact they have on disabled bodies. I am only able to write/type one-handed and I get tired much faster when writing. A professor last year emphasized that you must hand write your lecture notes to better learn the topics. She allowed for SDAC accommodation for typing. However, this placed a sense of awkwardness and attention towards me as I was the only one in a 20 person class typing out my notes. Each morning I questioned if I was judged as a disabled student or not.
Professors posting their lecture slides before class has been one of the most helpful accommodating actions for me. I am able to paste the notes before class, not exerting much physical effort. Once in class, I can take extra notes on the material and not have to be in a time crunch and miss information. With posting videos, I can select a slower speed to be able to write out notes if needed and not fall behind the lecture. This is a luxury I do not have in most of my classes, but I appreciate the professors that do. I hope the professors know how much of a difference their actions can make on accommodating my disability.
My experience with UVA so far has allowed me to connect with a group of students and support. I have a sense of comfort in expressing my disability that I lacked before. There is a negative connotation to the quality of life with disability, but it is not my disability dragging me down, it is the fear of rejection or judgment. While this fear has not completely disappeared, I can thank the atmosphere for allowing me to be more expressive.
Overall, obtaining my accommodations at UVA was an ease due to already having my 504 documentation. Physically accommodating your students includes posting the lecture slides (or videos), not requiring actions from your students to a physical sense, and being accepting of your students that may need separate accommodations. For instance, it is much more difficult for me to write exams out in blue books and I suggest being able to type out written parts of exams. For professors to be accepting of accommodations, it allows less stress for the students already having to go through the booking process of the exams at SDAC and living with a disability.