Introduction

 

While there is loads of information available about specific disabilities, and how they affect students, I feel very strongly that there should be an easily accessible, fully comprehensive guide for staff, which briefly outlines some of the main disabilities facing students at LSE, and how staff can help in their teaching and general understanding. Many students chose not to disclose their disability, and so staff should be extra-aware that enormous amounts of work are often being done to hide difficulties.

As a dyslexic, I generally opt not to tell my teachers. I don't want to use it as an excuse and I've heard enough remarks about dyslexia not really existing, or affecting absolutely everyone, to know not to bother. It's unusual, though certainly not rare, to find understanding teachers, who actually admit that they may not know everything about this learning difficulty.

My coping strategies have been tested to the limit at LSE, and seem to serve me well, but they don't rectify everything. While I can race through a book at a frighteningly quick pace, I don't understand much of what I've read. Hence I don't trust my reading to provide me with the information which is actually there, and consequently get confused easily. The fear of presentations is enormous as well - do I trace each word as I read it with my finger and look like an eight year old, or read it "normally" and be guaranteed to misread a handful of words, and loose my place about 6 times?
There are some great teachers around, which is really encouraging, and I hope that the information below is useful. If further details of specific disabilities are required, then the Disability Office, run by Jean Jameson, is full of leaflets, and books. It's a great place for staff and students, and provides the type of understanding that is truly invaluable.

 

Information about Blindness

The word "blindness" may create an image of people who have no sight at all. But medically, a person is blind if he or she has visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye. There are many other misperceptions about people who are blind.

People who are blind often face challenges in getting around their community, in using computers, in reading, and in gathering information in a visually oriented world. Up to 80% of what we learn in early life is information gained through sight. Interacting with other people can also be more difficult for people with visual impairments, because there are many subtle, non-verbal clues which contribute to communication.

However, technology and early intervention are rapidly filling in the gaps. An increasing number of alternative technologies are being developed, for everything from mobility to computer use. Parents of children who are blind or visually impaired can and do learn to use language to convey information other babies absorb through vision. And advances in medical research are steadily reducing the number of people who experience vision loss.
The most difficult challenge for people who are blind or visually impaired is the beliefs and attitudes of the people who surround them. When people with visual impairments are perceived to be less than capable, it has a crippling impact on their lives, socially and economically. Unemployment rates for people who are blind are remarkably high: up to 70% by some estimates.
Overcoming those perceptions of disability is the major obstacle faced by people who are blind, and it is an obstacle that must be recognized and addressed by our entire society. Disregarding the talents and resources of an entire group of people has economic and social consequences for sighted people as well. The human race is not so affluent that we can afford to overlook the potential of any group labelled "disabled," whether they are visually impaired, physically challenged, deaf or hard of hearing.

Further information - www.rnib.org.uk

 

 

Information about Deafness

Deafness is partial or complete loss of hearing. This often means that the person affected must rely more on visual means of communication, such as Sign language, lipreading, speechreading, and reading and writing.
It is generally agreed that anyone who cannot understand speech (with or without hearing aids or other devices) using sound alone (i.e. no visual cues such as lipreading) is deaf.
There are different kinds of hearing loss.

Further information - www.rnib.org.uk

 

 

Information about Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a term that has been loosely applied to reading disabilities. Specific definitions for dyslexia vary with disciplines. Those in medicine define dyslexia as a condition resulting from neurological, maturational, and genetic causes, while those in psychology relate dyslexia on the basis of the specific reading problems evidenced and give no reference to causation. All disciplines would probably agree that dyslexia is evidenced by persons of otherwise normal intellectual capacity who have not learned to read despite exposure to adequate instruction.
Students who have learning disabilities may exhibit a wide range of traits, including problems with reading comprehension, spoken language, writing, or reasoning ability. Hyperactivity, inattention, and perceptual coordination problems may also be associated with learning disabilities. Other traits that may be present include a variety of symptoms, such as uneven and unpredictable test performance, perceptual impairments, motor disorders, and behaviours such as impulsiveness, low tolerance for frustration, and problems in handling day-to-day social interactions and situations.

Learning disabilities may occur in the following academic areas:
1.Spoken language: Delays, disorders, or discrepancies in listening and speaking
2.Written language: Difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling
3.Arithmetic: Difficulty in performing arithmetic functions or in comprehending basic concepts
4.Reasoning: Difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts
5.Organization skills: Difficulty in organizing all facets of learning.

Further information - www.bda-dyslexia.org.uk

 

 

 

 

Information about Repetitive Strain Injury

The term Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) refers to a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis or tendonitis. Such injuries are often also referred to as Work-related Upper Limb Disorders, Occupational Overuse Injuries, or Cumulative Trauma Disorders, but there is no suggestion that such problems can arise only in the workplace - they can equally well arise through activities performed in the home.
RSI has become much more prominent with the rapid rise in computer user, which has resulted in many people complaining of hand, neck and arm problems. However, other activities, such as the playing of a musical instrument may also give rise to symptoms. RSI is potentially a very serious problem.

Further information - http://www.rsi-uk.org.uk ,http://webreference.com/rsi.html , orhttp://www.engr.unl.edu/ee/eeshop/findadoc.html

 

 

Information about Asperger's Syndrome/Autism

ASPERGER'S SYNDROME or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological. Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviours that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behaviour, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting". By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naiveté, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.
AUTISM is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It occurs in approximately fifteen out of every 10,000 births and is four times more common in boys than girls. It has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. The symptoms are caused by physical disorders of the brain. They include: Disturbances in the rate of appearance of physical, social and language skills, abnormal responses to sensations. Any one or a combination of senses or responses are affected: sight, hearing, touch, pain, balance, smell, taste, and the way a child holds his body. Speech and language are absent or delayed while specific thinking capabilities might be present and abnormal ways of relating to people, objects and events.

Further information - www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

 

 

Information about Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by trauma, ie. a blow to the head and is a type of acquired brain injury (ABI).
Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the leading killer and cause of disability in children and young adults. More than two million head injuries occur each year. Statistics show that the highest rate of injury occurs in young men between the ages of 15 and 24. As a result, there is an emerging population of students with ABI on the college campus today.
ABI is an impairment of brain functioning that is physically or psychologically verifiable. Common causes of ABI are brain lesions caused by traumas such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults and violence or sports injuries. Other brain lesions can be due to internal events such as focal brain lesions, tumors, cerebral vascular accidents, aneurysm or infections of the brain. Another cause of ABI is ingestion of toxic substances due to either alcohol or drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals.
Students who have experienced a brain injury often enter or return to college with cognitive, psychological and/or sensorimotor disorders. Problems in the cognitive area usually pose the greatest challenge in the classroom. Although students may experience cognitive problems in such areas as memory, attention, and organization, they may still possess the abilities to succeed in an academic environment.

Students who have ABI may have problems in the following areas:
Cognitive -
communication and language
memory
comprehension (especially learning new information) perception
short attention span
concentration
expressive language skills
organization, planning, and decision making
judgment and reasoning
flexibility (adjusting to change)
studying and academic skills
Environmental -
noise
temperature
visual distraction
unexpected change (class location moved, class cancelled, etc.)
inadequate support/information/transportation
misunderstanding by others/rejection

Further information - www.headway.org.uk

 

 

Information about Myalgic Encephalopathy (ME) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Basic Information

M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Encephalopathy) is a chronic, fluctuating illness. It is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome (PVFS). The illness affects many parts of the body such as the nervous and immune systems. The most common symptoms are severe fatigue or exhaustion, problems with memory and concentration and muscle pain.

It is estimated that there are up to 240,000 people with M.E. in the UK. It can affect men, women and children of all ages and from all social and ethnic groups. It seems to be more common to develop the illness between your early twenties and mid-forties

Effect on Student

Further information - www.meactionuk.org.uk
http://www.afme.org.uk/infocentre.asp

 

 

Information about Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

MS is a chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers
MS is a chronic, progressive, disease of the central nervous system where the body's immune system attacks the nerves. The name multiple sclerosis comes from the 'sclerosised' or hardened plaques of scar tissue located at multiple sites throughout the CNS. Nerve fibres in the central nervous system are covered with the Myelin sheath, which provides an insulating function similar to that of the rubber coating around electrical wires. Plaques damage the myelin around the nerve and interrupt the transmission of messages that communicate the desired action from the brain through the spinal cord to various parts of the body.

For some people, MS is characterized by periods of relapse and remission while for others it has a progressive pattern. For everyone, it makes life unpredictable.

Further information - www.mssocietyscotland.org.uk

 

 

Information about Mental Illness

Mental Illness is a disease of the brain that causes unusual thoughts and emotions, including depression, feeling like you can do anything and/or not knowing the difference between reality and unreality. There are many different forms, and the umbrella term "Mental Illness" encompasses illnesses from depression to schizophrenia.
Onset of depression often occurs at university, and is the most common form of mental illness found among students - Depression.

Clinical depression affects the total person - body, feelings, thoughts, and behaviours-and comes in various forms. Some people have a single bout of depression; others suffer recurrent episodes. Still others experience the severe mood swings of bipolar disorder - sometimes called manic-depressive illness, with moods alternating between depressive lows and manic highs.

Symptoms of depression may often be recognised by-

Further information at Health Sciences Library - http://www-hsl.mcmaster.ca/

 

 

How staff can help

Suggestions for staff concerning presentations, lectures and handouts-
1.Layout-

 

 

Suggestions for teaching students with Asperger's Syndrome/Autism

1.Many people with autism are visual thinkers. Pictures to demonstrate concepts are often more effective than more conventional methods.
2.Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. People with autism often have problems with remembering the sequence.
3.Use concrete visual methods to teach number concepts.
4.Individuals with visual processing problems often find it easier to read if black print is printed on coloured paper to reduce contrast. Try light tan, light blue, grey, or light green paper. Avoid bright yellow--it may hurt the individual's eyes.

 

General Information

There are difficulties which face every student, such as getting access to a limited number of books, completing all the readings for classes, and handing essays in on time. These tasks are made much more difficult if the student has a disability - everything takes more time. For example, getting to the library for a student with mobility problems, reading and understanding the article or book if the student has sight problems or is dyslexia, writing an essay if the student suffers from repetitive strain injury, and following the class discussion or lecture if the student has hearing problems. Not only do these factors contribute to make student life more hectic, they are also very tiring, and this needs to be taken into consideration. Students with a disability/dyslexia often work incredibly hard to so that their disability/dyslexia is not noticeable. Often class teachers will not know if they have a student who has a disability/dyslexia, but understanding and encouragement in general to all pupils is essential, and is hugely beneficial. Students can feel easily disheartened if enormous efforts go unnoticed, or if expectations go unfulfilled.
While general information is useful and valuable it is most important to remember that every student with a disability or dyslexia has individual and often unique difficulties, and if the student wishes help with these, then they should be discussed on a one to one basis.

 

Student Suggestions

Former LSE student Christine Goodal suggests -

"as a former student with visual impairment I would say the most important thing is that everyone's condition is different, and if a staff member has a visually impaired student they should discuss directly with the student how best to manage things, one size does not fit all, the awareness to discuss the situation is the main thing."

"I found it very useful to be sent the lecture notes, handouts and slides before the lecture or class via e mail, this was really useful, but as I said before might not be for everyone, what the tutor needs to do is ask what is helpful and put it in place, sight is such a variable thing, the most important thing is awareness."

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