January 31^st, 2009

Abilities Archive

Making the Grade

Post-Secondary Schools Move Towards Inclusion

by Lynne Swanson

Lorin MacDonald is a firm believer in the idea that knowledge is power. That’s why the University of Western Ontario (UWO) law school student is passionate about access to post-secondary education for people with disabilities.

MacDonald has been deaf since birth. Following a successful and varied career, she returned to university in 2001, her interest in law fueled by litigation in relation to injuries sustained after she was struck by an SUV in 1997. She is the school’s first law student with significant hearing loss.

MacDonald believes education is key to enabling people with disabilities to participate fully in society. “Those who want to or can attend post-secondary institutions should be able to.”

She considers the Rae Review, the commission on post-secondary education chaired by former Ontario premier Bob Rae, another step on the path to full inclusion. The commission’s report, released last fall, recommended increased government funding for students with disabilities along with other disadvantaged groups. “The reality is that students with disabilities have costs that their non-disabled peers don’t have in relation to education,” says MacDonald.

In addition to the already high cost of tuition and school materials, students with disabilities often have to pay for transportation to and from class, attendant care, sign language interpreters, tutors, technological devices such as digital recorders, and other accommodations. While bursaries and grants, such as Canada Study Grants and various provincial grants, may cover some of these costs for eligible students, they are often out-of-pocket the rest of their needs. This makes the cost of higher education prohibitive for many.

At the same time, studies show that post-secondary education is increasingly important to employment success. According to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2.7 million new jobs will be created over the next five years due to increased economic activity and retiring baby boomers. Two thirds of those jobs will require post-secondary education or training.

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada says that university graduates earn about 50 percent more than those who have not completed a post-secondary degree – and that gap increases over time.

In Canada, people with disabilities aged 25 to 64 have comparable rates of college education to able-bodied people (19 percent of both groups have completed college). However, they lag behind in university education – 14 percent of people with disabilities have a degree compared to 25 percent for people without disabilities.

Higher ed makes a huge difference. StatsCan reports that, among people with disabilities, those under age 35 who are post-secondary grads are the most likely to participate in the labour force – in 1998, only 13 percent did not work at least part of the time (compared to 39 percent of those with only a high school diploma). This group was also most likely to hold down a job all year long.

According to the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS), between five and 10 percent of students enrolled in post-secondary education have visible or invisible disabilities. (This only includes students who self-identify, so the actual number may be higher.)

As more schools make accessibility a priority and administrators become increasingly aware that accommodating disabilities means more than just removing physical barriers, greater numbers of students with disabilities are enrolling in classes.

Jeff Preston, a student in UWO’s faculty of information and media studies, has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. He says the school’s administrators recognize that accessibility involves “many, many issues” beyond ramps and power doors, including attitudinal, financial and technological barriers.

Preston, who was commissioner for students with disabilities on UWO’s student council for one year, has experienced these barriers first-hand. He says a lack of transportation sometimes prevents him and others with mobility disabilities from getting to their classes. “It’s definitely adding to the stress of my getting an education.”

Residence living has also been challenging. Preston’s room in first year and apartment in second year both had barriers. Now, he lives in a new building that offers “incredible” accessibility and incorporates many barrier-free recommendations Preston himself made to the school. Although he still misses “quite a few” classes because of transportation problems, he stresses, “UWO has been very, very good at making things easier for me so that I have an equal opportunity at getting an education.”

Some students with disabilities or chronic conditions require assistance and technological aids to participate in classes and complete their schoolwork.

Darryl Laughy has epilepsy. He had his first seizure a few months before starting classes in the computer systems technology program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, in 2003. When memory problems affected his ability to study, Laughy thought it was because he returned to school at age 25. He later learned epilepsy medication “obliterated” his short-term memory. Laughy says, “By the time I finish a chapter, I’ve forgotten what happened at the beginning.”

Laughy received a bursary from Fanshawe for technological devices, including a pocket computer that reminded him where he was supposed to be at what time. Laughy says he knew about the devices, but didn’t know how much they could help him until Fanshawe’s student services department recommended them. (For more information about how technology is helpful to people with memory problems, see Total Recall, page 47.)

Students with invisible disabilities face other issues, including a lack of awareness. Frank Smith, national coordinator of NEADS, says the largest number of students with disabilities in post-secondary institutions seem to be those with learning disabilities. Kim Gerritsen is one of them. The Alberta woman didn’t let details like having low reading comprehension and “atrocious” spelling stop her from achieving her goal of becoming a teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary special education from the University of Alberta and is completing her master’s of education in community rehabilitation and disability studies at the University of Calgary.

Gerritsen accommodates her learning disability in various ways, including using school materials in alternate formats. She says she was “one of the most severely learning disabled students” University of Alberta ever had. “They had a hard time figuring out what to do with me. That was a challenge to sort out, to educate people about my needs.”

Because her disability is invisible, Gerritsen says it was very hard to convince professors and school administrators of her needs. When she had help from scribes or readers for exams, professors wondered if they were providing her with the answers. She had to explain, “No, I told them what to write and they wrote it down verbatim.” Gerritsen is not alone. According to a 2004 Government of Canada survey, one in four Canadians with disabilities has faced discrimination in getting an education.

Accommodations vary from school to school. The University of Alberta provided accommodations, but when Gerritsen began graduate studies at the University of Calgary, she says it was “a bit of a shock” to adapt to the school’s different processes. She must now produce all her own alternate formats with a high-speed scanner. “It’s hugely time-consuming.” Gerritsen received a Canada Study Grant to hire a reader to handle the materials that could not be scanned.

Like Gerritsen, other students with disabilities find various ways to make higher ed work for them. Jesse Davidson, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, earned his diploma in hotel management from Fanshawe College in 2002. He was pleased to find that “things can be modified to work for students with disabilities.” For example, he stretched a two-year program into three years. “The Counselling and Student Life Department made sure I had all the accommodations I needed.” These included washroom assistance when Davidson’s own attendants weren’t available, asking classmates to make copies of notes, and extra time during exams so that he could dictate his answers. Davidson’s instructors were also accommodating. In his program’s hands-on culinary component, Davidson was teamed up with a classmate. He would direct his partner and they would be marked together.

Certainly, a commitment to inclusion of people with disabilities from a school is critical to the success of its students. Smith says most post-secondary educational institutions have made important strides towards full inclusion. “More and more universities and colleges have offices that support students with disabilities. It’s a commitment of many schools to provide these supports.”

Two educational institutions that strive to make school life easier for students with disabilities are Algonquin College and Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. They were the first post-secondary schools in Canada to make attendants available in student residences 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They assist with everyday tasks, such as transferring, cutting up food, using the washroom and grooming at no additional cost. (The program is funded by the Ontario government through the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.) These and many other schools have centres for students with disabilities as well as online resources (see Do Your Homework!, below). Smith adds, “Students with disabilities are organizing themselves through their own campus groups and clubs, and are working with all players on campus to improve access and accommodations.”

Selecting the right program and educational institution is important. Larger institutions may have more resources dedicated to disability services, but smaller schools may be more accessible and easier to get around. Gerritsen says, “Look at the wide array of educational possibilities. It’s really important to find what fits for you.”

Lynne Swanson is a freelance writer in London, Ontario.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) is an excellent source of information for people with disabilities who are considering or are enrolled in post-secondary education. Its website (www.neads.ca) includes information about 130 schools and the disability services they provide; details on awards, scholarships and government programs for Canadian college and university students with disabilities (including Canada Study Grants); a job site; discussion forums; free publications; and CampusNet, an online community for student leaders with disabilities.

CanLearn (www.canlearn.ca) is a one-stop Web-based resource that provides information, products and services to help Canadians decide what and where to study and how to cover the costs of their education. It is an initiative of the department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. NEADS and CanLearn have teamed up to design a tool that offers students with disabilities several ways to obtain accessibility information on post-secondary Canadian learning institutions. Visit www.canlearn.ca, click “Planning,” then “The Accessibility Guide” to learn about schools and resources in your province or territory.