My disability and college?

Question

Just a sidenote: I am referring to college in the UK - in other words, year 12 and 13. Not university.

I am deaf (wear two hearing aids) and I have to fill out the application form for a few colleges soon next week. I expect there will be a section for health issues and I intend to fill that in. I do know I will have to ask for accommodations but I am not sure what to ask for. My careers adviser has not really mentioned anything accommodations related. It is true that I have managed well at secondary (high) school but I am worried that I will not be able to cope at somewhere where the environment is completely different from what I am used to.

For personal reasons, I will not wear a radio microphone/aid. What would you recommend I do? And what I should expect? Thank you.

Also it may be wise to tell you that I do not know how to sign as I was brought up using English. So I wouldn't need interpreters.

Answer 1

All of these might not be needed, but these are some possibilities



1. Be seated where you have good sight lines to read lips

2. All videos played in class have captioning or a written script

3. Any audio presentations have a written script

4. Teacher repeats any questions asked in class

5. Students face you when they ask questions

6. Alternatives offered to classes required that depend on sound (music, voice, film)

7. Ability to record class

8. Teacher uses microphone with audio transmitter to a headset

9.More time to complete work dependent upon listening to information

10. Written work versus oral presentations for class projects

11. Written/ email interviews versus oral interviews for class projects

Answer 2

It probably depends on the college and what he thinks he needs help with, but I can tell you this. By my senior year in college, I got so freaked by true/false tests that I over-thought and kept picking the opposite of what the assumed answer would be. (I kept expecting trick questions and got to the point that I could make any question into a trick question.) My prof accepted that. Once a week, I'd go to his office and run down all I learned about the subject that week. I knew the info cold - it was the tests that did me in. If a prof would do that for me, why wouldn't they be helpful no matter what problems a student has? They want to teach. They like students who want to learn.

Answer 3

I'm not an expert on this, but at my college there were fantastic facilities for disabled people! The college has probably had more deaf kids than your school, so they already have experience already. They would probably ask what you felt would help you- ie sitting at the front of class to see lips, or anything that's helped you in school which you feel would help in college. We're very lucky to be living in a time when disability is not looked upon as a disadvantage, and there are all sorts of people whose job it is to see that disabled people get the help they need to get ahead in life :) Enjoy college!

Answer 4

I would phone the college and ask to speak the colleges student ad visor. Explain to them your situation and that you may need help, but until the point where you start your not sure what help that might be. They'll no doubt say that when you start keep in touch with Student adviser and see how it goes, if any problems arise and you need assistance it will be provided to you through liaising with him/her. You can't be expected to now what assistance you'll need until you start, but they should be aware that it may be a possibility.

Answer 5

The disability rights act means they can't turn you down for anything. You could get that new voice recorder that puts what the person is saying onto the screen as text.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6703837/Trail/searchtext%3EVOICE+RECORDER.htm

It's about £50 but it would be worth it if it means you won't miss something said in a lesson. I don't know if it does it in real time, but even if it doesn't you won't miss anything. You really do need to ask your adviser for as much detail as possible to help filling in forms so that you will get the help you need. I know what it's like to not get the help you need. I hope I helped :)