I had to drop out of college because the accommodations process was too inaccessible for me. I want nothing more than to go back to school, but now it's financially out of reach, too. UBI and universal health care and free college would open so many doors for so many disabled people, and that's just the start.
I really, really want to write about my experience with disability accommodations in the first master’s program I started in and how awful it was. And I was able to even be pursuing a masters because I was employed at the same college, so it was free to me.
The discrimination I was facing in both my job and the degree program (like you, outside of the disability services person who was great) was so overwhelming at a time when my chronic conditions were already so debilitating and I was already so worn down by the prolonged treatment of my department, that I crumbled.
I gave up and left my position and therefore immediately lost my access to my masters program. At that point, I had been doing well but had been granted an incomplete in two classes due to medical leave.
I could no longer access my email account that I was required to use for the masters program, which was my work email, and I so could no longer access the online system to communicate with my professors or to complete or hand in work.
I lost everything all at once, after fighting for survival in each course so far and even harder through that particular semester, where both the prism running the masters program, my advisor and my supervisors were all insisting I should quit (my job and the program.)
I was going to say how I really want to write about this but it’s so hard and I haven’t been able to even talk about it out loud much-even 4+years later now.
But I started this comment and have already stated it seems…
Basically, thank you for writing this piece and I am hopeful that I can write about my experience more fully soon. If not, I may just put out bits and pieces and see what eventually comes together.
I’m new to putting my writing out there more publicly and just published my first *anything* on Substack this week.
I have followed you since discovering the GF group many years ago, and it has influenced my life tremendously.
I’m going to keep following you and hoping that I can get my thoughts out of my head and into something readable
For the first times in many years. My current disabilities have affected my ability to write with ease like the old days.
Eek, this comment should be it’s own publication on Substack! I guess I should start writing in my own space and not just in your comments.. 😂
So true and needing proving yourself for accommodations is just, ugh. If disability justice were at the foundation, these hoops wouldn’t have to exist. Sorry you have to deal with this and thanks for sharing 💜
I had to drop out of college because the accommodations process was too inaccessible for me. I want nothing more than to go back to school, but now it's financially out of reach, too. UBI and universal health care and free college would open so many doors for so many disabled people, and that's just the start.
I really, really want to write about my experience with disability accommodations in the first master’s program I started in and how awful it was. And I was able to even be pursuing a masters because I was employed at the same college, so it was free to me.
The discrimination I was facing in both my job and the degree program (like you, outside of the disability services person who was great) was so overwhelming at a time when my chronic conditions were already so debilitating and I was already so worn down by the prolonged treatment of my department, that I crumbled.
I gave up and left my position and therefore immediately lost my access to my masters program. At that point, I had been doing well but had been granted an incomplete in two classes due to medical leave.
I could no longer access my email account that I was required to use for the masters program, which was my work email, and I so could no longer access the online system to communicate with my professors or to complete or hand in work.
I lost everything all at once, after fighting for survival in each course so far and even harder through that particular semester, where both the prism running the masters program, my advisor and my supervisors were all insisting I should quit (my job and the program.)
I was going to say how I really want to write about this but it’s so hard and I haven’t been able to even talk about it out loud much-even 4+years later now.
But I started this comment and have already stated it seems…
Basically, thank you for writing this piece and I am hopeful that I can write about my experience more fully soon. If not, I may just put out bits and pieces and see what eventually comes together.
I’m new to putting my writing out there more publicly and just published my first *anything* on Substack this week.
I have followed you since discovering the GF group many years ago, and it has influenced my life tremendously.
I’m going to keep following you and hoping that I can get my thoughts out of my head and into something readable
For the first times in many years. My current disabilities have affected my ability to write with ease like the old days.
Eek, this comment should be it’s own publication on Substack! I guess I should start writing in my own space and not just in your comments.. 😂
So true and needing proving yourself for accommodations is just, ugh. If disability justice were at the foundation, these hoops wouldn’t have to exist. Sorry you have to deal with this and thanks for sharing 💜
So well-said 👏