Fran Storey - Student Disability Officer

Welcome Weekend (Sunday)

Sun, 18 Sep 2016 21:18:00 +0100

Today we were blessed with another beautiful day of sunshine and plenty of smiling faces as more freshers attended registration. I greeted our new students and explained about the value of having an NUS Extra card in their pocket, one father said I had five minutes to convince him of my sincerity to my statement regarding its value-nothing like a bit of pressure especially when he grinned at me and put his stop watch on, I think he must be a reserve dragon on TV!!! True to his word he stopped me after five minutes and he just sat there with his serious face on, until his wife told me to ignore him, he smiled and said that I could 'sell snow to an eskimo', and promptly told his daughter to fill out the form and he would pay for the card! His wife said that he had stated on the journey here that he wasn't putting his hand in his pocket but he said he was onto a win win situation as he knew that the money for the card would be recovered in no time, and he actually thanked me for taking his challenge. We did chat for a while and his brother asked me when our open days were planned as he wanted to bring his daughter for a visit because he thought our university was the one for her, especially after our discussion on accessibility, inclusive sports and our commitment to enable all students to reach their full potential, and he was impressed at how wheelchair friendly the campus was.

I left at lunchtime so missed the treasure hunt that was organised by the Students Union but I hope that everyone who participated had an amazing experience and lots of fun, as thats what this week is all about. Its not just about settling in, its about meeting your peer group, forging new friendships, participation in events and having lots of fun. Your student experience has now begun and I hope that you have an amazing journey of self discovery!!!

Welcome Weekend (Saturday)

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 22:26:00 +0100

Today I was very privillaged to be a member of the Student Union Volunter Team and got to greet some amazing young peope as they registered for their first year at the University of Worcester. I lost count of the number of people that I talked to, it was joyous to watch this momentous day being marked as a rite of passage into adulthood and independence with the full support of parents and siblings. Three sets of parents suggested that we should have a 'parent's welcome weekend' so that they could relive their youth-now that was an interesting suggestion!!!

One student had her 10 year old brother in tow, and he was a character to talk to, he asked lots of questions and asked why his sister had to pay to come to university when he didn't pay to go to school but then said it was ok because his dad had told him that he would pay anything not to queue for the bathroom in the morning!! He had already begun to plan for his future years and had determined that if his sister passed her degree then she could pay him to do the jobs that she said would break her nails-we can all learn from the innocence of children and their perception on the simplicity of life.

I had some lovely conversations with the students and their families, and it was encouraging to hear why our university was chosen over other institutions, 'it immediately felt like home when we visited on open day', 'it feels like everyone is a member of an extended family', 'amazing facilities and resources', 'every person we have talked to has always had time to answer our questions', 'we know our daughter is in safe hands, a feeling we never felt at the bigger universities', and many more equally thoughtful comments. It was good to chat with students that I had previously met at the DDS Information Days back in July, and they were still eager and enthusiastic as they had been then.

Thanks has to be given to Andy Wager who organised and co-ordinated the Volunteer Team and ensured that everything ran smoothly today. Our sabbatical officers: Jade (President), James (VP Education) and Hemaka (VP Sports & Societies), interacted with the new students offering them a warm welcome to the SU. Sophie Williams, CEO of the SU, led by example (as always) with her tireless motivation, and Dave Tomkins successfully kept all the technical equipment working to full capacity which ensured that the issuing of the NUS Extra cards ran smoothly without a glitch. So many other people linked to the SU were involved and I appreciate all the support that I received and I thank you all.

I am looking forward to tomorrow to interact further with our Freshers and I welcome everyone to the University of Worcester, I wish you all an amazing student experience over the duration of your degree!!!

Welcome Week 2016-'Chill & Chat' sessions.

Fri, 09 Sep 2016 10:52:00 +0100

Wow its that time of year again where we get to welcome all the new intake of students, and the line up of events are fantastic, so don't miss out on anything and if you haven't yet bought your wristband then do it now!!!

Last year we set up 'Chill & Chat' sessions where disabled students could meet up and get to know each other, where they could meet students that they would not neccessarily meet on their course. Its a relaxing 45mins-hour where we bring along a coffee (and sometimes lunch depending on time that we meet) and sit down and chill out, share experiences, offer peer support and laugh!!! I am planning to hold a session on Tuesday of Welcome Week at 1pm (exact location to be verified nearer the time), everyone is welcome, bring a friend and chill out in a safe space away from all the excitement. I look forward to meeting you!!!!

Please join the facebook group if you havn't already (University of Worcester Disabled Student's Group), my email address is sudisability@worc.ac.uk if anybody wants to book an appointment to speak to me privately (in confidence). The SU has a wonderful lady, Kate Gynn, who is available to make appointments with regarding any academic support.

See you all soon!!!!

12 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY TO SOMEONE WITH DEPRESSION

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:10:00 +0100

Have you tried eating better/sleeping less/exercising more/getting more light?

If depression could be cured that easily, nobody would suffer from it. Most people with depression have already tried everything in the book and more.

There's nothing to be upset about.

There's actually a lot in the world to be upset about; people with depression just spend more time aware of it.

There's no use dwelling on things.

You are correct; there's no use in having depression, just like there's no use in having diabetes-but here we all are.

Everything will be ok.

This fact hasn't escaped a depressed person's awareness, but things will still feel shitty right now.

What are you sad about?

Depression isn't really 'about' anything except a chemical imbalance. Depressed people feel bad about a lot of things, but these things didn't cause the depression.

You should get out and do something fun.

Depressed people usually lack energy and motivation to do things, its a case of once step forward and two steps back a lot of the time, your perspective of something fun will probably not correlate with a depressed person's perception.

You should be glad just to be able-bodied.

Depressed people would love to be happy about their physical abilities-or literally anything-but unfortunately they can't turn their mood on and off like a switch. And as an aside, it is offensive to disabled people to suggest that people should be happy not to be them.

You would feel better if you smiled more.

What people do with their face is not the business of anyone else, and yet again if beating depression was that easy them nobody would be depressed.

Don't cry.

With the exception of officers playing a role, most people-depressed or otherwise-don't intentionally cry. If you see someone cry you are probably seeing tears that they tried to fight back, so don't let them feel worse because their tears escaped.

There are people with much worse problems than you.

That is very true, but knowing that some people get third degree burns doesn't make first degree burns hurt any less.

You are not truely better, if you are relying on medication.

Being able to get out of bed every morning, function in a job and engage in social activities would be great for a person with depression to be able to do without psychiatric assistance. But taking a pill every night is way preferable to missing out on everything life has to offer.

Just cheer up.

You would never dream of telling somene with a cold to 'just stop coughing'. Depression is also a physical ailment beyond a person's control; the problem is just in their brains rather than in their throats.

Top 5 Emotional Difficulties of People with Learning Disabilities

Tue, 09 Aug 2016 21:22:00 +0100

Some people with learning disabilities (LDs) develop emotional difficulties because of society's perception and attitude, these can be identified as:

1. SHAME:

People growing up with a LD often feel a sense of shame. For some, it is a great relief to receive the diagnosis while for others the label only serves to further stigmatise them. Accurate diagnosis was unavailable for the more elder people which meant that they were often labeled as mentally retarded and unable to learn, little academic input was given to them and they sometimes never gained basic academic skills. Such feelings of shame often made people hide their difficulties, so that they can't be told that they are too lazy to learn or that they are stupid. Some people end up developing a defense mechanism where they deny that they have a LD in order not to be judged. Internalised negative labels of stupidity and incompetence usually result in a poor self concept and lack of confidence (Gerber, Ginsberg, & Reiff, 1992).

Society is influenced by what they hear and some myths have influenced people's negative perception about LDs:

Myth #1: People with LDs are below average intelligence and therefore cannot learn.

Fact: People with LDs have average to above average intelligence (Gerber. 1998). In fact, studies indicate that as many as 33% of students with LD are gifted (Baum, 1985; Brody & Mills, 1997; Jones, 1986). With proper recognition, intervention and lots of hard work, children and adults with learning disabilities can learn and succeed!

Myth #2: LDs are just an excuse for irresponsible, unmotivated or lazy people.

Fact: LDs are caused by neurological impairments not character flaws. In fact, the National Information Centre for Adults and Youth with Disabilities makes a point of saying that people with learning disabilities are not lazy or unmotivated (NICHCY , 2002).

Myth #3: LDs only affect children. Adults grow out of LDs.

Fact: It is now known that LDs continues throughout the individual's lifespan and may even intensify in adulthood as tasks and environmental demands change (Michaels, 1994a). Sadly, many adults, especially older adults, have never been diagnosed with a LD. In fact, the majority of people with LDs are not diagnosed until they reach adulthood (LDA, 1996)

Myth #4: LDs are only academic in nature. They do not affect other areas of a person's life.

Fact: Some people with LDs have isolated difficulties in reading, writing or mathematics. However, most people with LDs have more than one area of difficulty. Dr. Larry Silver asserts that 'learning disabilities are life disabilities'. He writes, The same disabilities that interfere with reading, writing, and arithmetic also will interfere with sports and other activities, family life, and getting along with friends." (Silver, 1998)

Myth #5: Adults with LDs cannot succeed in higher education.

Fact: More and more adults with LDs are going to college or university and succeeding (Gerber and Reiff 1994). With the proper reasonable adjustments and support, adults with learning disabilities can be successful at higher education.

2. FEAR:

Fear is an emotion which is often masked by anger or anxiety. Tapping into the fear behind the anger and/or the anxiety response is often the key for adults to cope with the emotional fallout of LDs.

Feelings of fear may be related one or more of the following issues:

fear of being found out
fear of failure
fear of judgment or criticism
fear of rejection

3. ENVIROMENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITIES

Environmental Sensitivities

Adults with LDs can become overwhelmed by too much environmental stimuli (e.g. background noise, more than one person talking at a time, side conversations, reading and listening at the same time). Many people with LD and ADD have specific sensitivities to their environment such as certain fabrics they cannot wear, foods they cannot tolerate, etc.

Emotional Sensitivity

Many adults with LDs perceive themselves as more emotionally sensitive than other people. The positive features of this trait helps adults with LDs build meaningful relationships with others. For example, they are often very intuitive and in-tune with both their own and other people's emotions. However, this strength also serves as weakness due to its propensity to overwhelm the individuals. Emotional difficulties occur when they are unable to cope with the onslaught of emotions they are feeling.

4. EMOTIONAL REGULATION

Dr. Kay Walker, describes the connection between LDs and self-regulation problems in her paper 'Self Regulation and Sensory Processing for Learning, Attention and Attachment.' She states that self-regulation problems frequently occur in those with LDs (Walker, 2000). In its most extreme form, individual may easily shift from one emotion to the next. Others may experience difficulty regulating impulsive thoughts or actions. Fortunately, most adults have learned to handle their emotional sensitivity to avoid becoming overwhelmed or engaging in negative social interactions. Some adults with LD, especially those who have had very negative experiences, are prone to take criticism to heart. Emotional wounds from childhood and youth may cause heightened emotional responses to rejection. In turn, social anxiety and social phobia may result

5. DIFFICULTY ADJUSTING TO CHANGE

Change is scary for everyone, but for people with LDs and other neurological disabilities, change may be particularly difficult. Some adults will have trouble moving from one work task to another without completely finishing the first task before moving on to the next one. Adults with LDs are frequently described as inflexible when it comes to considering another person's view point or a different way of doing something. To avoid the tendency to blame the person for their lack of flexibility, it is important to understand the neurological basis for this difficulty with adjusting to change.

References

American LDA, (1996), They Speak for Themselves- A Survey of Adults with Learning Disabilities (Shoestring Press) Pittsburgh, PA 15234

Baum, S (1985). Learning disabled students with superior cognitive abilities: A validation study of descriptive behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Brody, L. E. & Mills, C. J. (1997). Gifted Children with Learning Disabilities: A review of the issues. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(3), 382-296.

Gerber, P. J. (1998). Trials and tribulations of a teacher with learning disabilities through his first two years of employment. In R. J. Anderson, C. E. Keller, & J. M. Carp (Eds.), Enhancing diversity: educator with disabilities (pp. 41-59). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Gerber, P. J., and Reiff, H., eds. (1994) Learning Disabilities In Adulthood: Persisting Problems And Evolving Issues: Stoneham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Jones H. B., (1986). The gifted Dyslexic. Annals of Dyslexia, 36, 301-317

Michaels, C. A. (1994) Transition strategies for persons with learning disabilities. San Diego, CA.

NICHCY - National Information Centre for Children and Youth with Disabilities. (2002) General Information about Learning Disabilities. (pg. 1) Fact sheet #7. Retrieved November 2, 2002, from http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/nichcy_fs7.pdf

Silver, L. B. (1998) The Misunderstood Child: Understanding and Coping With Your Child's Learning Disabilities 3rd edition, NY: Random House Books.

Walker, K. (2000) Self Regulation and Sensory Processing for Learning, Attention and Attachment . Occupational Therapy Department, University of Florida.