Disability
My reflection on three video resources.
“I am disabled because society has not allowed me to shine and not because of my disability” (Adepitan, 2020)
Adepitan’s quote highlights how breaking systemic barriers will allow individuals with disabilities to shine and this ultimately benefits everyone in society. He urges society to rethink how we view and address disability, underlining society’s responsibility to remove the barriers disabled people face, rather than focusing on people’s limitations. He shared how the Paralympics is an example of how when people are given the right environment, they can succeed and “the sky is the limit” (Adepitan, 2020).
Adepitan shares his own experiences whilst highlighting the intersection of race and disability and the oppression faced by the BAME community. Towards the end of the video, he asks society the question, “Do we really really as a society want to tackle inequality?” (Adepitan, 2020). If so, we must hold ourselves accountable and make changes, no matter the small.
“Scale equal visibility and that has the ability to shape social norms” (Kim, 2023)
Christine Sun Kim discusses her experience as a deaf artist, wife, and mother intersect with her identity. Christine’s explains how she uses her art to normalise disability by educating, start conversations about disability. Collaborating with others, her partner and daughter has broadened her ideas and perspectives as an artist. Kim’s highlights the benefits of living in Berlin, where the government supports its citizens including free childcare, ample space for her art and not have to worry about debt in comparison to her friends in New York. Kim’s emphasises the importance of visibility for the deaf community, stating, “If you don’t see us, we have no place to be.” She wants society to acknowledge and recognise the deaf community.
The interviewer in the video said:
“If things are accessible for the disabled, they are going to be accessible for everyone, enjoyable for everyone” (Parapride, 2023).
During the interview with Chay Brown, the above quote resonated with me. I agree that inclusivity benefits everyone and not only those who have a disability. Brown went on to say we should ask people what accessibility needs they require, rather than assuming. Brown also made the valid point that having an accessibility budget in place will ensure accessibility needs can be met for every event. Chay also discussed being non-neurotypical and that his disability is not visible, but is hidden.
Recurring themes:
- Intersectionality, systemic barriers, empowerment, societal support.
- Highlighting the need to break down societal barriers and systems.
- Overlapping identities affects their lived experiences.
- Society’s failure for not creating the environment for everyone to succeed.
- Creating an environment that is inclusive and accessible to everyone.
- Burden put on the Individual person with the disability rather than society.
- Scale for visibility.
Teaching context:
The UAL’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report (2022/23), shows the percentage of students declaring a disability, increased from 16% in 2019 to 18% in 2022, then decreased to 15% in 2023, and rose again to 17% in 2024. Comparing 2019 to 2024, this is an increase of 1 percentage point (ppt) (figure 1).
The report shows the differences between home, EU and international students (figure 1). Whilst the percentage for home and international students remained relatively, the same between 2019/20 and 2023/24, EU students saw an increase from 10% to 21%.
In my teaching context, I support eight LCF courses (BA and MA). The UAL Active dashboard, under the School Design and Technology, shows from 2021/22 the number of students with a declared disability decreased from 17.58% to 16.52% in 2023/24. Those with no declared disability increased from 82.42% to 83.48% (Figures 2 & 3).
Both data sources indicate home students are more likely to declare a disability than EU and international students, possibly due to cultural and language barriers. Therefore, they may not have disclosed their disability needs in time, before the survey is taken. To improve inclusivity, as a university we should ensure all spaces and resources are accessible to everyone, regardless of their declared disability status, which enhances the student experience for all.
References
Adepitan, A. (2020). ‘Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism’. Interview with Ade Adepitan. Interviewed by Nick Webborn for ParalympicsGB, 16 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Allen, P. (2023) I’m a disabled student – this is what I worry about when applying to your university’, Times Higher Education. Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/im-disabled-student-what-i-worry-about-when-applying-your-university (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Brown, C. (2023). ‘Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023’. Interview with Chay Brown. Interviewed for Parapride, 13 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Bryan, J. (2022) Privilege Walk. Available at https://warwick.ac.uk/services/dean-of-students-office/community-values-education/educationresources/privilegewalk (Accessed 12 July 2024).
Crenshaw, K. (1990) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1229039?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiJjODZhMDgzZi01OGI2LTRmY2MtODMxYy1kNmIzZWU2NGI1NjciLCJlbWFpbCI6IjEzMzgwMzUxQGFydHMuYWMudWsiLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyI5ZDA5NDcxMy00Nzc0LTQ5ZmQtOTZkNS1kYzRmMTdlMDQ0NDQiXX0&seq=1 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Davies, M. (2022) The White Spaces of Dyslexic Difference, Springer Link, pp. 143–158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97450-3_7 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Kim, C. S. (2023) ‘Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21’. Interview with Christine Sun Kim. Interviewed for Art21, 1 November. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI&t=1s (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
The list of illustration includes:
Figure 1. UAL,(2022/23) University of the Arts London – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022.23. [Chart]– Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Figure 2. UAL,(2024) University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristic. [Chart]– Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
Figure 3. UAL,(2024) University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristic. [Pie-chart]– Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).
You mentioned the time sensitive nature of declaring a disability. I would be really interested to know how this might affect students at different points in the course and if you think there is an ideal time for helping students to navigate this?
Hi Amba
Thanks for your comments. I highlighted time sensitivity because when the UAL Data survey is taken, it is conducted within 3 months of a student’s first year.
There are several reasons why students may not have declared a disability before the survey is taken:
• They might not have had time to contact student disability services to inquire about the available support.
• Cultural barriers could prevent students from declaring a disability.
• Students may not be aware of their learning difficulty when the survey is taken and may not have undergone a disability diagnostic assessment/screening yet.
• First years students, such as international students new to the environment might face big adjustments and those students leaving home for the first time.
If the survey could be conducted at a later date or at multiple points, it may help to capture the true number of students with declared disabilities.
Addressing your question about how this affects students, it can be challenging for students to navigate starting a new course. If they have an undiagnosed disability or are aware of it but have not declared it, they would not have the necessary support in place to help them succeed through the duration of the course. For instance:
• Students may not have received adjustment support in place (ISA)
• Not having specialist equipment and assistive software
• Not having access to support for specialist study skills, academic support, and language skills.
Thank you
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for your blog post. It was an insightful read, and I was grateful that you highlighted the way in which ‘overlapping identities’ affected each author’s lived experiences, whilst society failed to recognise these individuals on an intersectional level, often leaving the responsibility of visibility with the authors themselves. I thought your writing on the fact that “inclusivity benefits everyone and not only those who have a disability” was powerful. It is a simple idea that, through your inclusion of the UAL data, is still clearly not as prominent in our learning environments as I believe it should be. Again, I have been impressed by your concise and accessible way in expressing these facts. I liked this part in Teaching to Transgress (bell hooks, Routledge, 1994), where hooks suggests that simply learning about each others lives and experiences is the first step towards education as the practice of freedom:
“Our notions of social change were not fancy. There was no elaborate postmodern political theory shaping our actions. We were simply trying to change the way we went about our everyday lives so that our values and habits of being would reflect our commitment to freedom.” (p.26)
I believe this is an example of inclusivity benefitting everyone — I commend you for reaching towards supporting and platforming these conversations in the classroom and will continue to strive for the same!
Warmest regards,
eilis
Hi Eilis
Thank you for comment. I appreciate your feedback and the lovely reflection you had. I am glad that you felt it was powerful that inclusivity benefits all and I hope we can continue our conversations in ARP. See you in class.
Thank you
Andrea