My First Term at Greenwich University, London as a Disabled Student

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Hello and welcome!

I’m currently taking a break from an assignment so I thought I’d dip my toe back into blogging as I’ve been meaning to for days. Everything’s been on hold this week though as I’ve been fighting a bit of an infection! As I’m heading into term two of university I thought I’d give my experience of my first term as a disabled student with both physical and mental health difficulties.

My course is BA Sociology and I’m studying full time. That means I’m at university for three days a week as well as taking on assignments and readings. I was scared of the thought of going to university for a few years, not thinking I’d be able to manage it due to my fluctuating health conditions (Syringomyelia, Segmental Spinal Myoclonus, Endometriosis and an anxiety disorder). However, my friend who goes to the university convinced me that I’d be a great sociology student and I thought ‘well, I have been managing my conditions better than before lately’ so I contacted a member of the disability team at the university to see if this could happen and which route I would need to take to pursue it.

It turns out all I needed was that little push of encouragement from somebody and the reassurance from this down to Earth and encouraging member of staff to realise that I could in fact do a full time degree with my conditions with some help from the university and student finance.

As soon as I started university I had an interview for Disabled Students’ Allowance, out of which I have gained tremendously. For the first few weeks of university I was really struggling with exhaustion and pain from getting trains with a heavy back pack, but thanks to Disabled Students’ Allowance I now get a taxi to university from my door to the uni. Not only does this make studying and attending university manageable, it’s a lot safer. On top of this, I have been assessed for and awarded ergonomic equipment such as an office chair suitable for my spine and further equipment to make studying less straining for my back.

Other than this, I now have free weekly counselling from the university in which I can vent about anything I like; say what I’m struggling with, anything I need to for an hour a week. This is a huge help and is not only available for disabled students, of course. There is a fantastic mental health team at the university who assess you and lead you to the most appropriate route for you.

Other than this though, the university has given me an amazing opportunity to engage with other disabled students and I am now an Accessibility Ambassador for the university, which is student ambassador specifically designated to help other disabled students to get into and/or feel that they can go to university. This not only gives me an active role at the university, it helps to break down barriers between disabled students and higher education. I had honestly given up on my dream of going to university because I thought I simply couldn’t. I had become used to just being the sick one who needed to be taken care of. Now I’m studying and actively helping others and the two scenarios could not be more parallel.

I came across the AccessAbility ambassador opportunity as I’m part of a team within the STAART project at the university, founded by Dr. Melanie Thorley, link: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/students/disability/aap

STAART stands for Support Through *AccessAbility Retention and Transition. Students from year 11 onwards can join the scheme if they’re not sure if university may not be for them or feel they need support with getting there. As a community at the university, we go on trips together and share our experiences of our conditions/disabilities. This is great for raising awareness of issues surrounding disability and having other people there who understand what you’re going through, even if they don’t have the same condition/disability. Although we are different a lot of us face the same social issues, for example. Above all else, it’s a community I’ve become very close to very quickly that feels almost like a little family, as I know I can approach them with any difficulty I may be having at any time knowing support is there.

Other than this, students and lecturers have generally been very accepting of my conditions, more than I could have imagined, and I’ve made some very close friends already. It may be due to the nature of the course that I am studying that students on it are so friendly and accepting but either way it feels amazing to automatically be accepted amongst new people my age. I use a walking stick as an aid for university days (something I may not need soon but do at the moment) and nobody has treated me any differently because of it.

So far the course has been deeply interesting, insightful and engaging for me and my lecturers are so approachable and kind. Of course, I can only say this for the sociology lecturers but I’ve had a very positive experience. During a bad pain flare in December I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do my assignments as well as I would want to due to my strong pain medication. I had a word with my lecturer and whilst I ended up doing very well, I was reassured that it was okay if I couldn’t do as well that time and told to take things easy and not be hard on myself.

Admittedly, not everything is idyllic. Whilst every building has a lift (and I have been given a lift key for those), some areas still lack accessibility. Ground floor toilets in one building have stairs to get to them, which could mean having to find another building if you’re less able to use your legs. If, like me, you also have a bladder issue thrown into the mix, this is hardly ideal and there is improvement to be made here. One of my classes is ground floor but still requires stairs (moreso than the toilets), which is fine for me as I am okay if there are railings and I take it slowly. However, for a wheelchair user this is impossible. I would hate for anybody to be and/or feel excluded due to their disability and hopefully that’s not the case with anyone at this campus.

Overall, starting university has injected a new lease of life into me and made me far more confidence as a person. Thanks to the STAART project I’m no longer ashamed of my physical and mental health difficulties, as I have felt in the past. With the right support I’ve learned to be proud of my achievements and that the conditions I have in no way make me a failure. I’ve been overwhelmed by how great starting university has been and whilst I may face different challenges to other students, it hasn’t stopped me from succeeding in achieving well, making new friends and thoroughly enjoying my university experience thus far.

Hope this helped or enlightened some of you! Remember that this is only a blog post and I’d highly recommend going to an open day to see the uni for yourself should you be considering it, or contact the STAART initiative –

Tel: 07931 226599
E-mail: staart@gre.ac.uk

Take care, Louise