[NABS-L] Nonacademic support in college

[Rahul Bajaj]

Hi Everyone,

I recently started studying at the University of Oxford in the UK for
my postgraduate education. One feature of the support provided to
disabled students here has surprised me: while they are willing to
provide any kind of academic support, they provide no nonacademic
help, with things like going to the market for shopping, cooking and
staying well-organized.

I am wondering, just out of academic interest, if this is how things
are in the US. For those blind people who possess the wherewithal to
do things completely independently, more power to them, but for those
who can't I find it hard to fathom how this is not a problem. Surely
ou cannot accept students, who may have lived with their parents until
now, to become fully independent over night? Also, I'm wondering if
the autonomy and freedom to choose of the disabled person, as opposed
to a certain conception of independence, should be prioritized here.

This article beautifully describes some of these issues, in the words
of a blind girl who went to Yale:
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/01/23/invisible-disability-at-yale/



Best,
Rahul