[NABS-L] Nonacademic support in college

[Sandra Gayer]

Hello Rahul,
I am just catching up with this thread now, sorry about that.

We have worked together before and you know I live in the UK so I hope
you will take what I am going to say in positive terms.

The university is responsible for your education and they are also
supposed to be committed to your pastoral care needs. Personal care is
your own responsibility to manage. I agree with what has been said
above that the disability department/centre should have contact
information for the organisations which can help you. The issues you
described, (shopping, cooking etc), fall under the auspices of Social
Services. A local organisation for the blind will point you in that
direction, assuming they do not have their own socialworkers in
residence. Some of this used to fall into different categories;
Personal Care and Home Help. These days, however, I understand that
carers function in both if you are contracting through an agency or
getting a carer to work privately with you.

Have a lovely weekend and get in touch with me off list if there's
anything else you need to know.
We could always Skype if that's easier.
Very best wishes,
Sandra.
On 11/7/18, Roger Newell via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> As blindness does not impose limitations on learning to shop, cook and
> stay organized, I cannot see any issues with this.
>
> I understand you are from a developing country where blind people can
> expect to receive support in these non-academic skills, but in
> developed countries, blind people would be taught how these skills in
> the course of their education through their teacher of the visually
> impaired, and I would argue that blind people who have not learned
> these skills should learn them before going to university as
> non-academic skills are just as important as academic skills in
> employment. You may have all the credentials in the world, but not
> being able to care for yourself will limit you as employers may see
> you as a liability.
>
> On 11/7/18, Rahul Bajaj via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 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
>>
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