Dear University,
I want to tell you a story about a once highly motivated student who is now the poller opposite.
This student grew up in a family that valued higher education. The student was from a home where bed time stories were a natural occurrence and the path to college was discussed at length The parents paid students grades in junior high and high school. During a middle school graduation the student friends parent told the student that they only had four years of college left. Without missing a beat the student said. " No. I have eight more years, the student was graduati
ng from 8th grade, I am going to college. The student's path was set. They wanted to get a BA.
The spring of the students freshman year, they developed OCD. It was really hard and made the student regress. Also with the demands on social in high school the student was behind and had trouble making friends due to Non verbal learning disorder. In her junior year of high school a job coach told the student and their mother that the student would probably work in the back room of Safeway. This and OCD made the student fear high school graduation. Nonetheless she graduated. Although the student had a rough start, they ended up excelling in school. Th
ey graduated with an AA in social scince with honors. But they were not done. They wanted to get a BA and go into the education field.
Last year they went to a University highly motivated to finish. But then they ran up against ableism. The campus was complete inaccessible There was no way for the student to self serve in the lunch room. The room that housed classes lacked an elevator.
One Professor told the class " That all students lean language without ever being taught." The student held their tongue at first but was visibility upset because she a speech impairment due to Cerebral Palsy and had a hard time learning to speak. When they the student did say something the professor replied , " Well all normal children do. " That really hurt the student. What was worse is that the professor overly praised the student when they got the seconded highest grade then admitted to the student that they " were surprised that [the student] did so well." When an able bodied student who got higher then said student was given the test. The student received no fan faire despite getting a hundred percent.
Another teacher tesed a student's hat. When the student had long hair and due to Cerebral Palsy could not do their hair so they needed a hat. The same history professor asked the class " If anyone had a rope." when said student had too many questions. The student was part African American and the teacher taught United States history. They could have ment lynching.
This remark was complete out of line.
The last teacher compared student to a child in front of the class. The teacher later apologized for this remark. Making her the only teacher to apologize
The administration refused to let the student return to school for personal reasons The student returned to school Fall 2014 under a contract. The contract stated among other things that the student could only take two classes and had to behave. In the event that she did not behave, she was blamed for reacting to teachers remarks, she was to see the Disability person, how can one person be in charge of all students with disabilities on a college campus. On thursday the student got a message from a conduct person. Which violated the contract. What made it worse was that the student went to advisor asking what the meeting was about. The consular said " I do not want to speculate. The student then met with the conduct person who said the consular was the one to report the incident. The student had went into a class asking to switch the classes that she wanted because everyone who took it was fun. The advisor said the student broke the conduct code. Another student said the student had followed procedure and had not broken the conduct code.
The student is already behind because they do not feel wanted. They do not trust anyone at the university. They feel betrayed by the consular. They had problems committing to two classes. Although the professors were decent this semester the administration has been hard to deal with.
So what happend to the student. Well, they are currently recovering l from a major bout of depression brought on by this stressed. They recovered not by the promise of a college education but with I pad games, The now scan the community for entry level jobs and are having a hard time focusing on education. They are hesitant to try another school. The student is writing this to teach you a few things.
1 Make campuses accessible. Every lecture hall should have an elevator.
2 Treat every student like a person not a trained seal. Not a half person not a miracle.
3 Dont joke about disabled students. Make them feel included.
4 Follow the Golden Rule.
5 If the student is on contract follow it.
6 If the student has social problems do not criminalize them. Use it a teachable moment . Be patient everyone make mistakes.
7 Honesty
8 Admit that you do not know everything. Ask the student to teach you about their background. Be willing to listen about what it is like to be them.
9 Be Patient
10 Have training for all staff on ability awareness. Take the R word pledge. Learn what Ableism is.
*** You may not be able to do all of these things due to lack of funding, yet all staff can have heart and show a little loving kindness for all students. Especailly minority students.
All the students that I have met in university have rallied around me. I have enjoyed talking to you guys. Thanks for treating me kindly when the staff has not. The Center for spirituality and the director of student retention have been awesome too. You guys rock.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
A Midsummer nightmare
So today I had class at my beloved jr college. I needed a text book for philosophy which my dad came to the bookstore to get,but we ended up not getting the book. " Why did we not get the book?"
When my dad came to bookstore he traded places with me so I could rest my feet and look on my iphone. I looked on Facebook that was fine, but then I got an email from my old university The plan was I would take classes at both the jr college and the university since I can only take two classes at the university. The same university that I talked about here.
Apparently not much has changed in terms of inclusiveness towards those with disabilities. Ableism rules supreme and the term has not began. How do I know this.
The email I got was play invite to all the students to try out for Shakespeare's A mid summer nights dream. I kinda like that play and have always wanted to be in at least one play my school career so I was interested in trying out . Until I read the following,
"This play requires clarity of speech and a passionate desire to communicate one’s point of view."
This is clear ableism. Why I have speech issues. I can barely say my own name. I have been in speech therapy since I was three. The speech issues are due to CP. Futhermore this was sent out to all the students. This was not broadway its a school play, something that I always wanted to do. Did they think about this?No.
I am leaning towards not going back to school and school starts a week from now.
When my dad came to bookstore he traded places with me so I could rest my feet and look on my iphone. I looked on Facebook that was fine, but then I got an email from my old university The plan was I would take classes at both the jr college and the university since I can only take two classes at the university. The same university that I talked about here.
Apparently not much has changed in terms of inclusiveness towards those with disabilities. Ableism rules supreme and the term has not began. How do I know this.
The email I got was play invite to all the students to try out for Shakespeare's A mid summer nights dream. I kinda like that play and have always wanted to be in at least one play my school career so I was interested in trying out . Until I read the following,
"This play requires clarity of speech and a passionate desire to communicate one’s point of view."
This is clear ableism. Why I have speech issues. I can barely say my own name. I have been in speech therapy since I was three. The speech issues are due to CP. Futhermore this was sent out to all the students. This was not broadway its a school play, something that I always wanted to do. Did they think about this?No.
I am leaning towards not going back to school and school starts a week from now.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
This could change my life
***** Authors note : I do not mean in any way shape or form to be disrespectful to people with intellectual disabilities or those that love them. If I did I apologize. I am just sharing my story.
So yesterday at around 5:00 I was talking to my psychology teacher. We were talking about my inability to communicate clearly and how people often assume that I am intellectually disabled. It happens right away. The movement I open my mouth to a new person bam they assume that I do not comprehend anything which is untrue. It has happend to me when I attend university . Lets think about this for a second. I had to apply and got in but still a professor was really surprised when I aced a test.
How I felt when the professor was surprised about my A . |
Not even 24 hours later I am reading Love that Max that mentions Talkitt. Its an app that translates unclear speech into speech that others can understand. This has to be the greatest thing ever invented. Now this does not change ignorant minds,but it allows for my message to be expressed in real time which takes off the frustration from me and the listeners. And perhaps if they do not have to disappear what I am saying just maybe they will be able to see my cognitive ability.
Talkit needs your help it is seeking funding to make this into a reality. If I could I would donate all the money but I can not but if any of my readers would I'd appreciate it. This has the potentialr to change the world for people with speech impairments. It would make my life a little easier. Go here to donate and watch a video of it in action.
Got image of elsa from
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2a/e1/e4/2ae1e45ff8e863aabc312bfe8212fd85.jpg
Monday, July 28, 2014
World CP photo montage Call for Pictures
Its that time of year people time to start sending in photos of you or your child with CP. October is world CP Day . So send in one photo to azchapman1991@gmail.com and tune in October first to see this great montage.
Wanta know what it will look like here are some videos,
2012
2013
Wanta know what it will look like here are some videos,
2012
2013
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
I am not sorry because I am not broken
Hay guys sorry its been a while things are good here just been busy with summer school at my old jc. I am breaking the silence because something has been on my mind that I want to talk about.
Back when I started my jc one of my first college professors apologized when I told her that I had Cerebral Palsy.
When I introduced myslef to my Psychology teacher this summer and told him I have CP, He did the same thing
Now before I move on I want to say that both
of these people were well intentioned. The first professor and I are now friends on fb and she has helped me out a lot this past year. I also am enjoying my summer class and the professor is very nice and understanding of my recent history.
But to get back to my topic. When people apologize for my disability it does not feel good. Imagine if someone said sorry for a characteristic about you. Having Cerebral Palsy is a part of me. Its been around for long as I can remember. It has been with me and has given me more reasons to celebrate. Because some things come harder then the average person, I get to have more celebration when I achieve them. I do not mourn CP because its a part of me. Does CP make my life hard at times yeah. Are there times I desire normalcy? Yeah but happly the feeling does not last long . I am not broken. I do not think that we need to invest money in trying to prevent others like me. I am amazing. I bring joy and laughter to those around me. I have a unique perspective of the world because of my disabilities and experiences. note the quote below is my own about disabilities particulary CP and NVLD. *****OCD is different as the condition itself causes me unwanted stress. *****
Back when I started my jc one of my first college professors apologized when I told her that I had Cerebral Palsy.
When I introduced myslef to my Psychology teacher this summer and told him I have CP, He did the same thing
Now before I move on I want to say that both
of these people were well intentioned. The first professor and I are now friends on fb and she has helped me out a lot this past year. I also am enjoying my summer class and the professor is very nice and understanding of my recent history.
But to get back to my topic. When people apologize for my disability it does not feel good. Imagine if someone said sorry for a characteristic about you. Having Cerebral Palsy is a part of me. Its been around for long as I can remember. It has been with me and has given me more reasons to celebrate. Because some things come harder then the average person, I get to have more celebration when I achieve them. I do not mourn CP because its a part of me. Does CP make my life hard at times yeah. Are there times I desire normalcy? Yeah but happly the feeling does not last long . I am not broken. I do not think that we need to invest money in trying to prevent others like me. I am amazing. I bring joy and laughter to those around me. I have a unique perspective of the world because of my disabilities and experiences. note the quote below is my own about disabilities particulary CP and NVLD. *****OCD is different as the condition itself causes me unwanted stress. *****
I have hope but am not mourning CP. |
=
The hardest part about being disabled is not the disability itself. It is much harder to live in a world that does not see your life as having value. It is much harder to deal with ableism and discrimination that comes with disabilities. AZ
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
A Gap in my knowledge
There is a show on Fox and National Geographic called Cosmos. I really love this show. The show talks about science.
Ever since I have been watching this show, I can not help but moran for a chance to be in middle school again. In middle school kids in resource only took three core classes. Everyone was required to take English, then referred to as Language Arts, and Mathematics. In terms of history and scince at my middle school you were supposed to chose between the two. All three years of middle school the school and my parents chose history. This really paid off because now I am a self proclaimed history buff and passed my AP test my junior year of high school in American History. But all three years I
missed out on science.
In high school when I finally took science , I struggled in science a lot. In biology I was able to work with the teacher who was able to help me on test. In Chemistry it was really hard because I was lazy probably in part because I had never had science in middle school. In college I did well in Biology , but when it came time to take the Solar System, I was lost because I did not know the order of the planets . I had to work really hard and I passed.
Instead of learning science in middle school I had resource room where I was bullied a lot from other students while the teachers did not do anything.
Lets think about what my day would have looked like if my school practiced best practices My teachers would have came into the class and help me inside my general education classes. Maybe I would get pulled out in a small group once a week for pre-teaching and study skills development in areas that I needed help with. Since it was a small group and it was with a purpose perhaps the other students would have been busy and not teased me. I would have taken Science and History . I wouldn't have gaps in my knowledge Perhaps in high school I would have had an easier time in my science classes. I might have had the foundation I needed to take an AP science course. In short I might have had a educational career similar to my peers who did not have a disability.
All schools should practice best practices All students need to learn in inclusive classes just like they would have if they did not have a disability. We are Worthy!
Ever since I have been watching this show, I can not help but moran for a chance to be in middle school again. In middle school kids in resource only took three core classes. Everyone was required to take English, then referred to as Language Arts, and Mathematics. In terms of history and scince at my middle school you were supposed to chose between the two. All three years of middle school the school and my parents chose history. This really paid off because now I am a self proclaimed history buff and passed my AP test my junior year of high school in American History. But all three years I
missed out on science.
In high school when I finally took science , I struggled in science a lot. In biology I was able to work with the teacher who was able to help me on test. In Chemistry it was really hard because I was lazy probably in part because I had never had science in middle school. In college I did well in Biology , but when it came time to take the Solar System, I was lost because I did not know the order of the planets . I had to work really hard and I passed.
Instead of learning science in middle school I had resource room where I was bullied a lot from other students while the teachers did not do anything.
Lets think about what my day would have looked like if my school practiced best practices My teachers would have came into the class and help me inside my general education classes. Maybe I would get pulled out in a small group once a week for pre-teaching and study skills development in areas that I needed help with. Since it was a small group and it was with a purpose perhaps the other students would have been busy and not teased me. I would have taken Science and History . I wouldn't have gaps in my knowledge Perhaps in high school I would have had an easier time in my science classes. I might have had the foundation I needed to take an AP science course. In short I might have had a educational career similar to my peers who did not have a disability.
All schools should practice best practices All students need to learn in inclusive classes just like they would have if they did not have a disability. We are Worthy!
Monday, May 19, 2014
60 years later
Over the weekend, Brown v Board of ed turned 60 years old. This court case turned over Plessy vs Feguson which said Seprate but equal was not acceptable.
All the news stories that I have heard only talk about race. Race is important I totally agree. It is still an important problem that society has not worked out.
But there is another issue in the fight for equality in the schools
Disabled students
Disabled students everywhere are learning in segregated classrooms. Segregated classrooms. Children are missing out on the opportunity to learn grade level class work and meet the kids in their neighborhood All studies have shown that special education classes produce bad outcomes for kids. The unemployment level for people with disabilities is high.
The next time you talk about diversity remember that there are students who look, move, roll different too. In a country as rich as ours we should find the resources to allow all students to learn together. There are no excuses.
60 years later.
We have a lot of work to do.
All the news stories that I have heard only talk about race. Race is important I totally agree. It is still an important problem that society has not worked out.
But there is another issue in the fight for equality in the schools
Disabled students
Disabled students everywhere are learning in segregated classrooms. Segregated classrooms. Children are missing out on the opportunity to learn grade level class work and meet the kids in their neighborhood All studies have shown that special education classes produce bad outcomes for kids. The unemployment level for people with disabilities is high.
The next time you talk about diversity remember that there are students who look, move, roll different too. In a country as rich as ours we should find the resources to allow all students to learn together. There are no excuses.
60 years later.
We have a lot of work to do.
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