If you search for a definition of disability most will be something like an impairment, condition, or injury that limits a person’s ability. These definitions often place the responsibility on the impairment or disability for creating barriers rather than what the charity Scope defines as the Social Model of Disability which was formed by disabled persons and states that they are disabled by society’s barriers and not by their condition or impairment (Scope, n.d). These barriers can be physical things like no ramp access into a building or it could be a bias or stereotype that an individual holds against disabled people. Our society is fundamentally ableist – it’s built for the able-bodied and is structured in a way that creates an environment in which disabled people have to fight to be heard, access spaces, and be involved in the same way that able-bodied individuals are. This is all with 16% of the global population currently being affected by disability and disability being the only minority group that anyone can become a part of at any time.
Disability impacts every part of my life. I see how it affects patients on placement and the challenges they face in managing the burden of their health. I see it in my dad and the way his pain rules his life, dictating how he spends his time. And I see it in myself, in the energy it takes me to engage the same way as everyone else, to advocate for myself and the support I need. My disability has affected my life for as long as I can remember, except for a long time I didn’t refer to myself as disabled. I saw disability as a negative word, a word associated with stigma and limits. As I grew up and explored the disabled community through the internet, I learned the power that the word disabled holds. I feel pride now in the word disabled, however, this doesn’t remove the barriers engrained in our society that prevent disabled people from being treated equally.
Support for students with disabilities exists in all education settings, it’s aim is to try and create equity by providing additional needs and reasonable adjustments to allow everyone to have the same opportunities to thrive. Whether that’s providing laptops and extra time to students with dyslexia or extending deadlines for submission for those whose disability causes frequent flare-ups and hospital visits which may disrupt their ability to complete coursework. For me, I get support through my university’s disability service by getting reasonable adjustments for exams including being in a smaller room and getting to have fidget toys with me. All of these things help me however I also face challenges that are specific to being a disabled medical student that are harder to solve.
As medical students, we move frequently between placements learning from different people and supervisors at each new hospital or practice, and even when within the same hospital you will move within wards to different teams too. While this is a great opportunity to meet new people and learn in unique environments, for me it’s meant having to explain my hidden disability to brand new people far more often than I would like to when I may need time off or have an appointment or I am just not at my best because of everything going on, this can be frustrating and exhausting – especially when I have a reasonable adjustment to say that tutors should be informed of my disability by the medical school, which has only happened for me a few times and all within the non-clinical teaching setting.
I have had a positive experience of seeking support for my disability through university services and medical school alike despite there still being situations that aren’t ideal. I know of many more disabled students that have struggled to access the support they need and some who have left university because of this – which is not fair. No disabled student who has worked just as hard to get into university should be forced to leave because they don’t have access to the adjustments and additional support that they need to be able to perform just the same as any able-bodied student.
References
Scope (n.d) ‘Social Mobility of Disability’, available at: https://www.scope.org.uk/about-us/social-model-of-disability/ (Accessed 24 July 2023).
World Health Organisation (n.d) ‘Disability’, available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/disability#tab=tab_1 (Accessed 24 July 2023).
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