student struggling

[caragh-lyn]

hi all
happy new year!!

i have been struggling with course work lately
my eyes become tired very easily and sore.. i am using my eye drops regularly as they do get uncomfortable
the problem i have is copeing with the headaches and light sensitivity.. i wear tinted glasses but they dont even take the glare away anymore
i dont want to give up college but i dont get much help from them as they say im in further education now
has anyone got any ideas of how i can get my work done with out all the headaches as they can be quite unbearable...

i got my first appointment with the specialist next week but need something to get me through the week as i have deadlines to meet before hand

i hope this message makes sense as i have a headache just typing lol

many thanx
caragh

[rosemary johnson]

I'm sorry you're having these problems.
Your college ought to be a lot more helpful than that! - you are not a wimp, you have an eye condition, long-term in nature, that affects your life and how you work and you should as a disabled student with special needs and qualify for "reasonable adjustments" to help you with particular problem areas.
Because you're in further education, that doesn't remove the college's obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act!
Is there a disabled students group. or disability officer, at the college?
Have you got copies of the fact sheets for schools and colleges? I think they can be downloaded from the group's home age, or Anne K could send you paper copy//ies.
SOmething else I wonder: does your college have computers set up with access technology, such as Supernova, jaws or Zoomtext? These should let you change the screen colourscheme easily, to see if there is one that is less hard on the eyes, or to get the computer to read out the screen to you, so you can listen to your work rather than look at it
Good luck, and hang in there!
Roemary

[Andrew MacLean]

caragh-lyn

Rosemary is right. Take the leaflet (print it from this website) to your director of studies (sometimes called advisor ...) and explain that you have a sight-threatening eye condition. You are entitled to insist that they make reasonable adjustments to support your study with a disability.

All the best

Andrew

[caragh-lyn]

hi
thanx guys for replying
i have asked college about the reading program to go on my laptop and they said they havnt got such a program available
i would have to pay for it myself for my laptop and that will be pricey. i dont get access to computers at college as its only open to me 2hours a week and that's tutorial sessions with the tutor.
i havent heard about the colour screen thing il look into that more, i have just adjusted my colour brightness on the screen but its getting darker haha
it has become quite distressing as i dont get much help for my dyslexia let alone this problem and its getting me down..
i might see if my specialist can write a letter to the college and see if these problems can be solved if not il have to go somewhere else
im just warn out its bad enough the condition getting me down but to keep hitting brick walls it's bloody anoying ecuse my french
i just want to improve my grades..

many thanx

caragh

[caragh-lyn]

p.s just found a useful thing online its showed me how to change the background colour on web pages from my tools up the top of screen much better
il go have a play with other settings and see what else can change to help
many thanx
caragh

[Andrew MacLean]

It is certainly worth asking your ophthalmologist to contact your college.

I have never heard of a college or university being so obstinate as yours! At one time I worked in a large Scottish University, and it was a matter of routine that students who presented with any disability or difficulty were referred to the specialist department that dealt with access issues and they received all the support they needed in order to benefit from the university.

I am glad that you have been able to change the configuration of your screen, but do stay in touch and let us know how things work out.

Andrew

[Elizabeth Mair]

Have you tried using a text reader. You can download WordTalk from the internet free. It was produced by Call Scotland at Edinburgh University. I think the web address is http://www.WordTalk.org.uk, otherwise google it and you will find it. It is very easy to use.As a specialist support teacher working in Secondary schools I've encouraged my schools to put it on their systems because it can help loads of students.
It only reads Word documents but info in other formats can be copied and pasted into Word format.
A newer version is coming out soon which also puts Word documents into MP3 format and wave format which will be great for students doing revision from lecture notes.

I hope this helps you and other students.

(Maybe in the future you will need other software which does speech recognition as well as a screen reader - Dragon is a possibility)

[Dolphin]

Hi caragh-lyn

I am sorry to hear about the problems you are having at college. I am just coming to the end of three years studying at university and over the past year, I have been experiencing difficulty with my studies.

At the uni I am at, they have a disability liaison tutor who has been great. She put me in touch with the disability support officer who went through what support I would be entitled to. I was informed that i would be entitled to a disability student allowance assessment to be done at a local access centre. This centre assesses individuals who have learning difficulties or disabilities. They wrote a report on what support and equipment would help me with my studies and sent it off to the appropriate bodies, who made the overall decision of whether to approve it or not.

I did have to fight my corner as they did not understand the effects of KC but with the support of my disability officer, it was approved. I was supplied with all the equipment and programs that would help me with my studies as well as other allowances. On top of this, the university allows me to have extensions on my course work deadlines. This has been a real blessing for me as i am not sure how i would have coped over the past year without it. This support will also continue in to my employment.

I am not sure how a college would differ from a university and i do not wish to get your hopes up but as mentioned by others this support is usually routine for individuals who are having difficulties caused by a disability. I think the best thing for you to do is find out who you need to go to within your college regarding disabilities. If you have no luck with that, then try phoning the college and ask what support individuals with disabilities get if they choose to apply to attend. This would hopefully, give you some direction on where to go next.

I know how hard and time consuming it is to fight for support but please do not give up all the hard work will be worth it in the end.
Good luck with your studies.

Kind regards
Dolphin.

[caragh-lyn]

thank you for all your replies
im going to search for word talk now as word documents is mainly what i use.. i did try dragon and it wasnt very good.

my college do seem to be useless i had a dyslexia assessment and iv had no one go through it with me as i am suppose to the college have just told me that il get help putting my folder together and thats it as im only intitled to full support in university.. this might be because of funding i dont kow but it sucks..
im still searching for a disability officer in my area to see what im intitled too but no luck yet.. im gonna use someone outside of college then i got someone that aint involved and can help me sort it out...
i am seeing my specialist on monday and i think i will ask him to maybe write to the college and explain my difficulties as i know alot of people havnt a clue what it is and dont see it as important...

trust me i wont give up i want to be a SENCO worker as i was let down at school with my learning difficulties being reconised and now this..i finally know now i aint a hyprocondriact there is actually summat wrong and im not gonna allow it to get me down

many thanx all of you its been great to get advice and support from people that have or are experiencing the same problems as me
im not alone haha

thanx again

caragh

[private104]

caragh

I simplydo not believe that college students have fewer rights than their counterparts in the university sector! I'm like everybody else here: apalled at the way you are being treated. Does your college not have a students union or student association? They would surely have a department that would take on the role of advocate for you.

I think all of us are really angry about the way you have been treated. Another thing you could try would be having the RNIB campaigns department contact your college.

All the best.