Disabled students taking science degrees.

studentphil

To all you science people about.

Someone I know has a physical disability which means he will find lab work hard. Which is okay in school as science contains no real lab work.

He wants top do like medical science/ Biol/ Chem.

Is there any help available to help disabled students in the lab or are science courses just not accessible to them?

What about in terms of staff, do you have staff available to help disabled students in labs?
:beer:

DrFluffy

I have a friend with Nail Patella Syndrome who started a degree in medicine. she didn't finish it, but that was for personal reasons not related to her disability...

She got a carer, a note taker, help with certain practical aspects (obviously as a medic there are certain things you have to be able to do on your own - like CPR), and a disability allowance to buy the equiptment she needed to be able to be at med school...

DrFluffy

There are some diaries of people living with disability at university here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/lifefiles/student/week1/ruth.shtml

studentphil

I can see the case that if disabled students need help with lab work at uni then maybe a career where lab work is involved might not be best for them. however, you can work in science without doing lab work and use a science degree outside of science so that is a weak case against.

misskool

Unless she chooses a field or project which would be impossible for her to do by herself (apologies, but she can't do fieldwork if she's registered blind but she can do other things related to it)
A lot of undergraduate labs will be able to adapt to a physically disabled student. We've had a deaf undergrad who is now doing her phd in the unit where i work.

studentphil

What about in terms of staff, do you have staff available to help disabled students in labs?

misskool

It depends entirely on how much help the student needs, if there is mobility, he/she will be expected to go on their own as much as possible. There are technicians in all labs but they will be looking after all the students. Demonstrators for practicals and things will help but again, it would be assessed on a case by case basis.

studentphil

misskool wrote:

It depends entirely on how much help the student needs, if there is mobility, he/she will be expected to go on their own as much as possible. There are technicians in all labs but they will be looking after all the students. Demonstrators for practicals and things will help but again, it would be assessed on a case by case basis.

It all seems a bit hit and miss. I do not see how a person can apply with confidence that they will be able to cope with the demands of the course. If you can understand it is important for someone to know they will be ok.

misskool

When they apply, they should see the campus where they will be taught and they will have to be assessed there. No one aims to discriminate anyone but when you are trying to teach 100+ bored 19 year olds who think science should involve exploding things, you have to try and grasp the constraints of the system.

when the person applies, they will state what disability they have and they will be assessed by the uni to see if they can provide for them.

studentphil

misskool wrote:

When they apply, they should see the campus where they will be taught and they will have to be assessed there. No one aims to discriminate anyone but when you are trying to teach 100+ bored 19 year olds who think science should involve exploding things, you have to try and grasp the constraints of the system.

when the person applies, they will state what disability they have and they will be assessed by the uni to see if they can provide for them.

Cheers very helpful!!

He sounds better going for a science with less lab stuff. Zoology maybe

misskool

zoology requires fieldwork, which may not be possible for a person with a disability.

what some unis have now is called natural sciences where they can pick and choose modules from different degrees, try and see who offers them, they can possibly tailor a best-fit.