The Student Room Group

Disability and ableism

Disabled students and students who care for someone who is disabled…
How commonplace is ableism in universities? I haven’t even applied yet but one university had a particularly ableist attitude. No naming and shaming or details please, but I’m curious to hear if others are also experiencing ableist attitudes from universities. Yes, they will be receiving a stern complaint.
Watching the thread. I'm also disabled and applying to uni this year.
@flowersinmyhair
@04MR17
@DerDracologe
(edited 2 months ago)
Original post
by Ms.Sparkles
Disabled students and students who care for someone who is disabled…
How commonplace is ableism in universities? I haven’t even applied yet but one university had a particularly ableist attitude. No naming and shaming or details please, but I’m curious to hear if others are also experiencing ableist attitudes from universities. Yes, they will be receiving a stern complaint.

The university I attended last year was really good overall. They had a very supportive attitude and they genuinely wanted the best for me and were willing to support me.

Reply 3

Original post
by flowersinmyhair
The university I attended last year was really good overall. They had a very supportive attitude and they genuinely wanted the best for me and were willing to support me.


That’s reassuring! I’m really hoping my recent experience is in the minority.
Original post
by Ms.Sparkles
That’s reassuring! I’m really hoping my recent experience is in the minority.

My sister is at university and appears to be well accommodated as well.
It seems variable. I've never observed ableism in a very overt sense, but there's definitely a large scope for lack of accessibility, support, and/or recognition of the challenges disabled students face relative to other students.

Often unis content themselves with slapping an "extra time in exams" on basically everything and calling it "reasonable adjustments" without much if any tailoring. I've also seen well meaning but ultimately toothless and ineffectual accessibility teams who are very understanding and promise the world but fail to deliver.

But it's very different from uni to uni. It can even vary on a departmental/programme level in unis potentially, depending how they structure the support they provide and what specific support you need.

Reply 6

Original post
by artful_lounger
It seems variable. I've never observed ableism in a very overt sense, but there's definitely a large scope for lack of accessibility, support, and/or recognition of the challenges disabled students face relative to other students.
Often unis content themselves with slapping an "extra time in exams" on basically everything and calling it "reasonable adjustments" without much if any tailoring. I've also seen well meaning but ultimately toothless and ineffectual accessibility teams who are very understanding and promise the world but fail to deliver.
But it's very different from uni to uni. It can even vary on a departmental/programme level in unis potentially, depending how they structure the support they provide and what specific support you need.


Thank you. It’s very frustrating seeing the bar be so low for reasonable adjustments etc and still barely attainable.
Very varied depending on the uni and you on the person (and their condition(s)). At the worse end of the scale you have a faculty meeting for student reps organised in a 3rd floor room inaccessible to the rep who uses a wheelchair. I've also experienced (at my post-grad uni, which I don't name here) a university defends its policy to leave students in a room when they are aware there is a serious risk to life, and defend the case where I very almost died.

Other unis are awesome and even arranged transport and accessible accommodation for me when I went to interview there.

There's a scale, depends on the uni, the person, the disability. Some of the experiences I highlight are 8 years ago now. Others more recent

Reply 8

Original post
by 04MR17
Very varied depending on the uni and you on the person (and their condition(s)). At the worse end of the scale you have a faculty meeting for student reps organised in a 3rd floor room inaccessible to the rep who uses a wheelchair. I've also experienced (at my post-grad uni, which I don't name here) a university defends its policy to leave students in a room when they are aware there is a serious risk to life, and defend the case where I very almost died.
Other unis are awesome and even arranged transport and accessible accommodation for me when I went to interview there.
There's a scale, depends on the uni, the person, the disability. Some of the experiences I highlight are 8 years ago now. Others more recent


Thank you for sharing. I experienced the being left scenario many years ago at a college, the building was literally on fire and I was left. It was frustrating. I’m feeling frustrated that not much has changed with regards to accessibility and ableism in many places educational establishments, over the past 1/4 of a century.

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