Guys my accommodation (living arrangements) have finally come through after a week (and a looonnng bank holiday) I'm going to walk you through, step by step, on how I got this in play.
First of all, I made it known that despite the fact I was walking around the campus for hours, I was infact a part-time wheelchair user and the giant pup with me (Jaxx) was a specially trained assistance dog, who honestly saves my life daily. Of course everyone loved Jaxx, and blinked up at me as if to say ''sorry, were you talking; there was a dog!''
So I realised very quickly, that a verbal statement of needs wouldn't be enough to get the ball rolling and for them to get the picture that accesible accommodation wasn't a choice for me.
Contact Student Support, Learning center...
Or whatever your specific university calls the area of the campus where students that have additional needs are advised, and supported.
Talk to them, make yourself known, explain what you need and they'll get back to you with what they need from you, to get you what you need from them.
For me it was a doctors letter of ''medical necessity'' saying that Jax was an assistance dog who'd adhere to a set level of behavioural standards, other than trying to take his Halti lead off, he does this all very competently. No problem there, I had two letters lined up from different specialists.
These letters, I think, worked as duplicate, because these letters also outlined my medical conditions, the symptoms I often expeirence and I have a prescribing letter for my Wheelchair! So, if you've self funded your wheelchair, be prepared to advocate for yourself. Whether that's annoying your doctor to explain why it's needed, or having a very compelling argument yourself.
Introduce yourself to the accommodation allocation team
In advance, and because I wasn't instructed on which way round to go about this, I introduced myself to the accommodation allocation team. These are the gate keepers, or so to speak, to the awesome accessible rooms. Closer to the lift and the kitchen, these rooms aren't an optional extra for students such as myself, they level the playing field in the academic world and the professional world every single day.
So make sure they know whats up, who you are, always add your student number in every corrospondence.
I also flag/mark as urgent all emails from University staff,so that I do not miss anything. It's also handy if you need to refer back to what Mrs M said to tell Mr J!
What to do if you run into issues
If like me you somehow got two student folders created for you when you enrolled, and it's now causing you issues. My best suggestion to you is...annoy everyone. I don't mean just call them up and ask how their day is going, but keep a check on what is being done to resolve the current situation. Make sure everyone you have emailed so far is aware of the problem, the Learning support staff member I was in contact with is, I believe, the only reason the issue is being resolved as expediently as it is! So, sometimes, even if you don't think that specific member of staff can help; give them a heads up anyway!
introcude yourself to the head of the department.
I chose to do this because of the file error and I am unable to enrol, or look at my timetable, contact my tutors specifically etc. I just wanted to give the heads up to the department that there would be a wheelchair user with a big dog roaming around their halls. Yes I should be there, yes the dog should be here, and yes everything really does have to be neon pink <3 This also opens up communication pathways and I promise you, promise you, this will make your life so much easier when you inevitably have to choose between missing an appointment or missing a class and catching up.
As well as this, for me, doing this offered me piece of mind. Turns out that should the worst happen and I do have to miss a class, there will be oppertunities to attend a identical lecutre scheduled at a different time! So, it's always worth speaking to them!
Some final tips before I log off:
- Not all disabled access rooms are created equal, make sure they know what you need. I needed a seat in the shower, and that's what I got. But if I hadn't have made it clear, who knows. Maybe there were other options available!
-Ask what you're going to get before you accept your offer. It's great being told you'll get xyz and being offered abc. This likely is an administration error and not a malicious act.
- Always act with kindness, these contacts are your allies while it's sometimes tempting to explode frustration and anxiety at them, try to hold back remember, while your needs are important, they have a lot of students whose needs are equally as important as yours.
All my love,
Lxox
