describing the barriers

Would extra textbooks be helpful for those who have trouble carrying them home to study? For every seemingly simply action, there is a potential barrier. Keep this in mind as you move along your individual path.

Respect is Never an Intrusion
I believe it is also imperative that instructors allow themselves to be approachable. Before asking too many questions, check school records, find out from the administrator in charge of enrollment if any special needs have been voiced. I appreciate discreet inquiries and a genuine willingness to learn what only experience can teach. I am quite willing to accept my responsibilities. However, countless times I have found myself required to complete an assignment in a specific way and struggled to meet certain expectations. Because I knew that my voice would not be heard, I remained silent, my abilities not fully discovered or recognized. Now, as I move along in my life, I have begun to keep in perspective that the things I do are not who I am, nor are they my entire life. I am never only a student. I am never only a differently-abled person. My journey involves many other things that are surely as vital as education. Here is another personal experience that demonstrates this.

While in college, everyone was expected to compile a resume and fill out an application, just as we would within the community. Our instructor was adamant about the women wearing skirts. This was humiliating to me as a survivor. I felt cruelly exposed. I would have been professionally dressed and tremendously more confident wearing a business pantsuit. The other problem I had with the assignment was that as a physically challenged person, wearing a skirt meant wearing a certain kind of shoe, this in turn meant more anxiety. I followed the instructions to the letter; however, I was ill for the next few days.

Not one area of the lives we lead can be dismissed as unimportant, not one question ignored, not one barrier blind sighted. I remember making a presentation in a banking course. I gave everyone, the instructor included, a bundle of bills to count. The only restriction was that they could only use their non-dominant hand. I did not give them arthritis, horrific nightmares or poverty. What I gave them was something to think about.

The journey is not limited to one destination!

Cathleen Morris