#college spoonie

[crippleprophet]

Hello! Do you or your followers have any tips for attending an academic conference with chronic pain and mobility disability?

ooh okay this definitely isn’t universal bc the only conference i went to in person was fall 2019 & a huge biomedical engineering one, so both scale & the particular flavors of ableism may differ for you not to mention yk. covid. but here are my takeaways:

if you don’t have a motorized mobility aid you may want to rent one - i rented a mobility scooter for part of the time & immediately called to extend the rental for the full duration after getting there because the conference center was fucking massive. i definitely could not have physically walked it. so see if you can check the size ahead of time & plan accordingly - it sucks that disabled people have to put in so much effort but if it’s at a conference center calling the staff might help. if it’s at a university their access & accommodations office might have a relevant campus map

i stayed at the adjoining hotel also for access reasons (getting a mobility scooter into an uber is not my idea of a fun time) which was way more expensive than my colleagues who could share an air bnb. check with your department to see if they have conference funding! your university’s access & accommodations and/or financial aid offices also might have recommendations for funding options

if you’re doing a poster presentation & will be seated, a laser pointer might be helpful if you won’t be able to point at the top of the poster with your hand! someone also recommended i make little printed flyers with summaries, the main graphics, etc so i could talk to people directly more easily since i couldn’t present the “standard” way - your department should also be able to print that sort of thing for you if you’re interested

if the conference is at a university, check social media to see what disabled students are saying about access issues to anticipate etc

it’s gonna be ableist. again this is coming from my experience in BME which is super cure-oriented so it might not be universal, but however ableist you expect it to be, double that. i had at least two breakdowns over the 4 days about how hard it was to navigate the environment, how isolating it was, feeling like i wouldn’t be able to have a career in academia, etc. if at all possible, have a support system “on call” for you during this time - if you’re 18 or older & want to join my bitter cripple discord, feel free to dm me! i’d also think about learning about any disabled people in your field. & if you want some commiseration, i have several poems about my conference experience in my chapbook mountaintop (available free)

invest in a P100 respirator if you haven’t already! i have one of the kinda cyberpunk looking ones but people can be weird about it (moreso than they already are for masks they recognize), my gf uses the Flo Mask which is less obtrusive & really likes it

i hope that’s helpful! other folks feel free to add on, & please dm me or send another ask if you have more questions! i will leave you with two blessings, one from my first disability studies professor & the other from a longtime friend:

run people over.

take up space. take up more.

[evilwriter37]

Here's to us chronically ill/disabled people who couldn't finish school because of our health. We're not lesser people for it, and we aren't weak for it either. We have inherent value as people, education or not.

[stellaltumi]

setting up disability accommodations at school is so weird with internalized ableism. hearing someone else say that I am disabled and that my disability is disabling????? out loud!!! bonkers

[thedisablednaturalist]

I hate how many of us physically disabled people have been harassed by street preachers because they see us as a way to prove their faith instead of actual human beings

[howtobeapersonwithfibro]

However bad you think accessibility on college campuses is, it's worse.

Looked around today and basically wanted to give up just trying to figure out where to enter this one building and how the hell I am supposed to even park close when there are only special lots.

It makes me want to give up just because of that. I shouldn't have to panic about just getting to and from my classes.

We deserve better.

[emotional-moss]

shoutout to the people that like learning, who love learning, who want to learn and understand and create things on their own terms, but can’t go to college/university. not for lack of money or access (although those are obviously valid and understandable), but because their disabilities prevent them from doing it. who don’t have enough spoons to take a university course and complete the amount of mental and physical work it entails. who are too anxious to leave home and don’t have the resources to combat that anxiety. who get burned out quickly and easily and can’t handle the amount of effort university takes. it’s not your fault and does not determine your worth - you are allowed to do what makes you comfortable. for those that mourn the loss of their college experience, i understand and your feelings are valid. whatever the reason may be, i see you.

[disabledprincesses]

Whats the first thing you would do if you woke up completely healthy and abled?

[anthroamazed]

tips for stem majors in math and science courses (spoonie + neurodivergent friendly)

hi y’all! my nameis lila and i’m a 28 year old physics and anthropology major who’s about 2 years through college (in the US)! as we’re coming up on the start of the fall ‘23 college semester, i thought i might share some really solid hacks for fellow STEM students taking science and/or math courses that i’ve basically built my college academic career on. and! these study tips are spoonie and adhd friendly! as a matter of fact, a lot of these are tips/methods that specifically work for me as a neurodivergent spoonie (i have pretty severe adhd, as well as POTS and ME/CFS), but that i think non-disabled/non-spoonie and/or neurotypical students could also benefit from using! so with out any further ado, here are my 7 tried and true study hacks for college math and science classes…

1) discover your learning style and tailor your studying towards leveraging it.

you’ve probably heard of visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, but did you now there’s actually way more learning styles than just those three? i’m personally a “social learner,” meaning i learn best through discussion and socialization with 1+ other people to interact with. this could look like teaching other classmates concepts and methods that we’ve learned or discussing ideas with classmates and/or professors until i fully understand the concepts at play and how they connect and can reflect them in performing analysis and application, etc. honestly, figuring out my learning style was hands down one of the most helpful things i’ve done in college. it has allowed me to choose professors who i will mesh better with in terms of how they teach, as well as to adapt materials and methods to my style of learning in order to master them quicker and more effectively.

2) rewrite your notes after lecture, for the love of god.

this tip actually comes from my high school IB Math HL teacher, who told me to do this when i originally left high school for college. even if you think you’ve mastered the basics of the topic covered during the lecture, rewriting those notes after lecture helps really hammer in the knowledge that you’ve already established and also helps to get the wheels turning on pieces of information you might have less of a grasp on. try tp set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes after class to just rewrite your notes and try to really digest the information.

3) body doubling is one of the most beneficial things ever to be invented even if you’re not adhd, and i WILL die on that hill, thank you very much.

“body doubling” or “having an accountabilibuddy” are interchangeable terms in the adhd community that mean you have one or more consistent study buddy/buddies who you do all the homework and/or studying with in person on a regular basis, even if you’re just working next to each other in total silence. this does a couple of things. first off, it forces homework/assignments/studying to become a concrete social obligation you need to regularly show up for, rather than a nebulous obligation based on an invisible deadline. second off, it gives you 1+ partners to work out your problems concerning course topics with. third off, it allows you to build a network of peers where you feel comfortable helping each other with course material (this is especially great because it’s likely you and your classmates have different strengths regarding course content). tbh, body doubling is the other method that i, personally, have found most useful in college and i highly recommend trying it, even if you don’t have adhd.

4) teach others/your classmates the analysis and application methods you’ve learned, even if those methods aren’t 100% solidified for you (trust me on this).

the goal of stem courses is never memorization, but rather being able to understand a topic well enough to analyze a similar situation and apply the what you’ve learned creatively. this is where teaching others comes in. in order to teach others a concept and its related analysis and application well, you have to have at least a fraction of a decent understanding of these things yourself, and, further, often time in teaching these things you also learn to grasp the concepts/aanalysis/applications even better than you did before with each new teaching session. basically: teaching others is a creative way of also teaching yourself. you get the benefits of repetition, of thinking about a concept/technique/analysis and application in a new way, and of getting to apply the concept/technique/analysis and applicatioin to a new scenario each time. plus, you’ll typically make friends quickly in the process! there’s really no downside to this tip imo ;-)

5) utilize your college’s tutoring center/program(s), even when you don’t think you need to.

usually colleges have either set up a general “tutoring center,” on campus where you can find tutors for all different kinds of topics and courses available during regular hours for walk-in sessions and/or appointments free of charge or departments will hold regular weekly (or twice weekly) free on-campus tutoring sessions for specific courses. regardless of which of these options your college has, i highly recommend attending at least one tutoring session/appointment (ideally with the same tutor if/when you eventually find one you click with) every single week, even when you don’t feel like you’re struggling with the topic(s) covered in that week’s lecture. this will help you review topics and techniques covered in lecture, deepen your understanding of them, and, if nothing else, it’s an excuse to get homework out of the way while having someone else there who can help you if/when you get stuck. attending at least one session weekly also helps you get into a habit and routine of keeping up with your assignments, so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute before they’re due.

6) if you have accommodations, request access to record lectures. if you do not have accommodations, ask your professor if you are allowed to record lectures. IF YOU RECORD LECTURES, DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW THEM!

okay, so first up for my fellow spoonies and neurodivergent peeps: when you apply for/renew your accommodations, make sure that “recordinng lectures” is on your MOA (memorandum of accommodations), because so long as it is, your professors legally cannot deny you permission to record lectures without risk of themself and the college being sued for an ADA violation. also, make friends with a classmate and ask them to record lectures and send them to you if/when you are absent (let the professor know that you’ve asked this classmate to record and send you the lecture if you are absent)

now, if you aren’t disabled, a spoonie, and/or neurodivergent, you aren’t guaranteed permission to record lectures. however. ask the professor if you can have their permission to audio record lectures (be sure to also let them know that such a recording would be for personal use only and that you don’t plan on distributing the recordings). i’ve found that many professors don’t mind you having an audio recording.

even if you aren’t an audible learner it can be really useful to have these recordings to review at a later point. oftentimes reviewing lecture recordings can be useful if you glazed over and missed a section of the lecture and/or if you can’t remember what a professor taught during a section of a lecture.

7) last but not least, on a related note, if you have accommodations, also request access to your professor’s lecture notes. if you don’t have accommodations, check if your professor posts their lecture notes for students to use.

having your professor’s notes can be extremely useful for review purposes, but they can also help you understand where your professor is going with course content and what they want to stress as important.

[khaotictm]

Hello! There is a project in my sociology class for college that requires interviews! As someone with disabilities (physical and learning) and is in STEM myself (neuroscience major), I really wanted to do my project on this :D! So, if you have the time and identify with being disabled please fill out this form! It is completely ANONYMOUS! As for what is STEM, I am accepting anyone that is studying and/or has a job relating to the STEM field including social sciences. Hopefully it should not take too long to fill out!!! I would be SO appreciative!

[plumbbobtoggle]

👻🎃💖

[thedisablednaturalist]

Anyone know what the fuck an "independent medical examiner" is

all my doctors refuse to write a simple letter answering stuff like what limitations I have and what accommodations would help me which the EPA requires for official accommodations. I'm going to need a second extension on the deadline because no one will give me a straight answer. I'm losing my mind. I went to several primary doctors just to ask and they all said my specialist has to do it, and my specialist first said they have to do it and then most recently said I have to go to an IME. But that's for like...workers compensation. HR isnt helping either. Thank god my boss is understanding and has been giving me more time. My interim accommodations have been helping so much and if I lose them idk if I could keep working. This will be the second time I didn't make the deadline.

[lost-spoons]

To all my fellow chronically ill/disabled humans who are in college, how's everyone doing? Cause I'm tired as hell. I got another week of summer school and then fall semester starts less then a month later.

I'm a semester behind in credits due to dropping a semester cause I was hospitalized, which means I get to do summer school for the foreseeable future. This summer I chose to get my science requirement out of the way instead of redoing one of my classes, which I think is working out pretty well so far, but idk. I'll let you know if I fail.

The goal is to transfer from my current Community College to a 4 year. I have a running joke that I'm just gonna apply for the colleges of the hospitals I'm with. Cause how funny would that be?? Just write in my little letter Hey, I already attend your hospital, why not have me attend your school too? I think It's hilarious, but maybe that's just me lol

[thelegendofstudy]

There are times in college where you just have to cut yourself a break.

I have multiple learning disabilities and physical disabilities. Currently, I have four Cs on my transcript. Four. I hear my neurotypical acquaintances and friends talk about never having below a B- and saying how low their grades are. I know people lie about their grades so I take everything with a grain of salt, but it still hurts when you feel like you're behind your peers.

I'm happy to say I've embraced "Cs get degrees" and I've never failed a class and y'know what, that's sometimes all I can ask for. Even with all the accomodations in the world, I'd still have auditory processing issues, difficulties writing/reading, and mixing up math and chemical equations. The best thing for me would be to either get rid of all tests(impossible) or make every test open note/open book(impossible) so I just try my best.

Getting through academia while ND and physical disabled is difficult. And it's vital to know that sometimes you can only reach good enough.

I feel like on studyblr and in academia you're always comparing yourself with other people, and that's not fair. So a reminder to all my followers, cut yourself a break.

[myriad--starlings]

when will it feel like I'm living my life instead of being pushed along by the currents of time and desperately, futilely, trying to claw meaning and hope and contentment out of the hours I can before they drag me down into the murk again

[stardust-maple]

The stress of school with a chronic illness is simply unreal.

[autisticsociologymajor]

From the perspective of a…

Psychologist: “our core needs are to be loved, seen, heard, and validated.”

Sociologist: “our core needs are to belong to something, to have a community & a social identity.”

Criminologist: “our core needs are defined by psychology and sociology.”

Doctor: “our core needs are to be healthy mentally, physically, and spiritually.”

STEM Majors: “we have needs?”