2020 Disability Lecture: #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut

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Good evening, everybody.
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My name is Sarah Stephenson-Hunter and I’m
the Staff Disability Advisor at the University
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of Oxford.
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And I’d really, really, really like to welcome
you all to our annual lecture this evening.
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Bear with me…
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As you will see, this world of Zoom Webinars
is something that is quite new to us.
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Obviously, in the current situation, we’re
all quite used to them, but we’re still
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learning about this.
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Before I just say a few more general points,
I just want to go through some housekeeping.
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So this is a Zoom Webinar, so all of your
audio and video is turned off by default:
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there will be no capacity for that during
the session.
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But you will see there is a chat box, which
– if you can put general comments in the
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chat box, if you’re having problems during
the event, then one of our moderators will
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try and help you out.
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You can raise your hand in there as well,
if you have a problem.
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In terms of questions for the Q&A, which will
happen after Dr West has given her speech,
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there is the Q&A box, that if you put questions
in there, we will not mention names, but we
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will ask those questions anonymously, and
we will try our best to get through all of
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the questions, but it just depends on timing.
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We are going to try to keep this to schedule,
and I think those are the main things.
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The only other thing to say is that for those
of you that need captioning, there is captioning
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available; if you click the Closed Captioning
option on your Zoom screen, then you should
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be able to access that.
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That is live captioning, so hopefully that
should give you a better experience.
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And just a final housekeeping point is if
you select Gallery View instead of Speaker
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View, then you should have a better experience
of accessing the lecture.
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So that’s the housekeeping out of the way.
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As I said, we usually held this annual lecture
physically, around this time of year.
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Every year, it’s hosted by one of our wonderful
Colleges, a wonderful setting to have the
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lecture.
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That in itself comes with some physical challenges
around accessibility that we’ve got quite
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used to dealing with, and indeed in holding
the lectures, I think, is a great learning
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experience for our Colleges and our University
community to learn about accessibility issues.
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In deciding to obviously switch the lecture
to online, we realised that it wasn't just
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going to be ‘Well, we can just stick a camera
and off we go’.
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We realised there were going to be some other
accessibility issues, which we hope we’ve
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addressed.
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If not, then please do give us feedback, there
will be a poll at the end where you can give
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us some of your experience, where you’re
coming from, perhaps any issues you have experienced.
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Do bear with us.
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None of us are Zoom experts but we are becoming
so.
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So really without any further ado I just want
now to hand over to Professor Louise Richardson,
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our Vice Chancellor, who’s going to introduce
the speaker and say a bit more.
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Over to you.
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PROFESSOR LOUISE RICHARDSON, VICE CHANCELLOR
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD:
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Thank you Sarah, good evening everyone, and
welcome to the 2020 Disability Lecture.
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The sixth annual lecture organised by the
Equality and Diversity Unit and the staff
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Disability Advisory Group.
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This evening’s lecture is entitled ‘#WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut:
A Neurodivergent Student-Turned-Academic on
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the Neurotypical University’.
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I am delighted to introduce our guest this
evening, Dr Kate West, who is going to be
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giving the lecture.
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Kate is Senior Lecturer in Visual Criminology
at Oxford Brookes University.
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She began her academic life as a lawyer, and
later criminologist, before developing a particular
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interest in art history.
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Kate researches the art history and visual
culture of crime and punishment in the late
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modern period.
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Her first book, ‘What was Criminology?:
An Unlikely Art History’ recovers the role
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of fine art in 19th-century criminology.
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Kate obtained a research council funded DPhil
from Green Templeton College and the Law Faculty
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here in Oxford, having previously obtained
a research council funded MSc at Hertford
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as well as an LLB at the University of Edinburgh.
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Kate has been a Visiting Student at the Faculty
of Law in the University of Copenhagen and
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was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the Faculty
of Law in the University of Melbourne.
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In this lecture, Kate, a neurodivergent autistic
and dyslexic student turned academic, will
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use the social model of disability to frame
the different and myriad ways in which the
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neurotypical University disables students
and academics.
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Borrowing the viral hash tag #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut,
created by Queer and Deaf activist Christine
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Marshall, Kate will draw on her own and others’
lived experience, to reflect on one of the
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neurotypical university’s most profound
and still too common disabling effect: dropping
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out.
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Please join me in welcoming Kate West.
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Over to you, Kate.
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DR KATE WEST:
Hi everyone, I am just checking that you can
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hear me.
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Hi everyone, good evening, I am hoping you
can hear me, I am guessing you can see me
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because my camera has started.
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Great, fantastic that’s amazing, thank you.
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I am certainly no expert at Zoom webinars,
so you’ll have to bear with me while I participate
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in my first ever one.
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So I'm just going to start by sharing the
slides and then I will get going with the
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talk.
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So bear with me while I share my screen.
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OK, so, now you should be able to see the
power point.
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I am just going to put it into slideshow function.
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Talking aloud actually helps me go through
these motions, so thanks for bearing with
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me.
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OK, so, current slide…
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Great, we can begin.
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I would like to start with a content warning.
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I know that there will be many people watching
this who may be nervous about what is going
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to come up in terms of if whether the content
might be triggering for them, especially because
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it tackles a topic, a difficult topic for
those of us who identify as disabled or who
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identify as having a disability.
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So broadly speaking, I am going to be speaking
about disablism, I am also going to be speaking
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about what’s called and I will explain what
this is in a moment when I get into the talk,
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because I’m aware there may be people in
the audience who don’t know what this is,
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but I will be talking about the medical model
of disability as well, and finally, I’m
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going to be talking about bullying and harassment.
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If I get onto those topics, I’ll try and
flag them up, and if you want to mute your
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microphone or take some time out, then that’s
fine.
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Just in terms of how I’m going to present:
I’m actually going to read the alt-text,
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the alternative text that visually describes
what I’m showing in the slide, for unsighted
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or partially sighted audience members.
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So I’m just going to start by really describing
the first slide.
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And also just to manage your expectations
– as an autistic person, I like to have
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my expectations managed – there are fourteen
slides, so you can get a sense of how far
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we are along with the lecture.
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OK.
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I’m just going to bring up the chat box
so I can make sure I’m not just going off
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on a whim and somebody’s trying to tell
me something.
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I can find it… where is it..
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OK, here we go.
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OK, so Slide 1 of 14 is the title slide of
the lecture.
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There’s a backdrop of candy pink.
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It’s overlaid with a blue triangle.
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It’s offset to the right to leave a strip
of pink running down the left-hand side from
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top to bottom.
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It reads, ‘The University of Oxford Disability
Lecture 2020’, below which it reads my name,
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Dr Kate West, my job title, Senior Lecturer
in Visual Criminology, and my place of employment,
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Oxford Brookes University.
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For those of you who don’t know, Oxford
Brookes University is the other University
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in the city of Oxford.
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There are two universities here, so although
I am a graduate of the older university, I
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am now a very proud faculty member at the
newer University.
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So the title of the lecture is ‘#WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut’.
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This sits at the top of the blue square, and
under that, the subtitle reads ‘A Neurodivergent
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Student-Turned-Academic’.
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Finally, the Oxford Brookes logo and the Oxford
University logos are in the bottom right-hand
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corner.
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Just a word about speaking to you as well:
I haven't quite worked out whether I’m going
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to look at what I have thought to myself as
theoretically a thousand eyes – so this
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camera that is looking at me.
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One thing about my being autistic, at least,
is that my preference is not to look at people
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in the eye.
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Of course I’ve spent my life masking, of
course, so I’ll do it.
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I’ll try.
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I will expend some energy doing that for the
neurotypicals, although I should really stop
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doing that!
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OK, so to get going with the talk: moving
onto the next slide, briefly describing it
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visually, it shows two images side-by-side,
of two villages in Scotland's north-east coast:
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Sinine is on the left and Crovey is on the
right.
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The north-facing gable ends of approximately
thirty buildings in each village – they’re
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roughly the same size – hug the harbours,
while the south- gables face or are built
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into the cliffs and hillside.
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I was 17 the first time I dropped out.
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I was about a third of the way through the
equivalent of the second year of sixth form
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England and Wales and Northern Ireland, at
a large low-performing co-educational state
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secondary school, five hours north-east of
the border between England and Scotland.
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Its catchment was 33 miles long, along the
north-facing Moray Firth coast, drawing a
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predominantly rural and industrial working
class, fishing and faming working class, cohort
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into its student body.
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These villages are characteristic of the Moray
Firth coast.
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They’re historic Highland Clearance settlements,
and they scatter the whole catchment of the
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school area that I’m from.
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The village on the right, Crovey, is near
Gardenstown, which is where my family is from.
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The third slide of 14: it shows two cover
art works side by side.
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On the left is Robin Jenkins' The Cone Gatherers.
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It features a mid-twentieth century grenade
with a military green body, silver fuse.
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On the right is Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset
Song.
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It features a yellow ochre sun at its centre.
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It’s surrounded by wheat and thistles, and
the landscape below is comprised of scorched
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brown hillside and a green and red field.
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A labourer can be seen working the plough
behind their horse.
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I dropped out when I was assigned Thomas Hardy's
late 19th century novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.
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I’d of course been assigned novels throughout
my secondary education, including the ones
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that I spoke about on the slide, but I’d
never actually read a novel by the time I
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was 17.
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I didn't know it then, but I was dyslexic,
attention deficit disordered and autistic.
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Pre-Hardy, as I’ll call that stage of my
life, my go-around, my coping strategy, as
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neurotypicals call it, was to learn about
assigned prose through consolidated teaching,
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the kind of special close teaching that was
on offer in the earlier stages that pre-date
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the equivalent of A-levels in England.
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So I had kind of developed these coping strategies;
and specifically, I’d learn, for example,
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the lesson about a discrete passage, so I
could take it and apply it to different contexts.
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It’s something I tell my students now.
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It’s not necessarily the content that matters
when I’m teaching you: it’s the lesson
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that can be derived from the content, so that
you can apply that lesson to other contexts.
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So I was doing that throughout my schooling.
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So by then, I have developed what neurotypicals
call, as I just said, coping mechanisms: but
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I like to think of these as formidably dynamic
resistance strategies to neurotypical teaching
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and learning.
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But resistance was futile, to use that social
script that neurotypicals use: in the face
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of Hardy.
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By then I was in the equivalent of my A-level
year; consolidated teaching has ended, and
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I could no longer camouflage by pretending
I could read when I couldn't.
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Class sizes had diminished from 30 to 5, and
I could no longer hide physically either.
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What did I do?
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I dropped out.
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My being undiagnosed as a dyslexic, attention
deficit disordered and autistic student met
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with my first-generation student status – first-generation
meaning here that, with my two brothers, I
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was part of the first generation of my industrial
working class family to go to university.
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First-generation students enter university
for utilitarian, that is, kind of instrumental
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reasons.
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I entered university for a vocation, specifically
to practise law, not for an education.
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I stumbled on the latter, thank goodness.
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I didn't ask my teachers for help then.
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I didn’t ask them for help to read, because
I didn’t need an education, or so I thought.
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A footnote here is that in Scottish secondary
education, University entrants, can theoretically,
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like myself, hold unconditional offers to
University at 17 years old, because we do
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our entrance exams for university before the
A-level.
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So I was actually holding several unconditional
offers to my universities of choice in Scotland,
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and England was never a consideration, of
course: for those outside the UK, home students
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in Scotland, we don’t pay tuition fees,
so it would never have crossed my mind to
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study in England.
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In terms of this dropping out, I do know it
then, but, …
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(Just making sure you're still with me!
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It’s quite strange doing this because you
kind of feel like you might be speaking with
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yourself.
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I’m not speaking with myself…
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Yes, great, thank you, Lydia Townsend, thank
you!
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OK, I’m going back in.
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That will be the last time I do it, I'm confident
now!)
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I didn’t know it but this would be the first
of two calendar year long intermissions during
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my undergraduate degree; possibly more than
a handful of intermissions totalling three
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academic years during my doctoral degree,
and finally post-student life, an almost intermission
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last year from my career.
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It was with each additional intermission,
or dropout, and most of all that latter example,
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precisely because I had worked so hard to
begin my academic career, that I started to
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feel quite strongly that this was continuing
to happen.
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And I stopped thinking at this point of my
dropouts as personal failures, results of
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my impairments and my deficits, as the medical
model of disability would tell me.
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And instead I saw them for what I truly think
they are, namely the effect of structural
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disableism.
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In this lecture, then, I’m going to weave
the ways in which what I call the neurotypical
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University, that is, a University not designed
for neurodivergent students.
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When I say neurodivergent, historically at
least, that has pertained to autists, but
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also now the paradigm or way of thinking has
expanded to include dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention
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deficit disorder, Tourette's and so on.
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So it’s a much broader way of thinking about
neurological diversity now.
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So this is not a place that’s designed for
people like me and, I’m sure, many people
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who are watching.
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So I’m going to be, as I’ve said, weaving
some of my lived experiences – sometimes
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anonymously, to protect mine and others’
identities, through participant lived experiences,
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again sometimes anonymous, depending on what
participants wished for.
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OK, next slide.
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Slide 4 of 14, it features a title noting
that in the UK, and just to note, this is
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a figure about home students, UK students
in universities in the UK. 16.2% of students
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report disabilities.
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For a disability to be recorded it has to
be reported in the first instance.
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Under the title, there is a table adapted
from Hubble and Bolton 2020, which breaks
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down the types of disabilities that students
in the UK report.
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Specific learning difficulty is highlighted
in blue, because I am trying to highlight
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neurodivergent disabilities.
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And so is quote, ‘social communication / autism
spectrum disorder’, close quote.
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You know, I say that in jest, but sometimes
I am using the medical language, and some
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of us will find that quite oppressive, so
I think it’s important to highlight that
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I am using the language that’s on the table:
it might not be my own choice.
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So I’m just highlighting these.
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So of that 16%, the slide describes how there
are 5.2% of the 100% of the disabled student
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population in the UK, all levels, undergraduate
through to PhD, doctoral level.
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5.2% report a specific learning difficulty.
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And 0.6, quite a small percentage, report
autistic spectrum disorder or ASD.
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And I have highlighted in yellow as a point
of interest, and that is just because, especially
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when it comes to neurodivergence, I am not
just dyslexic for example, I am not just attention
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deficit disordered.
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The thing with neurodivergence is that often
these disabilities are co-occurring.
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So for example, when I historically reported
disability when I was a student, I would always
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tick two or more conditions, so I was not
even being picked up into SpLD or into ASD,
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and certainly not ASD, because I am late diagnosed,
so it was towards the end of my doctorate
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I discovered I was autistic, self-discovered
before receiving a psychiatric diagnosis.
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And the reason why I’m highlighting these
figures is because disabled students overall
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fare worse in higher education, without even
considering intersectional data.
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So thinking for example about class, for example
we know that first-generation students are
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more likely to drop out etc.
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And race, and gender.
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Disabled students are less likely to enter
university in the first instance, less likely
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to continue university, and more likely to
drop out.
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Where they do continue they take longer to
graduate.
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This is really important, because they will
inevitably incur extra costs, and one of the
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areas of organising that I have been involved
in
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is specifically organising around continuation
fees that are being charged to disabled students.
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And I’m working with my own university and
with my former Colleges in this regard.
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I am not going to speak about that in this
talk, because I have spoken about it a lot
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elsewhere.
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In terms of the data on academics, because,
you know, part of this for me, as I said,
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is not just about the student experience.
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I thought once I graduated and I became an
academic, everything would be fine, because
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I thought this experience was unique, naively,
unique to being a disabled student.
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It’s not.
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In fact, I found it more disabling to be an
academic than a student in a neurotypical
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university.
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The data around disabled academics really
is not readily available.
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So I am collecting it slowly, but some institutions
I’ve got data back from, the numbers are
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so negligible and I think this says something
about academics even reporting their disability
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in the first place., that they don’t record
the data.
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So, that is an issue in itself.
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OK, let me just change the slide.
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Slide 5 of 14 shows two cover artworks from
two books.
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On the left is ‘Disability Discourse’,
edited by Mairian Corker and Sally French.
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00:24:03,470 --> 00:24:08,910
And on the right is ‘Neurodiversity: the
Birth of an Idea’, by Judy Singer.
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00:24:08,910 --> 00:24:14,260
So on the left, ‘Disability Discourse is
split kind of vertically from top to bottom
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00:24:14,260 --> 00:24:19,220
into two colours, white and kind of like a
neon green on the right.
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00:24:19,220 --> 00:24:25,870
And the book by Judy Singer for me is really
not very friendly for me as an autistic, anyway,
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00:24:25,870 --> 00:24:32,690
it’s that awful white with a high contrast,
blue title, blue author’s signature and
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00:24:32,690 --> 00:24:37,620
so on, and there’s a word cloud in the middle
that says words such as ‘neurodiversity,
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00:24:37,620 --> 00:24:44,460
minority, inclusion, autistic, difference,
diversity’, and so on.
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00:24:44,460 --> 00:24:51,710
So the lecture is shaped by autistic sociologist
Judy Singer's 1997 and 1998 neurodiversity
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way of thinking, or what academics would call
‘paradigm’, which (I think I’ve said
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00:24:55,679 --> 00:25:00,650
that word about five times already, more to
abuse!) as the name suggests celebrates the
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00:25:00,650 --> 00:25:09,380
neurological diversity – quote, ‘diversity’,
close quote – within our species, reframing
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autism in particular within the social model
of disability that emerged in the UK in the
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00:25:15,179 --> 00:25:17,240
1960s and grew through the 70s.
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00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:22,960
However, more than two decades now after Singer
coined this ground-breaking term and concept,
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00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,790
and it’s done amazing work, I am now starting
to be a little bit cautious about using the
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term itself.
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00:25:29,270 --> 00:25:34,679
And this is a natural way that academic models
develop, like they become sharper and more
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00:25:34,679 --> 00:25:39,840
pointed as time progresses, and that is a
good thing.
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00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:48,340
So instead I tend not to use that word, because
calling or describing someone, or something,
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00:25:48,340 --> 00:25:55,380
an organisation like a university, for example,
as ‘neurodiverse’ simply highlights neurological
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00:25:55,380 --> 00:26:03,870
diversity without going as far as to highlight
the character of the diversity.
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00:26:03,870 --> 00:26:09,451
It is kind of amorphous, and nebulous, it
is a bit of a kind of liberal surrogate, if
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you like, and kind of just sucks up all the
difference.
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00:26:15,870 --> 00:26:20,530
I'm not sure that makes sense, it does in
my neurodivergent brain.
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00:26:20,530 --> 00:26:27,309
So this has allowed me instead to talk about
neurotypical social structures: so two social
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groups, neurotypicals and neurodivergents.
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And that’s really important to me, because
it gives us the language – I’m not the
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00:26:34,460 --> 00:26:40,200
first, lots of people, especially neurodivergent
people, do this: we’re all speaking in that
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00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:41,200
language.
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00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:45,049
I notice that it now seems to be neurotypical
people who tend to use the word ‘neurodiverse’
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00:26:45,049 --> 00:26:46,830
as an adjective or noun.
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00:26:46,830 --> 00:26:52,890
But I think it is important to have these
two social groups emphasised, because it allows
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00:26:52,890 --> 00:26:59,010
me for example to talk about a neurotypical
University: a university, the structure of
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00:26:59,010 --> 00:27:04,519
which is for neurotypicals, to the exclusion
of neurodivergence.
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00:27:04,519 --> 00:27:10,100
And importantly then, it’s not about sneaking
neurodivergents in through the back door in
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00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:15,110
the neurotypical university because the social
structure remains the same; it’s about dismantling
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00:27:15,110 --> 00:27:20,280
the structures, to use a metaphor, don’t
want to get too radical and pull the universities
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00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:31,040
down, dismantling the neurotypical structures
that perpetuate disabling neurodivergent students
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and academics.
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00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:33,040
OK.
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00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,990
Moving on, slide 6 of 14...
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(I am just going to check my time.
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We’re good, back in.)
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00:27:46,540 --> 00:27:59,160
Slide 6 of 14 shows a screenshot of a tweet
by Chrissy, rainbow emoji, clapperboard emoji,
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00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:00,669
purple heart emoji.
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00:28:00,669 --> 00:28:03,790
With the Twitter handle @EssentialSign_.
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00:28:03,790 --> 00:28:09,010
The tweet has 439 retweets and 970 likes.
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00:28:09,010 --> 00:28:13,270
I’m going to read out what the tweet says
when I talk through the slide, so I won't
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00:28:13,270 --> 00:28:16,820
read out the visual detail of the slide.
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00:28:16,820 --> 00:28:24,140
And also I’d like to say I’m a sighted
person, so this is new to me, so if there
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00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:30,250
are things you want to call me in or out on,
I really welcome that if I'm doing something
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00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:32,120
wrong.
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00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:38,440
So the hashtag #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut was
created by Chrissy Marshall, a Deaf activist
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00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:39,470
and student.
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00:28:39,470 --> 00:28:48,700
In Marshall’s words, and this is what the
tweet says, ‘#WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut was
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00:28:48,700 --> 00:28:55,710
created to expose the frustration and challenges
disabled students face daily in public institutions.’
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00:28:55,710 --> 00:29:02,780
They continue, ‘Becoming exhausted from
advocating for yourself is valid af’ (I
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00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:07,500
know there are children in the audience, so
I will leave it at that) ‘and the educational
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00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:11,171
system wasn't developed for disabled people
to succeed’.
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00:29:11,171 --> 00:29:16,320
So you can see here that again what Marshall
is speaking about is that social model of
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00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:23,049
disability, where the educational system is
disabling people.
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00:29:23,049 --> 00:29:31,650
So, if you are not familiar with Chrissy's
work I would check it out, it is really important.
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They have actually gone viral on TikTok for
an amazing TikTok video about deafness and
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00:29:38,380 --> 00:29:43,210
access, and actually, and that video got 5.5
million views.
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00:29:43,210 --> 00:29:49,299
It is to do with the #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut
hashtag as well.
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00:29:49,299 --> 00:29:54,120
So notice the language that Marshall uses,
they use the word ‘disabled’ as a prefix
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00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,130
for people and students as opposed to people
or students ‘with disabilities’.
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00:29:58,130 --> 00:30:02,620
This is how I and many others choose to identify.
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00:30:02,620 --> 00:30:09,570
I am disabled because society disables me,
and not because the medical model of disability
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00:30:09,570 --> 00:30:16,360
tells me that I am somehow lacking, that I
am impaired and that consequently I am in
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00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,290
need of treatment.
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00:30:19,290 --> 00:30:26,870
Relatedly then, it has allowed disabled people
to share how outside factors nothing to do
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00:30:26,870 --> 00:30:34,799
with themselves, outside factors beyond their
control are excluding them, with the effect
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00:30:34,799 --> 00:30:36,380
that they drop out.
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00:30:36,380 --> 00:30:42,530
Slide 7 of 14 is a screenshot of a tweet.
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00:30:42,530 --> 00:30:44,860
The author is Ellen Fraser Barbour.
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00:30:44,860 --> 00:30:48,730
Thank you, Ellen, for participating and letting
me share your tweet.
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00:30:48,730 --> 00:30:50,750
Twitter handle is @ellenffb.
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00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:52,650
It reads: ‘#WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut.
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00:30:52,650 --> 00:30:59,440
What people don’t get is that for many of
us with disability, it is not one experience
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00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:05,039
leading to dropout: there’s a whole accumulation
of internalised comments, belittling, low
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00:31:05,039 --> 00:31:10,450
expectation, and discriminatory behaviour
in education which goes way back’.
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00:31:10,450 --> 00:31:13,309
The tweet has 21 retweets and 60 likes.
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00:31:13,309 --> 00:31:22,110
The hundreds of tweets and sub- tweets to
Marshall's viral hashtag by both students
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00:31:22,110 --> 00:31:28,630
and academics illustrate the numerous and
myriad reasons why disabled students and academics
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00:31:28,630 --> 00:31:29,630
drop out.
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00:31:29,630 --> 00:31:34,780
As PhD candidate who authored the tweet, PhD
candidate Ellen Fraser Barbour highlights
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00:31:34,780 --> 00:31:40,660
in her use of the hashtag, these are experienced
simultaneously and cumulatively over long
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00:31:40,660 --> 00:31:42,910
periods of time.
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00:31:42,910 --> 00:31:48,960
And it is, as she puts it, accumulation of
internalised comments, and I’ve just read
381
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:56,470
that, the ‘belittling, low expectation,
discriminatory behaviour in education which
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00:31:56,470 --> 00:31:57,960
goes way back’.
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00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:05,049
And you can see that that makes, moves me
quite a lot.it will resonate with a lot of
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00:32:05,049 --> 00:32:11,419
this audience, I am sure, and really since
we were children, of course.
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00:32:11,419 --> 00:32:13,880
OK.
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00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:24,160
Others have spoken about how disabled academics,
as teachers and colleagues, doubt their students
387
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,810
and colleagues being disabled on some occasions.
388
00:32:27,810 --> 00:32:33,179
One student said they felt their neurodivergence
was in question when their professor continually
389
00:32:33,179 --> 00:32:41,511
asked them ‘Why do you frame your experience
through your dyslexia, autism etc.?’ – as
390
00:32:41,511 --> 00:32:47,270
though they could, to use the extremely online
cultural idiom, cancel themselves.
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00:32:47,270 --> 00:32:52,870
On other occasions the same student said that
the same professor felt that the neurodivergent
392
00:32:52,870 --> 00:33:00,169
student was too autistic or too dyslexic to
even continue in their programme, and suggested
393
00:33:00,169 --> 00:33:03,110
they drop out themselves.
394
00:33:03,110 --> 00:33:07,400
When I asked that student how they fared in
the end, they graduated almost at the very
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00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,720
top of a cohort that was over 200 people strong.
396
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:18,309
‘Low expectation’, as Ellen Fraser Barbour
said, indeed.
397
00:33:18,309 --> 00:33:26,470
OK, slide 8 of 14 is a grey scale but for
a blue scroll and those kinds of ‘Help’
398
00:33:26,470 --> 00:33:29,100
points you can click on at various points.
399
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:39,030
It is a greyscale image of a piece of legislation
familiar to many of us, the Equality Act,
400
00:33:39,030 --> 00:33:42,980
a section familiar to many of us, Section
20, The Duty to Make Adjustments.
401
00:33:42,980 --> 00:33:47,770
I’ve highlighted that in yellow just to
draw attention to it.
402
00:33:47,770 --> 00:33:53,420
The Government crest is on the top left-hand
corner and the National Archives logo is in
403
00:33:53,420 --> 00:33:55,030
the top right.
404
00:33:55,030 --> 00:34:02,400
When it comes to why we neurodivergent people
drop out of the neurotypical University, I
405
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:08,909
want to focus on one reason, time constraints
but also, this gets to the heart of something
406
00:34:08,909 --> 00:34:15,240
I am trying to develop for my eventual book,
as I call it.
407
00:34:15,240 --> 00:34:16,860
I want to focus on one reason.
408
00:34:16,860 --> 00:34:21,040
I always tell my students to avoid hyperbolic
language, but I am going to excuse myself
409
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,510
on this occasion, because I think it reflects
the empirical reality qute well: what I call
410
00:34:25,510 --> 00:34:33,389
the vast chasm between the section 20 duty
for HEIs, that is, Higher Education Institutions,
411
00:34:33,389 --> 00:34:39,679
and Government funders working in partnership
to make adjustments for their disabled students,
412
00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:44,020
and academics in their employment under the
Equality Act 2010.
413
00:34:44,020 --> 00:34:49,960
So this gap between that and what is happening
on the ground to be a little bit sharper and
414
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:56,250
more blunt about it, I want to talk about
the failure of public sector organisations
415
00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:58,050
to implement the duty.
416
00:34:58,050 --> 00:35:04,400
It is mandated by law.
417
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:08,930
This next slide I am aware it might be distressing,
actually I will take it off for a second.
418
00:35:08,930 --> 00:35:13,830
The next slide might be distressing for people,
it might give you sensory overload.
419
00:35:13,830 --> 00:35:21,150
So just to let you know that is coming up
if you want to dim the screen etc., just you
420
00:35:21,150 --> 00:35:22,150
can hear my voice.
421
00:35:22,150 --> 00:35:27,440
But it is kinda designed that way on purpose
to demonstrate what new words look like to
422
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,369
me when I am reading as a dyslexic reader.
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00:35:30,369 --> 00:35:33,560
So I'm just going to put that screen back
up on the screen now.
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00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:41,020
Slide 9 of 14 It is a series of dyslexic misspellings
of the word ‘anachronism’.
425
00:35:41,020 --> 00:35:46,870
And I've included – these are my own dyslexic
misspellings, by the way.
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00:35:46,870 --> 00:35:51,470
I’ve included them left to right, and they
kind of cover the whole page; it kind of makes
427
00:35:51,470 --> 00:35:55,570
it look like it’s endless and ongoing.
428
00:35:55,570 --> 00:35:59,760
Students have to provide evidence of their
neurodivergence in order to access reasonable
429
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,720
adjustments, a problem in itself.
430
00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:06,500
This is another theme in the wider #WhyDoDisabledPeopleDropOut
hashtag.
431
00:36:06,500 --> 00:36:11,510
First, students have to at least suspect that
they are neurodivergent.
432
00:36:11,510 --> 00:36:14,430
‘Is the death penalty an anachronism?’
433
00:36:14,430 --> 00:36:15,800
– change of tack!
434
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:21,760
This was the question that was the precursor
to my dyslexia diagnosis, and also the precursor
435
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:29,640
to the suggestion that I was attention deficit
disordered, and also that I might need to
436
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:33,400
get checked out for sensory processing disorder
and Irlen Syndrome.
437
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,270
Anyway, so it kind of started the journey.
438
00:36:36,270 --> 00:36:40,180
I was a law student, so this was the question
that was being posed to us.
439
00:36:40,180 --> 00:36:45,790
‘Anachronism’ appeared to me as you see
it here on the screen, in this now digitally
440
00:36:45,790 --> 00:36:51,750
on-trend and thereby comforting single-spaced
formation.
441
00:36:51,750 --> 00:36:57,471
When I read a new word and when I read that
new word, I sucked up each letter with my
442
00:36:57,471 --> 00:37:03,910
eyes, left to right; as right to left, they
would dissolve into nothingness.
443
00:37:03,910 --> 00:37:08,182
Below my first-class mark there was an observation
about how frequently ‘anachronism’ appeared
444
00:37:08,182 --> 00:37:14,900
and that I had spelt it differently and incorrectly
every time, complete with a randomised flourish
445
00:37:14,900 --> 00:37:22,030
of capital and lower case A. I now know that
my doing so, and I do it in my scholarship
446
00:37:22,030 --> 00:37:27,000
now, before I do what I call ‘neurotypical
proof’ my writing, and kind of fix it for
447
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,360
the neurotypicals, is a kind of dyslexic verbal
stimming.
448
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:43,000
‘Stimming’ is a shortened word to describe
stimulatory behaviour that I do as an autist.
449
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,710
Many autistic people self-regulate through
stimming, maybe it is through playing with
450
00:37:49,710 --> 00:37:57,070
your hair, it can be anything like biting
your nails, it can be doing this.
451
00:37:57,070 --> 00:38:00,660
Stimming is great, I encourage it.
452
00:38:00,660 --> 00:38:09,300
And actually since I obtained my psychiatric
diagnosis, I am an unapologetic stimmer, especially
453
00:38:09,300 --> 00:38:15,450
in public, so watch out!
454
00:38:15,450 --> 00:38:19,930
So I understood that I was kind of repeating
and writing this word, almost to kind of to
455
00:38:19,930 --> 00:38:23,790
try and capture it, to make it comforting
to me, so I could feel comfortable because
456
00:38:23,790 --> 00:38:25,109
I’d never seen it before.
457
00:38:25,109 --> 00:38:31,020
And actually, this happened to me recently,
just a couple of weeks ago, when a new book
458
00:38:31,020 --> 00:38:35,119
arrived in the post for someone I’m living
with.
459
00:38:35,119 --> 00:38:42,930
And they opened the book and I looked at it,
and I read it, and I looked at the word and
460
00:38:42,930 --> 00:38:44,130
I was like...
461
00:38:44,130 --> 00:38:47,330
‘Ira, Ira, Ira, Irad, Iradated, Irrigated,
Irrer, Irrer...’.
462
00:38:47,330 --> 00:38:52,580
Eventually I went through the house (as is
a Scottish colloquialism which means ‘into
463
00:38:52,580 --> 00:38:56,400
the next room’), and I asked my brother
‘What does the word say?’
464
00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:57,400
‘Irradiated.’
465
00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:58,400
‘Ah, irradiated!’
466
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:04,110
So for the rest of the day, and even in the
coming weeks, I would just occasionally , I
467
00:39:04,110 --> 00:39:08,050
would be like, ‘Irradiated’; I would just
say because it was kind of soothing to do
468
00:39:08,050 --> 00:39:09,850
that.
469
00:39:09,850 --> 00:39:11,640
OK.
470
00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:16,040
Next slide, we are 10 of 14.
471
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:20,020
(I’m just going to check the time and come
out for a moment.
472
00:39:20,020 --> 00:39:26,910
OK, I'm going to speak just until, just before
7 o'clock.
473
00:39:26,910 --> 00:39:35,030
I was told 45 minutes, but I was anticipating
starting at quarter past, so we can push that
474
00:39:35,030 --> 00:39:37,060
a bit.
475
00:39:37,060 --> 00:39:43,250
I am just going to go back into the slides,
current.
476
00:39:43,250 --> 00:39:47,130
Excuse the beeping outside there seems to
be some building, of course.)
477
00:39:47,130 --> 00:39:54,260
Slide 10 of 14 shows a computer-generated
aerial view of the University of Edinburgh’s
478
00:39:54,260 --> 00:39:55,340
Old College.
479
00:39:55,340 --> 00:40:01,280
A North South East and West Wing hermetically
sealed, which means kind of sealed all the
480
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:06,800
way around a quadrangle, which is kind of
like a square space for those who are not
481
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:07,800
familiar with quadrangles.
482
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:12,100
I mean, I wasn’t familiar with quadrangles
until I arrived Oxford, even though I’d
483
00:40:12,100 --> 00:40:16,940
been to a university with a quadrangle, I
didn’t know it was called that.
484
00:40:16,940 --> 00:40:17,940
There’s a quadrangle.
485
00:40:17,940 --> 00:40:24,950
It’s green with grass, as is tradition,
I am led to believe, but there’s a lot of
486
00:40:24,950 --> 00:40:25,950
concrete around it.
487
00:40:25,950 --> 00:40:29,930
This is the Law School of the University of
Edinburgh, where I did my undergraduate degree
488
00:40:29,930 --> 00:40:30,930
in Law.
489
00:40:30,930 --> 00:40:36,589
For those outside of the UK, and especially
those in North America, some of you may not
490
00:40:36,589 --> 00:40:40,570
know, but you can study vocational degrees
such as medicine and law as an undergraduate
491
00:40:40,570 --> 00:40:42,310
degree.
492
00:40:42,310 --> 00:40:46,520
Different subject about whether that is good
or bad, so I shall not digress into that.
493
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:54,390
So, although, this eventually, my teacher
highlighting this, eventually led to my dyslexia
494
00:40:54,390 --> 00:40:56,359
diagnosis.
495
00:40:56,359 --> 00:41:00,610
And I actually conveyed ease with which I
got that diagnosis, there are so many routes
496
00:41:00,610 --> 00:41:07,040
that rely on a lot of self-advocacy, a lot
of, a good executive function.
497
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:13,450
When I say ‘executive function’, I mean
organising, processing, memory, all the things
498
00:41:13,450 --> 00:41:17,720
that neurodivergent people struggle with to
obtain that diagnosis.
499
00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:23,480
So I don’t want to actually undermine how
difficult that was.
500
00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:30,040
And the theme of the hashtag is that obtaining,
jumping through those hoops was another reason
501
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:35,480
why people dropped out: getting the diagnosis
was too hard, and in my position as a teacher
502
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:45,600
I have certainly witnessed that in the short
time I have been an academic and it is heartbreaking.
503
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:52,250
So here is a reason #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut:
trauma.
504
00:41:52,250 --> 00:41:58,210
I have a vivid memory of when my essay was
returned to me in class.
505
00:41:58,210 --> 00:42:06,580
Like many autists I am constantly aware of
my body in space, I am always constantly reflecting
506
00:42:06,580 --> 00:42:13,890
on proprioceptive – I hadn’t heard that
word until I was diagnosed – proprioceptive
507
00:42:13,890 --> 00:42:15,119
relationship.
508
00:42:15,119 --> 00:42:20,720
Kind of the relationship of my body to this
chair, to this wall, to touch, to feel, for
509
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:21,720
example.
510
00:42:21,720 --> 00:42:27,170
So my body in space is important to me and
I was conscious of that from a young age,
511
00:42:27,170 --> 00:42:33,450
long before I was diagnosed; and always people
have always noticed it, my family of course.
512
00:42:33,450 --> 00:42:36,930
So I remember my body in space.
513
00:42:36,930 --> 00:42:41,660
When I think about my body in space, even
day-to-day, when during lockdown and I have
514
00:42:41,660 --> 00:42:45,980
been going for walks in woodland.
515
00:42:45,980 --> 00:42:53,300
I am always thinking of myself in space aerially,
that is from the sky.
516
00:42:53,300 --> 00:42:57,940
I guess we kind of compare it to Google Earth,
that is the way I visualise my body in space,
517
00:42:57,940 --> 00:42:58,940
generally.
518
00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:04,030
And that is how I remember this experience
at the University of Edinburgh.
519
00:43:04,030 --> 00:43:09,050
I was sat in the east wing of the University
of Edinburgh's Old College, where that the
520
00:43:09,050 --> 00:43:10,050
yellow square…
521
00:43:10,050 --> 00:43:18,869
(To describe the slide, I don’t think I
did that, in the north west side of the quad
522
00:43:18,869 --> 00:43:26,200
there is a yellow square and about... three
floors up, one floor down was where the classroom
523
00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:27,830
was.
524
00:43:27,830 --> 00:43:34,190
And I sat in that classroom with my back to
the north wall of the college, I was sat in
525
00:43:34,190 --> 00:43:38,890
the north east corner of a boardroom style
setup classroom.
526
00:43:38,890 --> 00:43:47,120
So that is a classroom where the tables are
kind of set up, like around in a boardroom,
527
00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:48,120
I suppose.
528
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:50,150
It’s the best way I can describe it, I’m
afraid.)
529
00:43:50,150 --> 00:43:55,100
I remember the trauma in that space and the
difficulty I had returning to class.
530
00:43:55,100 --> 00:43:58,359
I held it in my body.
531
00:43:58,359 --> 00:44:05,160
In her 2014 post about being a dyslexic early
career academic, and thank you so much to
532
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:10,200
the historian and lecturer Lucinda Matthews
Jones, who has allowed me to share her experience,
533
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:16,760
how she was traumatised for two years when
a reviewer questioned her mis-capitalisation
534
00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:22,119
of C in church.
535
00:44:22,119 --> 00:44:32,050
Next slide: Slide 11 0f 14 shows a screenshot
of AQ-10, or Autism Spectrum…
536
00:44:32,050 --> 00:44:39,290
I can’t say this word, I’m not going to
try, quote, quotie, quotient [middle t pronounced
537
00:44:39,290 --> 00:44:40,290
as ‘t’].
538
00:44:40,290 --> 00:44:45,870
This’ll be my stim for the next few weeks,
‘quotient’ [standard pronunciation], that
539
00:44:45,870 --> 00:44:47,470
sounds good!
540
00:44:47,470 --> 00:44:52,700
Under the title there’s a sentence explaining
that it’s ‘a quick referral guide for
541
00:44:52,700 --> 00:44:57,790
adults with suspected autism who do not have
a learning disability’.
542
00:44:57,790 --> 00:45:03,270
Autism can co-occur with learning disability,
which is why that sentence is included in
543
00:45:03,270 --> 00:45:04,270
there.
544
00:45:04,270 --> 00:45:10,660
Below the title, there are ten statements,
adjacent to which are the options to go definitely
545
00:45:10,660 --> 00:45:15,589
agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree and
definitely disagree.
546
00:45:15,589 --> 00:45:22,030
Below this is an explanation for how to score
the test, how to generate the score, and at
547
00:45:22,030 --> 00:45:25,320
what score a referral should be made.
548
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:34,240
Access, or lack thereof, to self- and/or psychiatric
diagnosis is frequently cited under the #WhyDisabledPeopleDropOut
549
00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:35,840
hashtag.
550
00:45:35,840 --> 00:45:43,860
Many will never be diagnosed, especially when
considering, for example, how class, race,
551
00:45:43,860 --> 00:45:45,859
gender intersect in social capital.
552
00:45:45,859 --> 00:45:53,380
In fact the hashtag #AutismTooWhite was created
by Timothy S. Gordon, Jr, to highlight how
553
00:45:53,380 --> 00:46:00,100
structural racism operates to exclude people
of colour, and especially Black people, from
554
00:46:00,100 --> 00:46:04,660
self-, let alone psychiatric, diagnosis for
autism.
555
00:46:04,660 --> 00:46:11,460
Gender matters too: take the Autism Spectrum
– Thing – or AQ-10 Test, the diagnostic
556
00:46:11,460 --> 00:46:13,490
screening tool for autism.
557
00:46:13,490 --> 00:46:15,099
Look at Question 8.
558
00:46:15,099 --> 00:46:19,760
I’ve highlighted this question in yellow,
apologies for not mentioning that in the visual
559
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:21,880
descriptor of the slide.
560
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:28,720
It says that you have to, definitely, slightly,
agree, or slightly, definitely disagree with
561
00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:33,540
Question 8 (it’s not a question, by the
way): ‘I like to collect information about
562
00:46:33,540 --> 00:46:36,000
categories of things.
563
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:40,950
Types of car, types of bird, types of train,
types of plant etc.’.
564
00:46:40,950 --> 00:46:45,900
Car, bird, train, plant...
565
00:46:45,900 --> 00:46:57,589
So these are [known] infamously, at least
I think by now, in the autistic community
566
00:46:57,589 --> 00:46:58,589
as being gendered.
567
00:46:58,589 --> 00:47:08,140
And actually, there is a lot of research being
generated into the late diagnosis of women
568
00:47:08,140 --> 00:47:13,740
autists for the way in which diagnostic criteria
are tailored to men.
569
00:47:13,740 --> 00:47:18,680
I’m a cisgender woman, that’s how I identify.
570
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:23,640
But my systems of knowledge – and I have
lots of special interests – and I like to
571
00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:28,700
know how things are, why things are typologised
in the way they are, right?
572
00:47:28,700 --> 00:47:39,060
And actually, my system interests don’t
align with my gender identity, but this is
573
00:47:39,060 --> 00:47:44,080
all contextual, it’s totally contextual,
so there are many, for example, cis women
574
00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:50,350
autists who I know who have a lot of systems
knowledge about for example cosmetics.
575
00:47:50,350 --> 00:47:54,870
I also by the way have a lot of systems knowledge
about shampoo, conditioner ingredients etc.:
576
00:47:54,870 --> 00:47:59,609
don’t really care about shampoo and conditioner,
I just want to understand the way in which
577
00:47:59,609 --> 00:48:01,880
ingredients manifest, the way you do.
578
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,420
I can imagine people are really like "Wow!
579
00:48:04,420 --> 00:48:05,420
OK."
580
00:48:05,420 --> 00:48:07,210
And it is contextual.
581
00:48:07,210 --> 00:48:12,770
I spent a lot of time driving in the car from
the north-east of Scotland to the south-west
582
00:48:12,770 --> 00:48:17,470
of England, to visit my mother’s parents,
my grandparents: they’re English.
583
00:48:17,470 --> 00:48:22,780
The journey took fourteen hours without breaks,
and so I’d a lot of time to get interested
584
00:48:22,780 --> 00:48:28,480
in the systems underpinning vehicles, and
especially heavy haulage vehicles, which I’m
585
00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:30,470
still fascinated by.
586
00:48:30,470 --> 00:48:37,310
Equally because my dad, my grandad, my great-grandfather
were trawlermen, as children we spent a lot
587
00:48:37,310 --> 00:48:39,270
of time in industrial fishing ports.
588
00:48:39,270 --> 00:48:44,859
This is Fraserburgh Harbour; in the slide,
sorry, there’s also an image of Fraserburgh
589
00:48:44,859 --> 00:48:47,050
Harbour in the north of Scotland.
590
00:48:47,050 --> 00:48:52,630
There are two trawling boats in the harbour;
one is a kind of turquoise blue and the other
591
00:48:52,630 --> 00:48:55,230
is a kind of more royal blue.
592
00:48:55,230 --> 00:49:05,530
The boat registrations are FR285, standing
for Fraserburgh 285, and BF27, Banff 27.
593
00:49:05,530 --> 00:49:11,550
And this is the harbour, the port that my
dad fished from, and as a child I have vivid
594
00:49:11,550 --> 00:49:17,150
memories of going to this port at the weekend,
when the boats came in on a Friday, and left
595
00:49:17,150 --> 00:49:22,130
again, early, sometimes on a Sunday night,
early on a Monday morning, and generally being
596
00:49:22,130 --> 00:49:25,869
from a fishing community and having a dad
who’s a trawlerman, and your whole family
597
00:49:25,869 --> 00:49:29,339
being involved in fishing, you get to know
a lot about fishing boats.
598
00:49:29,339 --> 00:49:34,340
So I have these quite gendered, actually,
systems of knowledge.
599
00:49:34,340 --> 00:49:41,320
The point is though, access to psychiatric
diagnosis is key to keep neurodivergent students
600
00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:43,230
in education.
601
00:49:43,230 --> 00:49:47,010
So long as this barrier remains in place,
and I don’t think it should, let’s be
602
00:49:47,010 --> 00:49:54,050
clear, normatively, meaning ideally speaking,
self-diagnosis ought to be valid for the reasons
603
00:49:54,050 --> 00:49:58,839
that that I’ve mentioned.
604
00:49:58,839 --> 00:50:03,700
Privilege plays in to diagnosis, right, and
we need to start recognising that.
605
00:50:03,700 --> 00:50:08,520
And it’s required, because this is the requirement
to access reasonable adjustments.
606
00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:19,890
(Just coming out to check the time, OK, I've
got five minutes, which is perfect.)
607
00:50:19,890 --> 00:50:30,320
Slide 12 of 14 is a screenshot of Manchester
University, a university in England, by the
608
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:33,180
way, for those overseas.
609
00:50:33,180 --> 00:50:38,780
StaffNet pages, and specifically the Disability
Advisory Support Service Staff Service.
610
00:50:38,780 --> 00:50:44,510
The colourways are the University of Manchester’s
colours, which are purple on a grey scale,
611
00:50:44,510 --> 00:50:50,820
a darker grey and a lighter grey in turn from
the bottom up.
612
00:50:50,820 --> 00:50:57,349
On that page – and I wonder if there are
other disabled academics here looking at this,
613
00:50:57,349 --> 00:51:02,839
well, and if they’re not at Manchester,
who think ‘Wow, this is quite something’.
614
00:51:02,839 --> 00:51:08,160
When I became an academic I just assumed that
there would be a disabled staff service.
615
00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:12,180
To my discovery, that’s actually an exceptional
thing in the UK.
616
00:51:12,180 --> 00:51:19,430
Whereas for students, it’s very kind of
standard to have a disability service for
617
00:51:19,430 --> 00:51:22,370
students, it doesn't exist for staff.
618
00:51:22,370 --> 00:51:26,540
Curiously, as an academic I have never need
to show my diagnosis.
619
00:51:26,540 --> 00:51:31,280
So it’s different for academics about this
evidence of psychiatric diagnoses to anyone.
620
00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:37,510
I have never had to show them, which is kind
of baffling as I went through my student days
621
00:51:37,510 --> 00:51:42,640
having to show them, and I'm sure everyone
feels the repeated trauma of being asked to
622
00:51:42,640 --> 00:51:47,960
disclose the documents you see from psychiatric
diagnosis for various things.
623
00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:49,510
And for various reasons.
624
00:51:49,510 --> 00:51:53,430
You think, why is once not enough?
625
00:51:53,430 --> 00:52:03,790
Why do I have to keep proving to you that
I am disabled, and in my case neurodivergent?
626
00:52:03,790 --> 00:52:07,099
So I didn’t have to do that as a academic.
627
00:52:07,099 --> 00:52:12,500
Including – and this is the thing that baffles
me most – the Department of Work and Pensions,
628
00:52:12,500 --> 00:52:19,890
which is a branch of government and they provides
state social support, whose Access to Work
629
00:52:19,890 --> 00:52:23,730
scheme fills the space of Disabled Students
Allowance in the UK.
630
00:52:23,730 --> 00:52:29,310
Of course, I don’t know if this is an exception,
since disability provision for employees as
631
00:52:29,310 --> 00:52:36,859
opposed to students is so ad hoc in my experience
in the Higher Education sector, there simply
632
00:52:36,859 --> 00:52:42,060
is not enough information out there what the
standard procedures ought to be.
633
00:52:42,060 --> 00:52:45,710
I only have my own experience in this regard.
634
00:52:45,710 --> 00:52:51,370
I would be interested to know what others
are experiencing.
635
00:52:51,370 --> 00:52:58,420
Notwithstanding their privilege as professionals
and PhD holders, disability provision in my
636
00:52:58,420 --> 00:53:02,560
experience is much worse for academics than
it is for students.
637
00:53:02,560 --> 00:53:09,839
It’s almost as if – and I think there
is also a hierarchy, even within student experience,
638
00:53:09,839 --> 00:53:16,410
from undergraduate and when you get to PhD,
the provision in my experience at PhD for
639
00:53:16,410 --> 00:53:20,290
disabled students – it was bad.
640
00:53:20,290 --> 00:53:27,140
And again, a sector-wide issue, and I was
quite shocked by that.
641
00:53:27,140 --> 00:53:30,420
And then once I became an academic it became
even worse.
642
00:53:30,420 --> 00:53:37,220
It is almost as if there’s this idea that
if you progress through [inaudible], you can't
643
00:53:37,220 --> 00:53:38,220
be disabled.
644
00:53:38,220 --> 00:53:42,190
The further you get you’re less likely to
be disabled and therefore you don't need the
645
00:53:42,190 --> 00:53:43,990
services and more.
646
00:53:43,990 --> 00:53:46,859
It’s completely baffling.
647
00:53:46,859 --> 00:53:52,770
So for example, very few Higher Education
institutions have a dedicated Staff Disability
648
00:53:52,770 --> 00:53:54,869
service, whereas this is standard for students.
649
00:53:54,869 --> 00:53:59,810
I should say Oxford has one as well, the old
University.
650
00:53:59,810 --> 00:54:06,290
So In my and many of my disabled colleagues’
view, occupational health is not fit for our
651
00:54:06,290 --> 00:54:11,760
purposes because it is premised on the medical
model of disability, and there’s not enough
652
00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:16,480
knowledge about the social model.
653
00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:20,520
One academic told me that their occupational
health advisor laughed at them, and thought
654
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:26,740
they were joking when they requested reasonable
adjustments for Specific Learning Difficulties
655
00:54:26,740 --> 00:54:33,711
and Autism in relation to their communications:
so asking for neurotypical or nondisabled
656
00:54:33,711 --> 00:54:36,839
colleagues to communicate with them in a way
that was more accessible.
657
00:54:36,839 --> 00:54:42,650
They were left, then, to rely on the good
will of a line manager who did implement the
658
00:54:42,650 --> 00:54:43,650
change.
659
00:54:43,650 --> 00:54:48,472
And others spoke of changes as well, academics,
that they did not request that would have
660
00:54:48,472 --> 00:54:52,269
disabled them even further had nothing been
done at all.
661
00:54:52,269 --> 00:54:56,390
This is about listening to what we ask for,
right?
662
00:54:56,390 --> 00:54:58,560
Final slide.
663
00:54:58,560 --> 00:55:06,060
Slide 13 of 14: The title page of Volume 1
of Thomas Hardy's 1886 ‘The Mayor Of Casterbridge:
664
00:55:06,060 --> 00:55:14,050
the Life and Death of a Man of Character’,
as its full title is and was.
665
00:55:14,050 --> 00:55:18,390
The author’s name sits below the title,
together with a list of his previous works,
666
00:55:18,390 --> 00:55:23,800
including ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’,
and ‘A Pair of Blue Eyes’ etc.
667
00:55:23,800 --> 00:55:28,040
The publisher Smith Elder and Cole sits at
the bottom of the page.
668
00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:34,390
And I want to finish up now, starting where
I began, with Hardy.
669
00:55:34,390 --> 00:55:36,819
I will move on to him in a moment.
670
00:55:36,819 --> 00:55:44,060
There’s also a quotation on this slide,
which I will read out in a moment.
671
00:55:44,060 --> 00:55:48,760
The neurotypical University is designed for
neurotypical people.
672
00:55:48,760 --> 00:55:56,060
The neurotypical University operates from
the premise that we keep structures in place
673
00:55:56,060 --> 00:56:03,810
that support naturally neurotypical people,
meaning that neurodivergent people have to
674
00:56:03,810 --> 00:56:10,260
ask for adjustments when we are let in through
the back door.
675
00:56:10,260 --> 00:56:15,130
One of the things I have been thinking about,
in my role as a teacher and educator, is the
676
00:56:15,130 --> 00:56:22,089
way in which written assessment remains the
kind of medium par excellence which we ask
677
00:56:22,089 --> 00:56:29,660
students to undertake.
678
00:56:29,660 --> 00:56:31,650
Take dyslexic students for example.
679
00:56:31,650 --> 00:56:37,869
And this is something very personal for me
being a scholar and writing my first book
680
00:56:37,869 --> 00:56:43,500
at the moment, and writing this book about
neurodivergence in the Academy.
681
00:56:43,500 --> 00:56:47,450
I'm not writing that book by the way because
I have got reasonable adjustments to record
682
00:56:47,450 --> 00:56:54,700
it, and someone’s going to transcribe the
manuscript, which is great.
683
00:56:54,700 --> 00:57:03,540
But I'm slightly confused that, for example,
that we ask dyslexic, dyspraxic and ADHD students,
684
00:57:03,540 --> 00:57:06,100
especially, to complete written assignments.
685
00:57:06,100 --> 00:57:11,340
It’s almost like ‘extra time’, which
is not extra time at all.
686
00:57:11,340 --> 00:57:20,410
It just gives them a bit more time to allow
them to get somewhere close to their non-dyslexic
687
00:57:20,410 --> 00:57:21,410
et cetera counterparts.
688
00:57:21,410 --> 00:57:25,390
So it is not even, I think, that they get
anywhere close.
689
00:57:25,390 --> 00:57:31,119
We are still asking them to cancel themselves,
to not do what they are actually naturally
690
00:57:31,119 --> 00:57:32,329
capable of.
691
00:57:32,329 --> 00:57:38,210
And that really disturbs me.
692
00:57:38,210 --> 00:57:42,960
The issue with retaining neurotypical structures
is that reasonable adjustments become individualised,
693
00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:47,571
and that’s important to the extent that,
of course, not all disabled people are the
694
00:57:47,571 --> 00:57:48,571
same.
695
00:57:48,571 --> 00:57:50,840
Not all neurodivergent people are the same.
696
00:57:50,840 --> 00:57:54,119
Not all autistic people are the same.
697
00:57:54,119 --> 00:57:55,569
Not all autistic people are the same.
698
00:57:55,569 --> 00:57:56,569
I will repeat that!
699
00:57:56,569 --> 00:58:01,319
We are a ‘diverse’ bunch.
700
00:58:01,319 --> 00:58:09,520
And I think retaining these structures and
requiring structures to be individualised
701
00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:11,099
is good because we’re unique.
702
00:58:11,099 --> 00:58:16,690
But equally, it places a huge burden on us,
and in my view there has to be a larger structural
703
00:58:16,690 --> 00:58:23,911
shift to accommodate us, to move towards an
academy that is truly neurodivergent, or some
704
00:58:23,911 --> 00:58:28,960
semblance thereof, at least would be a start.
705
00:58:28,960 --> 00:58:33,180
I want to end where I began, with Thomas Hardy.
706
00:58:33,180 --> 00:58:42,240
Hardy, which is cited in the Penguin edition
of his work, the 1985 edition, in the introduction
707
00:58:42,240 --> 00:58:50,000
by Seymour Smith, Seymour Smith says, ‘The
business of the poet and novelist is to show
708
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:58,040
the sorriness underlying the grandest things,
and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things’.
709
00:58:58,040 --> 00:59:07,490
The sorriness underlying the grandest things
for me are those neurotypical structures that
710
00:59:07,490 --> 00:59:15,640
prop up the University, especially these elite
places of grandeur.
711
00:59:15,640 --> 00:59:23,099
We look to activist work, not just in the
area of disability, thinking intersectionally
712
00:59:23,099 --> 00:59:27,680
with race, gender, class and other social
struggles.
713
00:59:27,680 --> 00:59:34,410
These are grand places, but there is a sorriness
to them that quickly needs to be addressed.
714
00:59:34,410 --> 00:59:46,420
And belatedly, the grandeur underlying the
sorriest things meanwhile, is that of neurodivergent
715
00:59:46,420 --> 00:59:57,230
students, academics and people everywhere.
716
00:59:57,230 --> 01:00:28,630
DR CATHERINE WALTER
Thank you very much Kate, you have given us
717
01:00:28,630 --> 01:00:33,630
a lot of food for thought here.
718
01:00:33,630 --> 01:00:42,410
I have some questions for the audience, so
if you do not mind taking those?
719
01:00:42,410 --> 01:00:50,420
The first question is: As an autistic professor,
how do you deal with everything you say or
720
01:00:50,420 --> 01:00:56,980
do being interpreted through the lens of disability?
721
01:00:56,980 --> 01:01:00,360
Our skills become personalised.
722
01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:10,130
KATE WEST: Thank you Catherine and thank you
to whoever asked that question.
723
01:01:10,130 --> 01:01:12,140
I am just going to read it, short-term memory,
dyslexic.
724
01:01:12,140 --> 01:01:17,000
I am just going to let it sit in my brain
again.
725
01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:21,810
Catherine would you mind rereading it for
me.
726
01:01:21,810 --> 01:01:31,010
DR CATHERINE WALTER: As an autistic professor,
how do you deal with everything you say or
727
01:01:31,010 --> 01:01:37,650
do being interpreted through the lens of disability?
728
01:01:37,650 --> 01:01:40,329
Our skills become personalised.
729
01:01:40,329 --> 01:01:44,920
DR KATE WEST: I understand.
730
01:01:44,920 --> 01:01:52,040
I think there are two answers to my interpretation
of that question.
731
01:01:52,040 --> 01:02:00,730
If people, if my audience, whether it’s
my organisation, whether it’s my employer,
732
01:02:00,730 --> 01:02:09,940
whether it’s my friends, family, the audience
here today, view me through that lens of the
733
01:02:09,940 --> 01:02:13,309
social model of disability, then I’m with
them.
734
01:02:13,309 --> 01:02:21,220
They understand, and that's important for
me, you know I self-identify as disabled.
735
01:02:21,220 --> 01:02:27,240
Disabled is not a problematic word to me,
it is something to be celebrated, and I understand
736
01:02:27,240 --> 01:02:32,550
in the community that is somewhat controversial
and there are other views on that.
737
01:02:32,550 --> 01:02:38,910
If people are viewing me or interacting with
me thinking about the medical paradigm or
738
01:02:38,910 --> 01:02:44,359
way of thinking about disability, and they
see my being dyslexic, autistic, attention
739
01:02:44,359 --> 01:02:50,500
deficit disordered, being at the same time,
of course, because of the disabling nature
740
01:02:50,500 --> 01:02:57,619
of neurotypical society and disabling society,
often our disabilities co-occur with mental
741
01:02:57,619 --> 01:03:02,220
health conditions as well.
742
01:03:02,220 --> 01:03:06,180
So I am diagnosed OCD as well, you know, chuck
them all in there.
743
01:03:06,180 --> 01:03:11,160
I am diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder.
744
01:03:11,160 --> 01:03:17,880
And it’s funny, if people see me in that
deficit model, then that is when it becomes
745
01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:20,260
personal.
746
01:03:20,260 --> 01:03:24,319
I have to say, my students are just, they
are just wonderful.
747
01:03:24,319 --> 01:03:28,720
Students are always wonderful and I am very
lucky to have such a wonderful team Oxford
748
01:03:28,720 --> 01:03:29,720
Brookes.
749
01:03:29,720 --> 01:03:35,080
My head of Department, Joanne Begiato, has
been extremely supportive, as has Brian Rivers,
750
01:03:35,080 --> 01:03:36,869
if he’s watching.
751
01:03:36,869 --> 01:03:40,930
Other people who have made a difference, my
team in Criminology is just perfect.
752
01:03:40,930 --> 01:03:43,040
I am very lucky in that regard.
753
01:03:43,040 --> 01:03:46,470
And I am safe, which is important.
754
01:03:46,470 --> 01:03:49,480
I have privilege to be safe, I think.
755
01:03:49,480 --> 01:03:57,440
DR CATHERINE WALTER: The next question I'm
going to summarise, because it is quite long.
756
01:03:57,440 --> 01:04:11,099
It is from someone who was badly treated at
one university and indeed bullied, and who
757
01:04:11,099 --> 01:04:16,650
later went to another university – I’ll
say it, it’s Oxford – where they’re
758
01:04:16,650 --> 01:04:25,800
doing an MSc in teacher education and has
had to recover from the emotional turmoil
759
01:04:25,800 --> 01:04:26,920
of late diagnosis.
760
01:04:26,920 --> 01:04:36,590
How long did it take you to recalculate your
late diagnosis in a positive way?
761
01:04:36,590 --> 01:04:43,680
DR KATE WEST:
That is a really just fantastic question,
762
01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:47,230
it’s a really moving question I think as
well.
763
01:04:47,230 --> 01:04:50,450
There absolutely is trauma in that process.
764
01:04:50,450 --> 01:04:55,120
I think other late diagnosed people will agree.
765
01:04:55,120 --> 01:04:57,490
Because there absolutely is trauma in that
process, and I think other late-diagnosed
766
01:04:57,490 --> 01:05:01,559
people will agree that in that process there
is first the period of surprise if you self-discover,
767
01:05:01,559 --> 01:05:07,579
which is often the case, and then even if
you self-discover: I self-discovered during
768
01:05:07,579 --> 01:05:10,090
my doctorate and I ignored it.
769
01:05:10,090 --> 01:05:17,790
I’m avoidant because I'm autistic, that’s
one of my character profiles and I had a really
770
01:05:17,790 --> 01:05:21,210
difficult time during the doctorate, not intellectually
ever, by the way.
771
01:05:21,210 --> 01:05:27,150
I’ve never had difficulty intellectually,
it’s always with the structures and things
772
01:05:27,150 --> 01:05:30,410
in place etc.
773
01:05:30,410 --> 01:05:35,790
There was a difference for me between, there
was a gap between self-discovery and then...
774
01:05:35,790 --> 01:05:43,369
I can't remember the scholar who’s called
it this, but self-acceptance.
775
01:05:43,369 --> 01:05:48,080
So we can be self-diagnosed and even psychiatric
diagnosed but we might not self-accept.
776
01:05:48,080 --> 01:05:57,460
And acceptance for me is still an ongoing
journey, definitely.
777
01:05:57,460 --> 01:06:03,609
Especially because I only discovered autism
a few years ago, and I never told anyone:
778
01:06:03,609 --> 01:06:10,619
I was a secret autist, apart from another
late-diagnosed autistic cis woman, and late-diagnosed
779
01:06:10,619 --> 01:06:15,559
non-binary person, we all sort of self-discovered
around the same time, actually.
780
01:06:15,559 --> 01:06:19,619
We all knew about each other, but we did not
tell anyone else.
781
01:06:19,619 --> 01:06:26,100
So, for me it is very new, and I imagine it
will take me a bit longer time, but at the
782
01:06:26,100 --> 01:06:36,200
same time, I think it is important to stress,
how good it feels to be diagnosed when you
783
01:06:36,200 --> 01:06:38,440
spend the lifetime feeling lonely.
784
01:06:38,440 --> 01:06:42,600
I feel so less lonely; it's amazing.
785
01:06:42,600 --> 01:06:49,710
You know, I have hope for the future, but
solidarity with the people who are still on
786
01:06:49,710 --> 01:06:51,130
that journey.
787
01:06:51,130 --> 01:06:52,809
I guess I'm there with you.
788
01:06:52,809 --> 01:06:59,970
DR CATHERINE WALTER:
Again, I expect you would prefer me to summarise
789
01:06:59,970 --> 01:07:01,960
long questions.
790
01:07:01,960 --> 01:07:14,329
This is a question from someone who is concerned
about the fact that in universities, while
791
01:07:14,329 --> 01:07:24,930
attention is paid to the issues we have been
talking about, it is rare that people, that
792
01:07:24,930 --> 01:07:32,660
neurodivergent people are in the places where
they can help actually make the decisions:
793
01:07:32,660 --> 01:07:40,540
so that the principle of ‘Nothing about
us without us’ does not get played out.
794
01:07:40,540 --> 01:07:45,859
DR KATE WEST:
That is a really important point.
795
01:07:45,859 --> 01:07:51,319
Thank you for making that point, whoever asked
it, really great point.
796
01:07:51,319 --> 01:07:56,780
And I agree, and It is also why I tend to
not use neurodiversity language because I
797
01:07:56,780 --> 01:08:01,630
think it is important for me to keep the distinction
between a social group that is neurodivergent
798
01:08:01,630 --> 01:08:05,350
and a group that is neurotypical.
799
01:08:05,350 --> 01:08:10,990
Because we are not there yet, so we need to
highlight and stress the differences.
800
01:08:10,990 --> 01:08:12,980
I think...
801
01:08:12,980 --> 01:08:21,469
In my experience it has been very difficult
working with neurotypical people.
802
01:08:21,469 --> 01:08:28,830
And you know, all minoritised and marginalised
and multiply-marginalised people will say
803
01:08:28,830 --> 01:08:29,830
this.
804
01:08:29,830 --> 01:08:37,170
I carry a lot of privilege in my whiteness,
I am socially mobile, so I just feel a fraction
805
01:08:37,170 --> 01:08:38,170
of this, right.
806
01:08:38,170 --> 01:08:40,850
I am a cis woman etc.
807
01:08:40,850 --> 01:08:48,049
I do not have to navigate some of those other
difficulties and it is still so difficult
808
01:08:48,049 --> 01:08:53,230
to work with neurotypical people.
809
01:08:53,230 --> 01:08:55,380
I think I said...
810
01:08:55,380 --> 01:09:02,130
Neurodivergent people, we need them in our
institutions and we need them to have platforms,
811
01:09:02,130 --> 01:09:06,520
we need them to be present, we need them to
present, we need them to be listened to, we
812
01:09:06,520 --> 01:09:09,040
need them to not be constructed as problems.
813
01:09:09,040 --> 01:09:12,969
I think that is the most important thing.
814
01:09:12,969 --> 01:09:19,339
And absolutely, that hashtag #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
is so important, especially with people in
815
01:09:19,339 --> 01:09:25,960
the audience who are much more well versed
in autism, and the problems around the way
816
01:09:25,960 --> 01:09:30,179
that the autism discourse has played out historically.
817
01:09:30,179 --> 01:09:38,330
DR CATHERINE WALTER:
Here’s another one: ‘I'm curious about
818
01:09:38,330 --> 01:09:46,049
the comment you made about neurotypicalsing
at your writing, I was wondering if you could
819
01:09:46,049 --> 01:09:53,900
expand on this, and I am also wondering what
neurodivergent writing might look like in
820
01:09:53,900 --> 01:09:54,900
the Academy’.
821
01:09:54,900 --> 01:09:58,860
19:10:18 DR KATE WEST:
I love that question!
822
01:09:58,860 --> 01:09:59,860
It’s so good!
823
01:09:59,860 --> 01:10:03,719
All these questions are great, but this one
is really close to my heart.
824
01:10:03,719 --> 01:10:08,730
Because it was the impetus and the thing that
started me on this journey, was that when
825
01:10:08,730 --> 01:10:14,130
I became a so-called professional scholar
and I was confronted with turning my PhD into
826
01:10:14,130 --> 01:10:19,090
a book, and I thought, you know, oh God, I
wrote that thing, and now I have to make it
827
01:10:19,090 --> 01:10:23,320
into a book, and I thought, I really consciously
thought, I am never doing that again, I will
828
01:10:23,320 --> 01:10:27,250
not allow people to make me do that again.
829
01:10:27,250 --> 01:10:28,340
I will publish books.
830
01:10:28,340 --> 01:10:33,050
If you want the book, an object, I will make
it, but I am not going to write it in the
831
01:10:33,050 --> 01:10:34,730
way you want me to write it.
832
01:10:34,730 --> 01:10:39,420
The first one, yes, because I’m an early
career scholar, I need to establish a profile,
833
01:10:39,420 --> 01:10:45,000
I guess that isn't particularly resistance
motivated, but I will let off the hook for
834
01:10:45,000 --> 01:10:46,080
that one.
835
01:10:46,080 --> 01:10:53,840
I have a plug, I am still slightly culturally
Presbyterian in my ways, so I shamefully plug
836
01:10:53,840 --> 01:11:02,520
the web platform I have, which is called DyslexicAcademic.com,
and in there I talk about neurotypical writing,
837
01:11:02,520 --> 01:11:04,890
especially how it follows this linear pattern.
838
01:11:04,890 --> 01:11:10,469
It’s actually something that the theologian
Dan Holloway as spoken about more than me,
839
01:11:10,469 --> 01:11:17,060
and who actually drew my attention to it,
when they actually talked about how this linear
840
01:11:17,060 --> 01:11:24,350
form of prose has a history in the early modern
period in particular and it endures today
841
01:11:24,350 --> 01:11:27,050
in 2020 oddly.
842
01:11:27,050 --> 01:11:29,730
What does neurodivergent writing look like?
843
01:11:29,730 --> 01:11:34,140
It looks like a kind of practice, at least
from my perspective, that is far more typical
844
01:11:34,140 --> 01:11:41,400
in the arts, for example, poetry, drama, which
has always been accessible literary form to
845
01:11:41,400 --> 01:11:42,400
me.
846
01:11:42,400 --> 01:11:47,900
I said that at 17 I had never read a novel,
but I had read so much drama, so much poetry,
847
01:11:47,900 --> 01:11:51,040
and consumed so much art, music etc.
848
01:11:51,040 --> 01:11:54,310
But linear prose, for me is not helpful.
849
01:11:54,310 --> 01:12:00,670
Yes, check out that website, and check out
– there are a couple of posts that kind
850
01:12:00,670 --> 01:12:06,250
of explain maybe what a neurodivergent literary
form could look like.
851
01:12:06,250 --> 01:12:13,140
DR CATHERINE WALTER:
Lovely.
852
01:12:13,140 --> 01:12:19,000
OK, there are lots of good questions here.
853
01:12:19,000 --> 01:12:29,640
Here’s a good one: ‘What are your top
five tips for creating a more inclusive teaching
854
01:12:29,640 --> 01:12:37,500
environment where individual adjustments for
neurodivergent students are not needed?’
855
01:12:37,500 --> 01:12:41,460
DR KATE WEST:
Brilliant question.
856
01:12:41,460 --> 01:12:45,170
People are great, people ask great questions!
857
01:12:45,170 --> 01:12:47,230
This is something I think about all the time.
858
01:12:47,230 --> 01:12:51,550
I love my job as a teacher, I love my job
as a scholar too, but teaching is something
859
01:12:51,550 --> 01:12:55,570
I absolutely adore, and it’s something I
think about all the time.
860
01:12:55,570 --> 01:13:03,890
For me as an autist and with sensory processing
disorder, lighting has been one of the biggest
861
01:13:03,890 --> 01:13:05,810
things for me.
862
01:13:05,810 --> 01:13:16,240
And even if you don't have SPD, you may have
Irlen Syndrome, and bright lighting…
863
01:13:16,240 --> 01:13:23,780
I try and dim the lights as much as possible,
work with natural light, my students are extremely
864
01:13:23,780 --> 01:13:28,070
tolerant – tolerand isn’t the word: they
are so generous, they really understand that
865
01:13:28,070 --> 01:13:31,130
that is a productive learning space.
866
01:13:31,130 --> 01:13:36,750
Light low and off, natural light is really
important, so that people are not compelled
867
01:13:36,750 --> 01:13:46,400
to disclose and ask, or even come out to their
teacher, which is a very unsafe thing to do.
868
01:13:46,400 --> 01:13:50,920
Number 2: For me changing for...
869
01:13:50,920 --> 01:13:53,670
Giving students an option how they are assessed.
870
01:13:53,670 --> 01:13:58,640
If they were to complete written assignments
that are linear prose and that is fine, but
871
01:13:58,640 --> 01:14:04,540
if they want to do alternative – I hesitate
to call them alternative, different kinds
872
01:14:04,540 --> 01:14:07,670
of assessment, then I encourage that as well.
873
01:14:07,670 --> 01:14:13,920
And I’ve actually taken my cue here from
Lucy Matthews Jones, at Liverpool John Moores
874
01:14:13,920 --> 01:14:20,680
University, who really writes some great stuff
on pedagogy dyslexia, dyspraxia etc.
875
01:14:20,680 --> 01:14:22,050
Number 2.
876
01:14:22,050 --> 01:14:33,210
Number 3: For me, the classroom is a space
where I would never expect someone to speak.
877
01:14:33,210 --> 01:14:39,930
I never call on students, I want students
to have the time to think about the questions
878
01:14:39,930 --> 01:14:42,350
that I might pose.
879
01:14:42,350 --> 01:14:47,160
If they want is a question then I develop
mechanisms for doing that, I used to pass
880
01:14:47,160 --> 01:14:52,330
a kind of tombola box around the room, so
people could kind of anonymously pose questions
881
01:14:52,330 --> 01:14:53,960
and we kind of do it like this, back and forth.
882
01:14:53,960 --> 01:14:58,390
I do a lot of movement in the classroom as
well.
883
01:14:58,390 --> 01:15:03,130
(I think this might be 4, maybe 5 – I’m
not very numerate!)
884
01:15:03,130 --> 01:15:08,110
I do a lot of movement in the classroom, especially
with first years.
885
01:15:08,110 --> 01:15:14,310
Of course, I suppose that presents its own
problems for access if people are unable to
886
01:15:14,310 --> 01:15:18,800
move, so I’m mindful of that as well.
887
01:15:18,800 --> 01:15:24,469
I guess in sum, I'm trying to think about
access all the time for neurodivergents, because
888
01:15:24,469 --> 01:15:34,050
the classroom was such an unhappy place for
me as a student in 2010 through 2016.
889
01:15:34,050 --> 01:15:39,560
DR CATHERINE WALTER:
There are several other very good questions,
890
01:15:39,560 --> 01:15:47,470
but I’m afraid that we’ve got to the end
of our question time.
891
01:15:47,470 --> 01:15:54,810
I’d now like to call on Tiri Hughes, who
is the Co-Chair of the Oxford University student
892
01:15:54,810 --> 01:15:58,540
Disability Campaign, to give the vote of thanks.
893
01:15:58,540 --> 01:15:59,540
Tiri?
894
01:15:59,540 --> 01:16:07,660
TIRI HUGHES:
Hi, can everyone hear me.
895
01:16:07,660 --> 01:16:08,660
Yeah.
896
01:16:08,660 --> 01:16:14,160
Zooming is very much a new thing for everyone.
897
01:16:14,160 --> 01:16:19,949
Also, an ambulance just went past, so I’m
hoping that will me there is a gap for a while.
898
01:16:19,949 --> 01:16:22,150
So, I am Tiri Hughes.
899
01:16:22,150 --> 01:16:29,199
I am Chair of the Oxford Student Union Disability
Campaign, which we abbreviate to DisCam, and
900
01:16:29,199 --> 01:16:34,360
I’m also a medical student at Trinity College
Oxford, coming to the end of my second year,
901
01:16:34,360 --> 01:16:35,449
and I'm here to give the vote of thanks.
902
01:16:35,449 --> 01:16:41,270
Firstly I would like to thank the Vice Chancellor,
Professor Louise Richardson, for giving the
903
01:16:41,270 --> 01:16:42,270
introduction.
904
01:16:42,270 --> 01:16:47,010
And I would like to thank everyone at the
Oxford Disability Group for ensuring that
905
01:16:47,010 --> 01:16:54,320
this year’s Disability Lecture actually
happened, despite all of the current adverse
906
01:16:54,320 --> 01:16:59,650
circumstances, and also for making sure that
accessibility remained a priority throughout,
907
01:16:59,650 --> 01:17:05,110
despite all of the changes compared to how
the lectures normally run.
908
01:17:05,110 --> 01:17:09,550
And now, I want to say thanks to Dr Kate West
for her incredible lecture.
909
01:17:09,550 --> 01:17:14,550
Personally, I identify with so many of the
things that Kate has discussed.
910
01:17:14,550 --> 01:17:19,310
Despite my not identifying as neurodivergent,
I do identify as disabled, having both visual
911
01:17:19,310 --> 01:17:23,929
and physical impairments as well as obsessive-compulsive
disorder.
912
01:17:23,929 --> 01:17:28,460
And there is certainly a lot of crossover
in terms of experiences and adjustments required,
913
01:17:28,460 --> 01:17:31,780
as well as clear differences across [inaudible]
different disabilities.
914
01:17:31,780 --> 01:17:33,600
Sometimes these can even be contradictory.
915
01:17:33,600 --> 01:17:37,810
I’m acutely aware, after that conversation
about lighting, that my lighting requirements
916
01:17:37,810 --> 01:17:41,320
as a visually impaired person may be very
different to those of a person with sensory
917
01:17:41,320 --> 01:17:46,420
processing disorder, but that doesn’t concern
me: I just find it a really interesting thing,
918
01:17:46,420 --> 01:17:50,590
to see how would we adjust for that in a learning
environment?
919
01:17:50,590 --> 01:17:55,820
That is something I would love to try and
see how that works.
920
01:17:55,820 --> 01:18:00,969
The activist in me could easily talk about
the topics discussed all day, especially things
921
01:18:00,969 --> 01:18:06,600
like the importance of phrases like #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
and #DisabledIsNotABadWord.
922
01:18:06,600 --> 01:18:12,870
But now isn’t the time to talk about those
– although we do have DisCam badges with
923
01:18:12,870 --> 01:18:18,170
various quotes on that I just found as they
were being discussed.
924
01:18:18,170 --> 01:18:20,590
They might be inverted, but I thought I would…
925
01:18:20,590 --> 01:18:26,850
I am just showing badges, they are pale blue
with a DisCam logo, and we have one that says
926
01:18:26,850 --> 01:18:31,980
‘Nothing about us without us’, one that
says ‘Disabled is not a bad word’.
927
01:18:31,980 --> 01:18:36,000
We also have ‘The future is accessible’,
and ‘Disability looks like this’, with
928
01:18:36,000 --> 01:18:42,310
an upwards arrow, and we like to give them
out at Freshers’ Fairs and things.
929
01:18:42,310 --> 01:18:48,220
So instead of me ranting on, as the activist
in me wants to, I will briefly explain why
930
01:18:48,220 --> 01:18:54,280
having lectures like this and academics like
Kate is so important to disabled students.
931
01:18:54,280 --> 01:18:58,590
I know that there have been many times in
my schooling where only a few more instances
932
01:18:58,590 --> 01:19:01,590
of disablism would have pushed me to drop
out of school.
933
01:19:01,590 --> 01:19:06,270
Never mind University, this actually started
when I was about 11 years old and it culminated
934
01:19:06,270 --> 01:19:10,920
in a disability tribunal by the time I was
15.
935
01:19:10,920 --> 01:19:17,040
In fact, the only way I could do my A-levels
was by leaving my discriminatory state secondary
936
01:19:17,040 --> 01:19:21,940
school and attending a specialist college
for visually impaired people, which, although
937
01:19:21,940 --> 01:19:26,880
it was a brilliant experience, was only necessary
due to the failure of mainstream education
938
01:19:26,880 --> 01:19:31,199
to provide basic adaptations.
939
01:19:31,199 --> 01:19:35,670
The word inspirational is so often misused
around disabled people, usually by non-disabled
940
01:19:35,670 --> 01:19:41,140
people who mean ‘I am surprised that you
can do that normal activity because I am ignorant
941
01:19:41,140 --> 01:19:43,300
of how disabled people function’.
942
01:19:43,300 --> 01:19:50,070
For example when someone tells me I'm inspirational
for getting on a bus with my guide dog, and
943
01:19:50,070 --> 01:19:55,320
they ask me how I know how to get on a bus,
like I don’t do it every day.
944
01:19:55,320 --> 01:19:59,130
But I hope Kate will allow me to say, as a
fellow disabled person and being able to identify
945
01:19:59,130 --> 01:20:04,330
with many experiences she discussed, that
I’ve found this lecture inspirational, and
946
01:20:04,330 --> 01:20:09,100
I know many disabled students who watch this,
especially those who have hopes to enter further
947
01:20:09,100 --> 01:20:13,310
academia, will be similarly inspired.
948
01:20:13,310 --> 01:20:17,600
And as a visually impaired person I would
like to additionally thank Kate for her consideration
949
01:20:17,600 --> 01:20:22,480
in describing the visual aspects of the site
in such detail.
950
01:20:22,480 --> 01:20:26,941
Finally I would like to thank all of the attendees
who signed up to this webinar lecture, as
951
01:20:26,941 --> 01:20:33,280
well as those who have decided to access it
later by the podcast.
952
01:20:33,280 --> 01:20:34,280
Thank you.
953
01:20:34,280 --> 01:20:36,440
DR CATHERINE WALTER:
Thank you very much, and we are sorry about
954
01:20:36,440 --> 01:20:46,440
the technical glitches, we will be processing
the podcast; it will be out early next week.
955
01:20:46,440 --> 01:20:54,710
We will send out again the link on all our
media.
956
01:20:54,710 --> 01:20:58,159
Thank you all for coming, many, many, many
thanks to Kate.
957
01:20:58,159 --> 01:21:03,159
It’s been a wonderful experience, and goodbye
everyone.