On Thursday, I had a good meeting with my state’s VR department. I have tried for years to get through college and have found it difficult due to my hearing disability. I wouldn’t have, before now, admitted that my hearing disability was the cause of so much difficulty. This time around, I really want to get into the engineering field and succeed at this degree. I want to make sure that this works out well this time.
I think my case worker at VR must be one of the best people there. She is very helpful and it is clear she wants to help all her clients succeed. I explained that in the past I had trouble hearing lectures well enough and being surprise quizzed on that day’s lecture (without the opportunity to study or read a transcript of the day’s lecture). The agency will provide note takers, live-captioning services and anything else that will help me get to an equal footing with fellow students who have the advantage of good hearing. They will even provide captioning services for any video delivered through online courses. Which is great! Online video is usually very difficult for me to hear and understand. They will also make sure my teachers understand the special accommodation that I will need in the classroom. (Technically, this is the school’s accessibility agency’s job, but VR will lean on them if it isn’t done.) Hearing this almost brought tears to my eyes. I don’t think most people understand just how difficult it is for someone with a hearing disability to function in a classroom environment designed for students with normal hearing.
I went to college in 1995 and again in 1997 and 2001. In each of those attempts, I ran into problems with teaching technique (such as arranging students in a circle and having everyone sound off about a subject), and not being able to access course information during lectures and so forth. I had to back out of college in each of those instances. Because of this conversation with VR and their assurance that they will go to bat for me to ensure that I have access to the information and course material I need, I am much more confident that I will be able to do well in these classes and achieve the degree — and job that I want.
I think this is going to be good. 
Filed under: College Education , College Education, Disability, Hearing Loss, Non-Traditional Student
