Tag: DISABILITY

Breaking Barriers: My Higher Education Journey as a Disabled and Neurodivergent Student by Alexandra Wilson-Newman 

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Navigating higher education (HE) is difficult for any student, but for those who don’t fit the traditional mould – whether due to neurodivergence, disability, other protected characteristics or any combination of the above – the journey is fraught with additional obstacles. These obstacles shape our academic and personal lives in ways that are often hard to fully grasp if you don’t share some of those characteristics.

My own story, complete with an autism diagnosis just before adulthood, and the onset of a debilitating chronic pain condition, has been one of resilience, discovery and advocacy. As I’ve moved through the world of HE, I’ve seen first-hand how systemic barriers can hinder progress and damage wellbeing. That said, I’ve seen how these challenges can be a catalyst to drive change for those too stubborn to accept systemic barriers preventing people from reaching their full potential. This is not just a recounting of my story so far, but a call-to-action for a more inclusive and compassionate educational environment for all. 

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The Impact of Hustle Culture in Academia on Disabled Students by Nikita Ghodke

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From my experience in academia for a couple of years now, the pursuit of academic excellence, inclusivity, and diversity has not been a top priority in many academic spaces, at least the ones I have been a part of. What happens when academia is ruled by the popular and well-known phenomenon of hustle culture instead? Well, the publish-or-perish mentality thrives, the pressure to be constantly “on” is always there. This pressure can continue to build up,  leading to troubling concerns like imposter syndrome. Here’s my story, as a full-time burnt-out disabled student in academia from India, having navigated life with arthritis (and the chronic pain associated with it), as well as Borderline Personality Disorder for many years.

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‘Honey, I shrunk the postgraduate kids!’ – Disability, Precarity, and Support in Academia by Athanasia Francis

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 TW: Suicide ideation, Images of hair loss, Images of medication

Collecting my hair falling in batches around me was something I slowly came to accept as a daily ritual, as was the case with the dozens of pills when I could afford the prescriptions.  I have been suffering from a chronic neurological condition and its fluctuations are debilitating, even when I look ‘fine’ on the outside. Some of the ways I experience my condition include muscle fatigue, joints locking suddenly, lack of coordination, memory gaps, week-long migraines while constantly in pain, disorientation and brain fog; in short, a body on permanent false alarm mode and attacking itself. 

I’ve been also severely depressed with relapses since my early twenties in a constant post-traumatic downward spiral, which coincided with twelve years in academia. Eventually, it became difficult to tell which condition was triggering the other. My mental state and physicality were tangled into a messy knot that was at times too unbearable to break through. I had come to the brink of quitting many times, quitting whatever career ahead, quitting my PhD, quitting any remaining faith and effort, quitting life. 

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Finding Self-Acceptance: Autism Spectrum Disorder and a PhD by Daisy Shearer

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I’ve been an anxious person for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until late high school that I started to develop depression, and I was not formally assessed for my mental illnesses until the penultimate year of my MPhys degree. Armed with a diagnosis of Generalised Anxiety Disorder as well as Major Depressive Disorder (which are often comorbid), I was put on anti-depressants (which I still take to this day) as well as starting therapy. Both of these treatments have helped me somewhat, but I continue to have a lot of trouble just navigating life without getting overwhelmed and still struggle to understand the social world around me at times. 

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