If your child in a wheelchair was going to uni....

[JanH]

...what sort of provision would you expect to be made for him/her?

DD2 went to Manchester last night to visit a schoolfriend who has just started there. She lives in a student flat. One of the other students in the flat is a lad with CP who is in a wheelchair. None of them was even informed of this beforehand. He can use the bathroom by himself, but can't use the kitchen, so the others are responsible for his meals, and expects them to take him with them whenever they go out; apparently when he hears that they are going he parks himself in the hall with his coat on. 2 of the lads are having to make a point of staying more or less sober when they go out so that they can lift him up and down stairs, in and out of clubs etc without dropping him. He appears to have no friends from his course or anybody else to go out with.

Apparently the same thing happened last year too.

Surely he should be in a catered hall, not a flat? And isn't it unreasonable to expect his flatmates to provide all his social life? From what DD2 said they are feeling very very peed off. If they do go out without him they feel guilty.

From last year there were some photos of him dressed as a woman, which he and they thought were funny and stuck on the kitchen wall; when his father saw them he ripped them down saying the others were taking the piss out of him, even though he wanted them on the wall himself...

Comments, please?

Where are SS in all of this? He should have a care plan- which would provide a paid helper (or give him the money to employ a helper) which would allow him to live independently. (Then he could live in self catering etc). I think its more SS responsibility rather than the university's (and I don't think the university should inform people beforehand to be honest- as if he's attending independently he should be responsble for himself iyswim).

ultimately I guess its the student's responsibility to ensure that he is getting the help needed from SS to enable him to live independently.

As a parent of a (much younger obvsiously) disabled child I don't send ds1 anywhere is there isn't the provision to deal with him. Assume I'll stick to that as he grows!

He sounds to have no SS help - that was what I meant about provision, not that the university should be responsible - as parents you would make sure everything the child needed was in place, wouldn't you?

Another student I knew of was put in a flat with foreigners - again with no prior knowledge - they all spoke to each other in whichever language it was, and he was on his own with nobody to talk to. (No idea how they managed in lectures but they certainly didn't talk to him.) He actually left uni after a few weeks - I thought he should have been informed before he went too, he might have been able to cope with it better.

how weird janh?
I cant beleive his parents havent doen somehting about htis
he is lucky hs is with caring pepole - altho I dont hink its fair ont hem

This is very strange, and sounds as if either: (a) the university's provision for student support (and therefore their equal opps policy) is seriously defective, or (b) the student and/or his parents have not accessed the available provision in the right way.

Having spent 10 years teaching in higher education, my experience is that universities will bend over backwards to support students facing difficulties. Examples of the kind of help I've come across have been: provision of transport; a rota of volunteer and/or paid helpers for eg. dressing, personal care; provision of a scribe and/or computers or other writing/communication technology; prioritised right to appropriate (ie. ground floor or lift) accommodation; adaptation of kitchens and bathrooms etc. etc. All of this strikes me as pretty basic -- most universities are reasonably clued up about equal opps, and are v. keen to avoid being on the wrong end of a DDA lawsuit.

Having said that, there may be more to the story than meets the eye -- disabled undergraduates can be just as immature, impractical and unrealistic as able-bodied ones. He may have turned down the help that was offered, or convinced himself that he could cope without extra support, or thought that the current setup would be good way of finding friends.

Perhaps the boy's flatmates could ask him whether he is receiving help from the university/students' union, or discreetly make enquiries themselves. Apart from anything else, there is a possible health and safety issue if he cannot get in and out of the flat by himself.

Agree with Frogs. I would be astounded if a Uni the size of Manchester didn't have more appropriate accommodation - Manchester has tons of different types of halls and flats.

All public building and places like Universities have to comply with the 'new' regulations that came into force on Oct 1st this year regarding access.
As a an adult wheelchair user I know the problems....and went to University (a while back now) but most universities do provide 'special accomodation' in halls of residence, although this is often on a first come first served basis.

I suggest that he goes and speaks to the counsellor at the University or someone does it on his behalf, as this is clearly wrong.

Has he joined any of the local 'Clubs' in the area like PHAB (Physically handicapped and able bodied) as they are often a good source of information as I would suggest is the local branch of the CP Society. They can usually help with accomodation, but in a place where he can be independant and yet have his ablebodied friends as 'friends' not 'helpers'.

The NUS is of course another resource, but I doubt that the SS will do anything as he will be there as a 'temporary resident' and therefore considered to be the , sorry to use the word, 'problem' of his former ss dept where he used to live. The SS help out very little in housing matters except when it comes to sheltered housing and the waiting lists are very long.

I think he should talk to the counsellor at the University who can then check with the accomodations officer to see if there is something more suitable. Unfortunately it is not the first time I have come across this situation, but unless the university are aware of the situation and asked for help there is little they can do.

So much for the new disability discrimination act

Bunglie you'll know more- but I was wondering whether his ss could provide direct payments for him to employ a carer. There are always ads in our local paper for carers for students and they look to me as if they are dp funded.

He should have ss involved, with a helper. He should have appropriate housing with ramping ,and access to surfaces and units imo. He should have a case worker who deals with this, he shouldn't be left to rely on what amounts to the gratuity of strangers to accommodate his needs. Also , can I ask where are his parents in all this?

The most common way would depend if he gets DLA and other benefits and if so at what rate. If for example the care component is Middle or High rate he can then have someone apply to be his career and get a care allowance, but would loose any bonus payments from other benefits etc.

There is another way to get a carer through the SS but it is quite complicated and 'you' technically become an employer, and have to pay them their NI contributions etc.

Another way is if the SS think that you NEED a carer and that involves nursing care at home, then this can be provided and they will do it using an agency, similar to getting a home help, but the cost of it is 'means tested' and I suspect that as a student, he will have a large enough debt to pay back without having to incur the cost of a carer.

I am not sure he would be elligable though for any of these because if his parents felt he was able to go off to University unaided, then I doubt that he would qualify under any of the existing schemes, or could afford to do it privately. It can cost up to £60 pounds an hour, but of course you can get it for less, depending on your needs and the agency.

For 24 hour care a lot of Universities in the States have a 'Buddy Scheme' It is a new idea, but one student would be his 'Buddy' and help him and get reduced tuition rates, but I do not know of any cases in this country of anyone who has explored this option yet. I just know that some Universities were looking at the possibility of doing it in the UK. If this were an option he would have to make certain it was someone that he 'got on' with because living with someone 24 hours a day is quite demanding and not something everyone wants or can do.

IHTH

My understanding is that the university DO have an obligation towards a student in this situation, as part of ensuring that nobody is prevented from accessing a course solely because of a disability.

I taught one student in the mid-nineties who needed significant help with personal care and mobility, and this was provided through the university (possibly delegated to students' union) in the form of a rota of (student) volunteers. I believe the students were paid a small sum for this, presumably by the university, which seems to be similar to the arrangement Bunglie is referring to in the States.

Part of my job relates to student suport and i liaise with the disability rep a lot.

We have big problems trying to balance students' needs. For instance we are in discussions about a fresher with CP who needs help washing/dressing etc. Students are expected to tell the Uni if they have a disability and require help-there is a tick box on the accommodation application form and anybody who ticks is followed up. However we have one person for a university with 20,000 students. She does not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of different problems students might have. This student at no point indicated he would need additional help, just that he needed a ground floor room.

The parents are now insisting it is our fault and that we should have asked more about his problems. We now have a carer in place but the student wants to go out all the time, is drinking too much and won't co-operate with washing etc. apparently this is our fault too.

Jan,the schoolfriend really needs to get in touch with student services. They should not be doing all this but unless someone raises the alarm and pursues it it's poss nothing will be done. it's also poss that the student is happy with the situation so hasn't made proper arrangements.

Thanks very much for all your thoughts, that's really helpful - I'll get DD2 to pass it all on. They obviously won't have a clue what he is entitled to.

It is a ground floor flat so access to that isn't a problem - I don't think - it's when they're out he has to be carried in and out of places. (Not everywhere but some places). Does the new access law apply to things like clubs?

Possibly his parents have an unrealistic attitude - ripping down the photos wasn't helpful. They didn't make a good impression on the others in the flat anyway.

new law applies to pretty much everywhere. the only way they can get out of it is it the building is unsuiatble for adaptins to make it disabled friendly.

A lot of buildings have made themselves exempt from the new law by saying that they are 'listed' and therefore they can not be adapted...but 'yes' it should apply to all buildings with 'public' admission.
HTH

that's such crap re. listed buildings! when i was at uni a guy started in the year below me who had one of those wheelchairs that's like a small car (don't know what the proper term is). he was immediately put into senior year accomodation and the room adapted as it was bigger and ground floor. also loads of ramps went up round college at this time too.

this was king's college, cambridge and if anyone would have a "listed building get-out" then you'd expect it to be them