Filling out endless job applications recently has necessitated me filling out endless "equal opportunities" forms too. One of the questions that is always asked is a variation of, "Do you have a disability?"
I have always find this a difficult question. Strictly speaking, I have been diagnosed with a disability. When I was much younger I was diagnosed with a condition called dyspraxia. Put simply, it is the co-ordination and spatial awareness form of dyslexia. The biggest way this manifests itself with me is my handwriting. With years of effort it is now bad, it was much, much worse. Now this might not seem like a big deal especially as most things these days are done on computer but I happen to be one of the people that prefer handwriting where possible. Dyspraxia also means my balance is fairly shocking at times, riding a bike is a huge challenge, walking in a straight line is an issue and I am extremely clumsy. I also have strong dyslexic tendencies; Winnie the Pooh put it perfectly when he said, "I have good spelling but it wobbles... and sometimes the letters get in the wrong places!" In addition to this, I have difficulty perceiving numbers, especially after a decimal point for some reason. This means that, at times, I physically will not be able to differentiate between 5.41 and 5.14. It can look like slapdash carelessness but it's really not.
So where is this point going? Well the questions on application forms is often phrased, "Do you consider yourself disabled?" In short, I'm not really sure I do. I have never not been able to do anything I wanted to do and that's not for modesty of ambition. I have had the good fortune, so far, to lead a varied and active life and do all manner of amazing things from renovating a primary school in Kenya to skiing in France via a moderately successful rowing career and getting a decent tune out of a couple of musical instruments. Admittedly I have never truly excelled in any of these disciplines (or others) but I have always been extremely competent to good. The lack of excellence could be in part due to the dyspraxia but more likely, because I was content at the level I had reached. There have been some things I have been memorably awful at over the years; football is an obvious an example. It would be easy to say that my impaired spatial awareness and depth perception meant I struggled to kick the ball. It could be that I am just rubbish at football - who said I had to be good at everything after all.
Anyway, all this means that I don't really consider myself disabled. Disability to me means a genuine inability to do something; to struggle with everyday activities. I really don't (well buttons and bootlaces are a pain but really... no big deal in the long run). In short, I have never not been dyspraxic so I don't know what "normal" feels like. My capabilities are normal for me. This is backed up by a lot of people with extensive experience in the field of learning impairments not being able to tell I'm dyspraxic until it's pointed out.
Now before I get too self-congratulatory, I can't take all the credit myself. For about three years before I hit ten I received weekly occupational therapy (I had the good fortune to be diagnosed young). In addition to this, I took up rowing and swimming at about the same time which built on the effect of the therapy. I also received truly magnificent support from my teachers at school, the learning support department and most importantly of all, my family. They all got the balance of weighing any impairments I suffered against pushing me to the limits of my performance perfect. My parents and teachers worked brilliantly to combine discreet intervention with support and encouragement and gave me the confidence to push myself and believe I could achieve what I wanted to. This continued throughout University and (to a lesser extent) law school where I got discreet support. Latterly, most of this took the form of extra time in exams and permission to write any extended answers on a computer. I was offered other assistance but I felt that this was all I really needed.
Now here's the conflict; do I mention the dyspraxia on job application forms despite the fact that it doesn't really show unless you're looking for it? Or is doing so a bit disingenuous and a bit of a piss-take for those that have more severe disabilities?
I do generally declare it. Although I can't necessarily put my finger on how it affects me, I indisputably - even now - fulfil the criteria for diagnosis. I can confidently say that without the special assistance I received early in my life, I would almost certainly not have achieved what I have done. Furthermore, the early intervention is probably the reason the day-to-day effects are so minimal today. To ignore this would be dishonest towards future employers who deserve to know the whole truth. It also, in my opinion undermines the hard-work I actively (and passively) put in as a kid. I will however highlight to any employers at interview (if I ever get there) that the daily effects are minimal and that writing would be the only major issue that they should be aware of (and even then, it has come on leaps and bounds and, to an extent, still is).
What about the detractors that say the dis...exias are recent conditions which afflict principally middle-class kids and (at their most cynical) say that they are little more than a ploy to cover the fact that little Tarquin is a bit thick or a ruse to get Arabella extra time in their exams? Hmmmmm. I can sort-of sympathise with this in that the conditions have only really come to light in the last twenty or so years. However conditions must be elucidated at some point and educational knowledge and teaching practices do change. If this wasn't the case then no new diseases would ever be identified making treatment impossible and left-handers would still be forced to switch sides. So yes, these conditions might not have been identified and diagnosed in your day, that didn't mean they didn't exist and shouldn't be taken seriously now.
What about the ploy aspect? Perhaps. I don't honestly know. Like anything which may offer special treatment in exams, I suspect some unscrupulous people will exploit it in a similar way to students faking narcolepsy to get prescribed medafonil allowing them to stay up all night several nights running. Do I think it's widespread? My innate belief in human good makes me hope not. Also, I can imagine that trying to coach a child into faking symptoms would be quite a struggle even to the pushiest parents. What I hope we are seeing is a general raising of awareness and acceptance of these conditions. Not only does this mean that kids will get diagnosed and treated appropriately, but hopefully general raised levels of awareness will mean that later in life, they will not suffer either.
Food for thought certainly.
JR
I have always find this a difficult question. Strictly speaking, I have been diagnosed with a disability. When I was much younger I was diagnosed with a condition called dyspraxia. Put simply, it is the co-ordination and spatial awareness form of dyslexia. The biggest way this manifests itself with me is my handwriting. With years of effort it is now bad, it was much, much worse. Now this might not seem like a big deal especially as most things these days are done on computer but I happen to be one of the people that prefer handwriting where possible. Dyspraxia also means my balance is fairly shocking at times, riding a bike is a huge challenge, walking in a straight line is an issue and I am extremely clumsy. I also have strong dyslexic tendencies; Winnie the Pooh put it perfectly when he said, "I have good spelling but it wobbles... and sometimes the letters get in the wrong places!" In addition to this, I have difficulty perceiving numbers, especially after a decimal point for some reason. This means that, at times, I physically will not be able to differentiate between 5.41 and 5.14. It can look like slapdash carelessness but it's really not.
So where is this point going? Well the questions on application forms is often phrased, "Do you consider yourself disabled?" In short, I'm not really sure I do. I have never not been able to do anything I wanted to do and that's not for modesty of ambition. I have had the good fortune, so far, to lead a varied and active life and do all manner of amazing things from renovating a primary school in Kenya to skiing in France via a moderately successful rowing career and getting a decent tune out of a couple of musical instruments. Admittedly I have never truly excelled in any of these disciplines (or others) but I have always been extremely competent to good. The lack of excellence could be in part due to the dyspraxia but more likely, because I was content at the level I had reached. There have been some things I have been memorably awful at over the years; football is an obvious an example. It would be easy to say that my impaired spatial awareness and depth perception meant I struggled to kick the ball. It could be that I am just rubbish at football - who said I had to be good at everything after all.
Anyway, all this means that I don't really consider myself disabled. Disability to me means a genuine inability to do something; to struggle with everyday activities. I really don't (well buttons and bootlaces are a pain but really... no big deal in the long run). In short, I have never not been dyspraxic so I don't know what "normal" feels like. My capabilities are normal for me. This is backed up by a lot of people with extensive experience in the field of learning impairments not being able to tell I'm dyspraxic until it's pointed out.
Now before I get too self-congratulatory, I can't take all the credit myself. For about three years before I hit ten I received weekly occupational therapy (I had the good fortune to be diagnosed young). In addition to this, I took up rowing and swimming at about the same time which built on the effect of the therapy. I also received truly magnificent support from my teachers at school, the learning support department and most importantly of all, my family. They all got the balance of weighing any impairments I suffered against pushing me to the limits of my performance perfect. My parents and teachers worked brilliantly to combine discreet intervention with support and encouragement and gave me the confidence to push myself and believe I could achieve what I wanted to. This continued throughout University and (to a lesser extent) law school where I got discreet support. Latterly, most of this took the form of extra time in exams and permission to write any extended answers on a computer. I was offered other assistance but I felt that this was all I really needed.
Now here's the conflict; do I mention the dyspraxia on job application forms despite the fact that it doesn't really show unless you're looking for it? Or is doing so a bit disingenuous and a bit of a piss-take for those that have more severe disabilities?
I do generally declare it. Although I can't necessarily put my finger on how it affects me, I indisputably - even now - fulfil the criteria for diagnosis. I can confidently say that without the special assistance I received early in my life, I would almost certainly not have achieved what I have done. Furthermore, the early intervention is probably the reason the day-to-day effects are so minimal today. To ignore this would be dishonest towards future employers who deserve to know the whole truth. It also, in my opinion undermines the hard-work I actively (and passively) put in as a kid. I will however highlight to any employers at interview (if I ever get there) that the daily effects are minimal and that writing would be the only major issue that they should be aware of (and even then, it has come on leaps and bounds and, to an extent, still is).
What about the detractors that say the dis...exias are recent conditions which afflict principally middle-class kids and (at their most cynical) say that they are little more than a ploy to cover the fact that little Tarquin is a bit thick or a ruse to get Arabella extra time in their exams? Hmmmmm. I can sort-of sympathise with this in that the conditions have only really come to light in the last twenty or so years. However conditions must be elucidated at some point and educational knowledge and teaching practices do change. If this wasn't the case then no new diseases would ever be identified making treatment impossible and left-handers would still be forced to switch sides. So yes, these conditions might not have been identified and diagnosed in your day, that didn't mean they didn't exist and shouldn't be taken seriously now.
What about the ploy aspect? Perhaps. I don't honestly know. Like anything which may offer special treatment in exams, I suspect some unscrupulous people will exploit it in a similar way to students faking narcolepsy to get prescribed medafonil allowing them to stay up all night several nights running. Do I think it's widespread? My innate belief in human good makes me hope not. Also, I can imagine that trying to coach a child into faking symptoms would be quite a struggle even to the pushiest parents. What I hope we are seeing is a general raising of awareness and acceptance of these conditions. Not only does this mean that kids will get diagnosed and treated appropriately, but hopefully general raised levels of awareness will mean that later in life, they will not suffer either.
Food for thought certainly.
JR
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