Travelling on a rocky road

A reasonable accommodation does not constitute an unfair concession – it simply makes studying possible.

Imagine you are standing on a road. Being on the road, and making your way forward on it in particular, is a matter of honour to you. Your income depends on it, the road leads to better things and you even enjoy travelling on it. All in all, it is a very good road. There are also other people on the road walking towards similar destinations. You are proud for being allowed to travel on the road.

However, you can now see a large rock right in front of you on the road. It is difficult for you to see past the rock, and moving it without a crane or some other large machine is impossible. Climbing over it is also a no-go, as the rock is too high and has a smooth surface.

The rock does not seem to pose a problem for others walking on the road. Somehow they manage to walk right through the rock without so much as seeing it. Occasionally someone stops and, with a smile, asks you:

‘Aren’t you coming?’

‘Yes, as soon as they get this rock out of the way’, you reply.

They look at the road and ask: ‘What rock?’

You are tired of explaining.

This is not the first rock you have encountered on your way, and it will not be the last one. Sometimes the rocks are small, and you can hop over them or squeeze past them. Sometimes you trip over them, and your journey is delayed. And sometimes they put a stop to your entire journey unless someone comes to help you. Sometimes you would need a crane. Often the ones who trip over the rocks are the only ones who can see them.

For students with a disability or chronic disease, this comparison is all too familiar. There are obstacles between you and learning that are not there for others. The rock may be a lecture hall with blazing lights that cause you pain, stairs you cannot use with your mobility aid or a toilet that is too small to use. Most people can understand that these kinds of rocks need to be moved out of the way. When we get to rocks related to studying itself, however, the attitude may change.

‘Why are you here if you cannot study the same way as others?’

‘I would like to get more time for returning assignments too…’

However, we have to remember that these rocks are still obstacles that are not the same to others. Sometimes dyslexic students need more time to read the exam material. Students with challenges with executive functions may experience a week when they simply are not able to do anything. Sometimes listening to a book for an exam as a blind student simply takes longer than reading it does for seeing students, and sometimes chronic diseases flare up, making rest a necessity.

When we openly discuss why people seek reasonable accommodations or individual arrangements, we can start to understand that they do not constitute a concession that gives an unfair advantage on the road to learning. Instead, they remove rocks that other students can simply walk through without even noticing.

Nikola Eerola

Member of the Board in charge of social policy

This blog post is a part of the communication for HYY’s Erasmus+ project ‘Amplifying student voices’, funded by the European Union. The European Union, the EACEA or the Finnish National Agency for Education are not responsible for its contents. The views and opinions expressed in the blog post are solely the writer’s and do not necessarily represent those of the European Union or the Finnish National Agency for Education. The European Union and the Finnish National Agency for Education are not responsible for them.

Further information on the Erasmus+ programme.