Disability Office Stuff Up

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I'm in Australia so things are slightly different. Due to the nature of my condition, High Functioning Autism, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Osteoarthritis, I am entitled to a full time paid support worker, to take notes, assist me in class, etc. The government here funds those supports. We are expected to have paid notetakers if needed. As our summer is now almost finishing we are only just going back for this year and we run on a calander year as our summer is at the end of the year.

I have for the last 18 months had the most brillant inclass support worker and I could not function without her. I am so freaked and overwhelmed, simply being in the class that I barely take in anything that is said and rely totally on the notes she takes. She has however also been really nice and very much like a friend. She had lunch with me, and I also needed that. Couldn't really move without some moral support through crowds, etc.

The first enrollment session was in early december, the disability office organises support for me with that, as I cannot go throuhg it alone. At this time we are given a draf timetable as classes do not begin until middle to late february. I gave the disability office a copy of my timetable then. The college is closed until mid january. I contacted them a week after it reopned to confirm the timetable was still the same and continued to do this every week. I continued to email the disability office to tell them that no changes had been made and that my timetable was as planned.

I am called and notified that they have organised the same support worker that I have had for last 18 months and I am pleased. I have the worst teacher, who hates the disabled and told me that we should all be locked up in institutions. I sit my exams and tests seperately and he never organsies what is needed for it, refuses to work with the disabilities office, etc.

As the disability officer I have been working with has been promoted they organise an appointment for me with the new one, the one I was working with and my psychologits also agrees to come with me, to assist me, to explain my condition, etc, etc. This all goes well they confirm my support, etc, etc. This is on the day before classes commence. The support worker rings me that night and I confirm that I will meet her outside of student services and then we talk about what other classes she is doing there that semester. She says she is doing my two classes and an all day Wednesday. Says her daughter is in her final year of high school and she wants to spend more time at home to support her through her exams, etc.

Turn up at the appointed time, no support worker. Wait for 15 minutes, still no worker. I decide to go up the classroom but text her to confirm what room I will be. I do not see her. Half an hour after the class starts she is still not there, so I text her asking what is happneing. No reply. After an hour I cannot cope anymore, so I leave. I go down to student services to ask what is happening to be told, not my problem, your disabilty officer does not work today you'll have to wait until she's back. 3 hours later the former disability officer now manger rings to ask what my problem is and I say the support worker didn't turn up. I am told that that is the disability officers fault, she has decided not to work this year and never agreed to support you in the first place. Take it up with her when you see her on Monday!! Turn up to see the disability officer as aranged on Monday and before I could say anything I am told that there have been some change of plans, my support worker is now assisting people with real disabilities and they will attempt to find someone to support me, but my needs really are not that high, so it is not a priority for them at the moment!! On my way out I bump into the support worker and she asys, "sorry about the mix up the other day, I have to go now", before I have a chance to say anything at all!! !

WHY did the said support worker ring me the night before classes to confirm that she was meeting me the next morning, why was I then told she was not and never was going to be working with me, why am I then told that I am not disabled enough and don't qualify for support, even though the government pays them to support me, and why can't they at least be consistent in their lies??? Why did the said support worker at least text me to say she wouldn't be there etc.

Now they are saying that I am unreasonable, taking things way out of perspective and don't understand what they are saying. I do misinterpret things, but I also know what was said to me and I don't misrepresent what is said, by thinking they said one thing and not another. I know what they said, that is right, but have I taken it out of prespective. It just does not add up to me, and I cannot understand why this is happening now. I do have an appointment with my pscyhologist tomorrow and she is going to ring them and try to sort it out for me, but I just need to know that I have not been unrealistic about what I am expecting, etc. I think what they have done is rude at best, but then it gets blamed onto me.

Stories like yours makes me wonder what value there is in government-run aid programs.

One person changes their job and suddenly you're deemed "unworthy" of help?

Sounds like a real triumphant use of the taxpayer's money. [this is sarcasm]

At least a private institution would likely have staffers who cared about their job. Sounds like the people in this office you deal with only cares about their upward mobility in the government system.

I am so sorry you are having this issue. Here in North America this would never have happened. As I have worked with students with disabilities in the past who use the Disability Resource Center the coordinator of Special Services ensures that each student who is deemed eligible for the services can use it.

You have a case because it does not matter how disabled you are you still need your support services. Since your officer confirmed the night before you thought that everything was OK.

Your Resource Center coordinator is being the one who is denying you services and this is against the law.

The instructor who does not want disabled students in his class needs to be fired or retrained. I would get our of the class quickly as what happens if he won't allow you extra time on tests etc?

You need to go to the Dean of your University with all of your documentation and say"either we work this out together now or I will not be taking anymore classes at your institution and will be writing the local newspaper". Universities do not like to be exposed in the local newspapers.

If you got bad grades as a result of not having support then they need to take responsibility to change your grades as you should not be punished.

You took the time before the semester to work out your accommodations and you are being quite reasonable.

Heck you even used your own text messages to text your support person to see where she was. I would ask for a refund for this as they were not communicating with you.

They should have called you into a meeting at least a week before to explain what was going on and then they could have found someone else in the interim until someone could sign on for the rest of the year.

They very well knew you have Aspergers and know that people with this diagnoses do not take sudden changes well. This was totally uncalled for as they knew about the change for a long time.

Have your parents go with you if thats what it takes and they could say they are looking to bring in legal advice if they won't give you the services you came in for.

You were not placed on Academic Probation, have not committed a crime etc. They are setting you up for failure and even the smallest accommodation like note takers can go a long way. Without it you would be getting bad grades and wasting your money.

I hope this helps you. Stay strong and keep on advocating for yourself.

I have a Disability Advocate working with me and I have for the last few days of last week had support in class. I would have said that it could not happen here either, as I do have legal entitlements under our laws and have always had incredibly good support at this and other colleges in the past. As for the private college comment, they are a thousand times worse here and people are lucky to get any accommodations at all put in place for them. Even people who are blind are refused any support at all. It is easier to take complaints to the Human Rights Commission here, but much much harder to take legal action. In fact the easiest place in the world to sue someone is the US. That can be both a good and bad thing. There are people in wheelchairs in the US making a living out of going around to small businesses that can barely put food on the table for themsevles and there families and suing them because the hand basins in the toilets are half a centimetre too high!! They sue them the business is told to settle and goes bankrupt in the process. That is hardly ethical and hardly encouraging people to support the disabled in being part of the community. Yes what they have done is wrong, but how much is half a centrementre really going to hurt people and perhaps if they were told they could have fixed it, but they end up out of business instead and other people loose jobs because of it.

As for the teacher I agree totally with what you are saying. We had complained 18 months ago to the head of the department and they supposedly warned him, but I did not hear good things last year, but I also did not take any classes with him. The only classes I have left to do are all compulsory to get the qualification I need and they are all taken by him. I have put them off to this year, hoping he would retire, etc, etc. He did however speak to me in class on Thursday, apologised for any misunderstanding (! !!??) and said that he had spoken to the Disability Officer, understood what was required of him, what supports I would have in place, etc. Only time will tell whether it actually happens or not.

Since my tests/exams are all sat in the Disability Office they determine the extra time, not him so that will not be an issue. He has no legal right here to refuse an accommodation, the disability officers determine those and they are the ones to put them in place, and to ensure that they are put into action.

There are bad workers in every field, in every place, in every country and there are always individauls who have a bad time somewhere. Even the best service stuffs up at times. That does not mean that the level of stuff up here is not overboard it is, but to say that mistakes do not happen in some places is wrong. One just hopes that they are not as bad as they were in this instance and that they have the courage to admit to their mistakes.

At the moment I would really like an apology, but it doesn't look like that will be coming and while I could fight for one, I really wonder whether it is worth the effort. But the advocate can take care of that, I have enough problems on my own.

Glad to read that things are being sorted out.

Let me just say that such situations are by no means uncommon in our country when it comes to disability support for AS in higher education.