Juliet England: The extra hurdles deaf students face starting uni

It’s that time of year when nervous people (and that’s just the parents) across the land have been loading up car boots and driving across the country as freshers start their careers at university or college.

Beginning university is a rite of passage for anyone. But for those who are deaf, campus life often throws up various additional challenges.

A poll of 134 deaf undergraduates which the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) carried out with the Independent and published in the summer shows that nearly half (46%) of deaf students who needed support in their higher education institution were still waiting for it as their courses got underway.

Of these individuals, more than 50% (59%) waited longer than two months.  Meanwhile, some 28%, or more than one in four, was waiting at least six months. Just 53% of students said their support was always available, one in six, or 16%, said it rarely or never was.

Equally, just over half, or 51%, claimed information about what they could access was insufficient.

Support includes anything from a notetaker or BSL interpreter to a specialist tutor, and will depend on individual needs. Meanwhile potential specialist equipment might cover a radio aid to transmit a lecturer’s voice to hearing aids or a cochlear implant.

Essex University undergraduate Habiba Bernier told researchers that she didn’t have a notetaker at any point during her first year, since travel costs weren’t covered, and support staff found it easier to work in London.

It meant Bernier had no revision notes to work from come exam time, and was left feeling ‘let down, lost and as though I didn’t belong there.’

The Independent said this ‘chronic’ shortage of much-needed support was even leading some deaf students to consider leaving their studies altogether. Many also felt stressed, and that they were in danger of ‘wasting’ their tuition fees of up to £9,250 annually.

Additionally, the study found cases where support provided was inconsistent, with incidences of notetakers or interpreters not turning up as arranged.

NDCS policy advisor Martin McLean said: “Deaf students are being held back. It’s disgraceful to see that almost half of deaf students who need support don’t get it in time. Universities and the government urgently need to sort out this appalling situation, and start delivering for every deaf student.”

Campus life as a deaf student

If your first term as a deaf student is in its early days, your campus may seem a potentially isolating or even at times intimidating environment, just as it can for any fresher away from home for the first time.

Coping mechanisms which worked well before may not transfer to your new setting. So you might need to devise some new ones, and, in particular, learn to pace yourself, not least because social and academic life can feel full-on during the relatively short weeks of term-time. Most young people find student life exhausting, especially initially, but deaf students are likely to find it even more tiring.

It makes sense to be as open as you feel able with fellow students and staff about your hearing loss. Hopefully you will have already done your research into your institution and course, applied for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) and visited the university long before term began.

It’s worth making an appointment to see your campus disability adviser, and speaking up and getting help if your support isn’t provided when it should be, or if you’re struggling in any way. Talk to your tutor before your course gets going about how they can best support you.

Finally, of course, with the right support in place, there is no reason you shouldn’t thrive at university, hearing loss or not.

Case study: Charlotte Brown

Originally from Huddersfield, 25-year-old Charlotte now lives in Sheffield where she’s a research bioinformatician at the city’s children’s hospital. Diagnosed with a sensorineural hearing loss aged three, she wears aids in both ears. Her other disabilities include dyslexia, dyspraxia and joint hyper-mobility.

Charlotte studied Human Biology with a placement year at Sheffield Hallam University between 2013 and 2017, and did an MSc in Newcastle the following academic year.

She says:

“At both universities, study skills support and mentoring were provided through DSA and I had very positive experiences. The DSA assessment was brilliant. I was amazed at how much support I could get, especially as I had very little at school and college.

“Part of this included electronic note takers – I needed them for multiple reasons, my hyper mobile thumb joint being the main one. My deaf support contact in the disability department told me that had I had my DSA assessment at Sheffield Hallam based on my hearing loss alone, I wouldn’t have been allowed notetakers. (I complained about this as it disregarded my other disabilities.)

“I had another DSA assessment at the end of my first year, and was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia – they were brilliant and didn’t agree with the deaf support’s previous assessment.

“I never used the deaf support contact much as I always felt I wasn’t ‘deaf enough’ for her. However, the rest of the staff were brilliant.

“Some lecturers didn’t always follow the disability support contract that was in place. Sometimes, staff were not aware of their disabled students and didn’t realise notetakers would be in class.

“I also did an MSc in Computational Systems Biology at Newcastle University, from 2017 – 2018. I had a DSA assessment there and they were great. I had some issues with the staff in the department not always being disability-aware and not even really wanting to be. Some were reluctant to change the way they taught into a way that might have suited me better. Sometimes the staff in the department felt it was the student support department’s role to help me, but then student support weren’t able to help with the coding elements that I was struggling with. I didn’t even realise who the disability support officer in the department was until the end of my degree.

“At both universities, the DSA came through quickly and my experience was mainly positive, especially in terms of my deafness.

“I would advise any new student to just see what support is available. You could be surprised – I know I was.

“Also the disabilities department tries to be as discreet as it can with the support they provide as they know how daunting starting uni is, and that students don’t want to stand out from their peers.

“If you’re struggling for whatever reason, there will always be someone to talk to who can help. Finally, throw yourselves into uni societies – that’s something I regret not doing.”