Raising Awareness of Disability Issues at the University of Kansas

Disability doesn't mean devastation : Students with arthritis cope with their disability by spreading awareness to other students
Jayme Wiley Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Read the article at Kansan.com

It's 9:15 in the morning and class starts at 9:30. After searching for that treasured parking spot for the last 15 minutes, you're just now arriving on campus, and you know you have to run in order to make it on time. At 9:29, sighing because you made it to class on time, you are slightly winded from the running you just endured. Now imagine the same scenario, but you are a student with a physical disability in which running is not an option. Daily life as a student has to be readjusted. Imagine being in a wheelchair and waiting five minutes for an elevator or using a dog to guide you through the crowds outside Wescoe. These are just a few of the adjustments students with disabilities make during their daily life on campus.

Stephanie Schmid, El Paso, Texas, sophomore, is a student with a physical disability. She has JRA, or Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Her disability is different from most because it isn't something one can see. JRA affects the joints in her knees every day, although some days are worse than others. Schmid says that she doesn't expect people to know that something is wrong with her. She doesn't really bring it up unless they ask because she says the typical response will be: "No way! You're too young to have arthritis; my grandma has that."

She wants others to know she is a normal young adult. "I have no doubt that there are some people who speak more slowly to students in wheelchairs, who walk slowly, etc.," she says. "Just because their legs don't work doesn't mean that their mind doesn't work either. I mean, hey, we went to college," Schmid says.

Schmid isn't the only student with JRA. Katey Birge, Denver junior, is experiencing the same thing. Birge suffers from JRA just as Schmid does but also deals with a condition called Sydenham's Chorea. Sydenham's Chorea is an immune disorder that attacks the immune system and fights against it instead of with it. It affects the brain stem, joints and tissues.

A typical day for Birge consists of trying to survive in a world where her disease is often misconstrued as laziness. She avoids taking the stairs and other activities that put pressure on her joints. She says having a disability has given her strength in many other areas. She has compassion for others; she knows that there is more going on with a person than what the eye can see.

Both Birge and Schmid are working with an organization on campus called AbleHawks. This organization is there as a support group for those with any kind of disability. Its mission is to create awareness of disability issues on campus.

Zach Coble, Winfield sophomore and president of AbleHawks, says he knows that AbleHawks is a young organization, but it has great potential. He says the organization is always trying to find ways to help those with disabilities on campus ,whether it be structurally or mentally.

"I am hopeful that in the future we can act as advocates for students who are having trouble obtaining the accessibility options they may require for classes," says Coble. "In addition, I would like to do a campus-wide awareness event that promotes disability history and culture."

Schmid became involved with the AbleHawks around the time it began, and Birge joined around October of 2004. Both are enjoying the work the organization does on campus as well as making friends in the process.

"I am around people who understand. We help each other cope and help educate others, I believe," Birge says.