One Size Does Not Fit All

Written for Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1 2009

From the age of 13 I attended a residential school for the visually impaired. At the time it was agreed that there was no way I’d cope in a mainstream school and the special primary school I’d attended didn’t provide secondary education on a ‘normal’ level.

For the first three years or so, I was very happy there. But then I got to the stage where I was gradually expected to be more independent and that’s when the palaver started.
Due to my extra disabilities (hearing impairment and an ASD) I had a lot more trouble with all sorts of things than my peers. Unfortunately, neither the school nor the staff at my house took this into account.

This wasn’t the fault of any single individual; it was simply that the school had a ‘one size fits all’ approach when it came to dealing with the students. And if you couldn’t keep up or didn’t meet their expectations in whatever way, it was just assumed to be your own fault.

When it came to visual impairments, no problem. They had all the equipment, all the extra training like mobility training and independent living skills. But when it came to extra issues that didn’t fit there standard approach, they were simply ignored.
I was never given any kind of professional help for my fear of failure, for example. And nobody even considered that my issues with taking initiative and other social situations might be more than me just being immature or not trying hard enough.

And this isn’t just my experience. I know several other people who for one reason or another didn’t fit the ’standard’ approach of the school. They were also left out in the cold.
Quite often these people were dumped in sheltered work places. I have nothing against sheltered work places; for those who aren’t able to do any other type of work they’re a great opportunity. But for a person who is academically able and wants to get a ‘normal’ job or get into further education, this is not the solution. I certainly found the work incredibly boring.

If the school had been a bit more flexible and been willing to think outside the box, I may well have found something more suitable much earlier on. I only came across the day centre I go to now, because we were visiting the sheltered accommodation next to it to see if it was suitable for me. The day centre had been mentioned as an option for when I lived there.

I am very happy at the day centre and I’m lucky things worked out the way they have. But most of it was down to me metaphorically putting my foot down and saying: ‘This is what I want. So bugger what you all think is the ‘right’ road for me’.
And until organisations and other establishments let go of the ‘one size fits all’ model, people like me who don’t fit are going to continue being left to fend for themselves.