{"id":2405,"date":"2023-11-09T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2024-07-24T11:50:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-24T18:50:41","slug":"how-to-earn-your-degree-online-student-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/how-to-earn-your-degree-online-student-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"How to earn your degree online as a student with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Support and accommodations from Disability Access Services helped Oregon State graduate build confidence in class and in life<\/h2>\n

Online learning was the only way for me to go back to college.<\/p>\n

Twenty-five years ago, I was forced to leave school because of a hemorrhagic stroke.<\/p>\n

I was just about to complete my associate\u2019s degree at the local community college. Nursing school was next on the list, but I woke up one morning to discover all my plans had changed. The big dreams I had for my daughter and I foreclosed.<\/p>\n

I did my best to make peace with the reality of what happened, and I tried to move on. But neither the heartbreak nor the secret hope of returning to school ever left me.<\/p>\n

Recovery was steady and slow. I made great strides, and there came a point when I openly started to entertain the idea of college again. I still had migraines \u2014 severe and chronic \u2014 in addition to residual neurological deficiencies from the stroke.<\/p>\n

How could I make college work with these disabilities?<\/h3>\n

I knew my physical and neurological disabilities would prevent me from attending synchronous classes \u2014 better known as in-person classes. A migraine could come at any time. Migraines cause more than severe pain; they are a neurological condition, and symptoms include trouble speaking, muscle weakness, short-term memory loss, confusion, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea and fatigue \u2014 just to name a few.<\/p>\n

I also have challenges with reading, and sometimes a loss of motor function could flare up. I wasn\u2019t sure if I could read a whole book or even half of one. Clearly, an in-person college setting was out of the question.<\/p>\n

But what about taking classes online?<\/h3>\n

I discovered that most online classes were asynchronous, which is a fancy way of saying I could learn on my own schedule<\/a>, within a certain timeframe. I could complete the assignments, lectures, discussion posts and other educational activities on a flexible schedule each week. This was brilliant! Online education worked with my unique challenges.<\/p>\n

Neurodivergence, a migraine or a motor function episode could not prevent me from participating in discussions, completing assignments, writing papers or engaging with my professors.<\/p>\n

I was going back to college!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I thrived in Oregon State\u2019s online learning environment<\/h3>\n

I built my academic confidence and skills during my time as an Oregon State Ecampus student. My doctors and I worked together on accommodations I would need. Then I met with OSU\u2019s Disability Access Services<\/a>, which helped to facilitate the implementation of those accommodations with my instructors. DAS did not disclose the nature of my disabilities, leaving that up to my discretion.<\/p>\n

I often felt comfortable sharing context as to why I might need extra time or why I was not able to attend a class, but my instructors never asked me directly about my disabilities. My instructors never made me feel like my accommodations were \u201casking for favors\u201d or \u201cmaking excuses\u201d \u2014 and this was very important to me. I was always treated with the utmost respect.<\/p>\n

Not only was I learning the information in my classes, which was fantastic, but I was also learning how to be a student with disabilities. I learned how to study with, and around, my disabilities. I discovered how much time I needed to study for tests and how long it would take me to write papers. I learned that when I pushed myself too hard, it caused a temporary loss of motor function in my hands. (I didn\u2019t do that again!)<\/p>\n

I was learning about myself, and I did this in my home where I felt the most comfortable because all my classes were online. My Oregon State University experience gave me so much more than my degree.<\/p>\n

It was life-changing.<\/p>\n

While I never planned on transitioning to an in-person college setting, I completed my B.S. in Religious Studies online<\/a> with Oregon State and was accepted into the Harvard Divinity School. I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated with a Master\u2019s in Theological Studies.<\/p>\n

And now I\u2019m pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in poetry at Oregon State. Go Beavs!<\/p>\n

\n

Learn more and discover how to request accommodations through Oregon State\u2019s Disability Access Services<\/a> as an Ecampus student.<\/em><\/p>\n

Explore DAS resources<\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Monique Lanier is a freelancer who also has a long history in writing, acting and music as a writer and performer. She earned her Oregon State University bachelor\u2019s degree online and a master\u2019s degree in theological studies from\u00a0Harvard University<\/a>. She is now pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on poetry at Oregon State.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>“Not only was I learning the information in my classes, which was fantastic, but I was also learning how to be a student with disabilities. … It was life-changing.” \u2014 Monique Lanier, Oregon State graduate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,672,657,674],"tags":[554,591,30],"class_list":["post-2405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-learning-experience","category-resources","category-tips","tag-disability-access-services","tag-ecampus-at-a-glance","tag-student-success"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Learning-online-student-disabilities-800x450-230828-v1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-CN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1289,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/ecampus-awarded-online-student-support\/","url_meta":{"origin":2405,"position":0},"title":"OSU Ecampus earns national recognition for online student support services","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"November 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Students who learn online at Oregon State University receive the highest level of academic support according to a new distinction earned by the school. 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