Studying with a disability

Students and prospective students with a chronic illness, disability, developmental or partial performance disorder are cordially invited to attend our biannual information event for students / prospective students with disabilities!

The event will take place on 28th of October at 18:15 in presence, but will also be broadcast via Zoom.

 

For students who want to participate in presence:

Building: Law and Economics
Room: RWS 001

 

For listeners who want to participate online:

Zoom link: (will follow soon)

 

Topics depending on your interests (selection):

• Admission to the degree programme
• Disadvantage compensation regulations during studies and examinations
• Disadvantage compensation regulations for BAf?G
• Support options during the degree programme
• Housing options
• ...

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

If you have any further questions, please contact

Dipl.-Psych. Stefanie Feuerer

Phone: 0941 943-2291
E-Mail: stefanie.feuerer​(at)​ur.de (opens your email program)
Building: Student House, Room 2.18 (2nd floor, lift available)

Address: University of Regensburg

University of Regensburg
Universit?tsstra?e 31
93053 Regensburg

Studying with a disability?

How disabled people get to university / college and how their studies are organised

According to the results of the 2018 study "Studying with disabilities 2" by Deutsches Studentenwerk, 11 per cent of the 2.8 million students in Germany have a disability during their studies. 96 per cent of the participants stated that their impairment was not immediately recognisable to others. According to figures from the 2015 student social survey, over 300,000 students in Austria have an impairment. The number of students actually decreased compared to 2011.

But how do students with disabilities manage to access and remain in higher education?

Which individual paths have been successful?

What conditions do students need to be able to start, complete and finish their studies with a disability?

I am interested in your educational pathway..

...if you are studying at a university or higher education institution in Germany or Austria,

...if you are at least in the 3rd semester of your degree programme (all subject areas),

...if you have a disability and/or

...if you feel impaired in your studies

...and/or if you have had experience in boarding schools, special schools, special schools, clinics, care institutions or residential homes for disabled people &

...if you would like to tell me about your individual journey.

Please get in touch with me!

Theresa M. Straub

Thank you very much for your help!

E-mail: post​(at)​theresastraub.de (opens your email program)

Theresa M. Straub

Scholarship holder of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Berlin

PhD student at the University of Innsbruck - Inclusive Pedagogy and Disability Studies

www.theresastraub.de (external link, opens in a new window)

The Talent Programme runs for one semester and takes approximately 60 hours. The students and young academics can expect 6

Modules:

Group coaching, individual coaching, career workshop, matching day, job shadowing and the final event.

Parallel to the coaching sessions for the participants, the participating top entrepreneurs will also be coached.

During group coaching, the participants introduce themselves and learn how to present themselves as a first step. The decisive factor on this day is togetherness. Both positive and negative experiences are exchanged through discussions between the participants. In addition, information is exchanged on dealing with authorities or procedures at the respective university, giving the students many important insights.

In the individual coaching sessions, our coaches work with each Talent, as we call the participating students, to revise their CV and develop a personalised career strategy.

At the career workshop, all participants are together again and the question of "How do I deal with my impairment in the application process?" is explicitly addressed The legal aspects are also clarified, such as What may or may not an applicant say and also, what may the companies ask.

The fifth element is the Matching Day. After the coaching sessions for talents and companies have run in parallel so far, on this day the talents can apply the skills they have learnt so far and introduce themselves to the companies in a speed dating process. Through this process, the students gain an incredible amount of experience, become more confident in the application process through repetition and, most importantly, the students can build up a network with the top companies.

If a matching is successful, then there is job shadowing, i.e. 1-3 days of taster sessions in the company. The talents gain an insight into the company and the world of work and also have the opportunity to work on their network and make important contacts.

The programme is free of charge for students.

The aim of this programme is to make society more equal in terms of opportunities and accessibility from within the business world.

Further information on the website:

myAbility Talent ? Programme (external link, opens in a new window)

For many people with disabilities, work assistants are an important support for equal participation in working life. They do not relieve employees with disabilities of their work, but support them in the provision of their services. However, a number of bureaucratic hurdles need to be overcome, questions clarified and contact persons identified before work assistance can be authorised. This is where the new, free e-learning module from the German Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired in Study and Work (DVBS) and PRO RETINA Germany can help.

"The world of work presents many barriers for visually impaired professionals: PDFs often cannot be read by screen readers, websites are not formatted barrier-free and the printer can only be operated via a touchscreen," explains Marianne Preis-Dewey, Managing Director of the DVBS. Even with conventional filing systems, handwritten notes and signatures, blind and visually impaired employees quickly reach their limits. "This is where work assistants can step in and 'unhinder' the working environment. They also help with securing mobility in unfamiliar surroundings, making contact with strangers and organisational and technical work preparation and follow-up, for example during a presentation," says Markus Georg, Managing Director of PRO RETINA.

The learning platform for work assistance was developed by the self-help organisations DVBS and PRO RETINA, with Barmer GEK supporting the project. It can also be easily used by e-learning laypersons. Complex issues are conveyed in an understandable way and a course library with accessible documents completes the offer. "We have designed the e-learning module on labour assistance with a practical focus. It provides optimal preparation for the entire process, from submitting the application to developing the job profile, advertising the job and drafting the employment contract, right through to the individual's role in the employment relationship. It also helps with the decision as to whether the assistance provider wants to act as the employer or commission a service company. The newly acquired knowledge can be deepened with many practical exercises," explains Klaus Winder, who was instrumental in developing the module.

Interested parties can obtain the access data for the learning platform from the DVBS,

E-mail: info​(at)​dvbs-online.de, (opens your email program) telephone: 06421 94880 or PRO RETINA,

E-mail: info​(at)​pro-retina.de, (opens your email program) telephone: 0228 2272170.

Further information can be found at:

myHandicap.de (external link, opens in a new window)

The Information and Counselling Centre for Studies and Disability (IBS) of the Deutsches Studentenwerk has compiled a compilation of working aids, guidelines and handouts with tips and information to ensure (as far as possible) barrier-free online teaching. The corresponding pdf document can be found below:

Barrier-free online teaching (PDF) (external link, opens in a new window)

 

 

Since March 2020, the dyslexia software ClaroRead has been available to all UR students (and staff) at the CIP-Pools.

The functions include, among others:

- Voice output,

- Marking function,

- Magnification function,
- Reading template,..

If you have any questions, please contact us (see contact persons (external link, opens in a new window)).

The software is also available via the Computer Center's software catalogue!
(see software catalogue (external link, opens in a new window) )

In cooperation with the Legal Department and the General Student Committee of the University, the paper"Information and interpretation notes / implementation regulations on compensation for disadvantages for chronically ill and disabled students (external link, opens in a new window)" was prepared to support UR staff and to inform students with chronic illnesses, disabilities, developmental or partial performance disorders.
It contains the legally valid definitions of "disability" and "chronic illness" and is intended to provide examples of ways to compensate for disadvantages caused by illness or disability during studies and examinations.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

• Online survey of 15,000 students with disabilities and chronic illnesses
• Students with non-visible impairments make too little use of counselling services and compensation for disadvantages
• Many do not want special treatment, are afraid of stigmatisation or do not know their rights

According to a study presented in Berlin by the Deutsches Studentenwerk, 94% of students with disabilities and chronic illnesses do not immediately recognise their health impairment. The majority of impaired students remain unrecognised if they so wish. This applies above all to students with mental and chronic somatic illnesses as well as those with dyslexia or other partial performance disorders. In addition, students with non-visible health impairments often forego the necessary compensation for disadvantages in their studies or examinations, even though they are legally entitled to it. Many believe that they are not entitled to them, do not want their disability or chronic illness to be publicised or reject "special treatment". For the same reasons, many of them do not seek counselling. "Students who are not aware of their impairments often have to contend with prejudice," comments the President of the Deutsches Studentenwerk, Prof Dr Dieter Timmermann. Timmermann is calling for the expansion of counselling services at universities and student services organisations, more flexible study and Examination Regulations and greater awareness among all employees at universities and student services organisations.
"It's about doing justice to all students with health impairments. Students with non-visible impairments must be better reached and individually supported. They must be encouraged to make better use of counselling services and legal compensation options," says Timmermann.

More than 15,000 impaired and chronically ill students from 160 universities in Germany took part in the German Student Union's online survey "Studying with disabilities" in summer 2011. It was scientifically conducted by the Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna and financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It is the first nationwide survey of students with disabilities and chronic illnesses, who make up 8% of students.

Download the study:

studying with disabilities (PDF/4.5MB) (external link, opens in a new window)

• Seven students with health impairments report
• Publication by Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW) to accompany the current study "Studying with disabilities"

"...stand alone in front of a member of the teaching staff who refuses to help you and then find the right words. It's humiliating, discriminatory and leaves you speechless every time," says Katrin Dinges, 26, who studies German Literature and European Ethnology at Humbolt University in Berlin. Katrin Dinges has Alstr?m syndrome, a multiple disability in the form of blindness, hearing loss and other physical limitations.

"It never occurred to me to stop my studies because of the illness. If I had, I would have allowed the disease to completely determine my life and make decisions for me," says Katrin Eisenhofer, 30, who is currently studying for her degree in sociology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and has multiple sclerosis (MS).

"My biggest problem during my studies is accessing the professors' scripts," says Tim Alexander Lofi, 21, who is hearing impaired and studies Audiovisual Media at the Stuttgart Media University.

Katrin Dinges, Katrin Eisenhofer and Tim Alexander Lofi are three of seven students who report on their study situation in the special publication "Studying with an impairment" by Deutsches Studentenwerk (DSW) under the heading "My life - my studies - my impairment".

Download the accompanying publication:

accompanying publication (PDF/1.6MB) (external link, opens in a new window)