“I was mistreated, humiliated and harassed during my prep. By teachers and students”, says Artemis on Twitter. For several days, following a Mediapart investigation into the violence suffered by a disabled student at Paris-Descartes University, many disabled people have been testifying on the social network about their experiences during their studies. With the hashtag #NousEtudiantEsHandiEs, they denounce a system ill-suited to their various situations.
“Accessibility to college is absolutely atrocious”, denounces Helios. In a building where there are supposed to be three elevators, only one works. ” As a result, this 19-year-old student in the first year of foreign language studies in Strasbourg cannot access all floors, “to go see those responsible”, or even the education service for his student card. Helios, autistic, also has dys disorders (which induce learning disabilities) and suffers from permanent chronic pain.. “And when it is adapted, it is done in an exclusive way. In the amphitheater, the disabled students in wheelchairs are placed in a separate row, so we are not in contact with the others”, he laments.
At his university in the south of France, Lucas *, a third year law student, is also constantly fighting to gain access to the premises of his university. “Since the start of the school year in September, my classes have been held twice in a room not accessible by the elevator. However, I am not new, the administration knows that I am in a wheelchair”, points out this 30-year-old student. Since the age of 6 months, Lucas has had Little Syndrome, which causes cerebral palsy and associated disorders, such as dyspraxia (a motor development disorder), and difficulty concentrating. “I wrote to them to tell them that I couldn’t attend the class, but it was still the same the following week”, he laments.
In addition to the question of the accessibility of the building, there is also that of the furniture of the classrooms and amphitheatres. Roxanne, 20, who suffers in particular from a major dyspraxia, deplores the inadequacy of light and noise to people with autism or epilepsy.
“When I was in computer science BTS in Reims, there were neon lights with an extremely strong white light which made noise. It is very wearing for people with epilepsy. They could put on a warmer or adjustable light.”
“For people with attention disorders, amphitheater lessons are not always easy: 200 people scratching, typing, folding seats moving, when you can’t filter the slightest sound, after 4 hours we’re just collapsed “, she illustrates.
Students interviewed by franceinfo must also constantly negotiate the organization of their education. “I need a note taker, that someone can attend the lessons and then pass them on to me because I am very often exhausted”, continues Helios. In general, universities ask other students to perform this function, but the implementation is not always done on time, when it does not turn out to be impossible. “I would have to find someone available in the promotion for each lecture and each tutorial.”
“It’s mid-October and I still don’t have a note taker. So I still don’t have access to a lot of the lessons.”
Lucas also took a long time to get a note taker. “I had to fight, I went to see the representative of the Defender of Rights in my region, to move to another city… It was a real battle horse, everyone was passing the buck. ‘university, disability referents are temporary workers, change all the time… There is no stable policy on disability “, deplores the student. “I spend more time fighting for my rights than studying, he regrets, I feel like I am constantly being discredited. “
“The problem is not the individual will of the people, it is the system that prevents any progress.”
The schedules and workload are also inadequate, according to these students. “My teachers ask me to read 3 to 4 books per subject, but when you tire very quickly like me, it is complicated to accumulate so much knowledge in such a short time”, deplores Eden, a 25-year-old student in art history. A year and a half ago, doctors diagnosed him with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which causes “a lot of pain, chronic fatigue, disturbances in attention and difficulty in writing”, he explains.
“For the exams, I need a third time, but sometimes the tests are linked without giving me that possibility.”
“I have a lower concentration capacity than able-bodied people, I would need to be able to rest after two hours of work, but it is not possible, Lucas continues. I can’t do things very quickly, I feel very, very bad during these exams and my results are mixed. “
“The worst feeling is knowing that you have the knowledge, but that you are not able to demonstrate it during the exams because their organization is inadequate. You feel deprived of your capacities.”
Faced with this discrimination, some students are forced to abandon their studies. “I gave up this year, because by dint of fighting, my health no longer follows. There has been an accumulation of material, moral things”, portrays Roxanne, who also received transphobic remarks.
“I had no contact this year with students. Last year, there was even a beginning of harassment with the students. They made fun of my way of speaking, of my way of functioning.”
To fight against this “validist system”, who puts “knowingly disabled students away”, Lucas would like to create an association of disabled students. “I have already asked people if they wanted to join me. But the problem is that the associations office is in a place that I do not have access to with my chair, he slips. But I do not resign myself. The fight against validism is a political fight. “
* The first name has been changed at the request of the interested party