The Battalion
Aggielife
Page 3 • Thursday, September 2, 1999
Through Adversity
Disabled students deal with life at Texas A&M
BY AMANDA PALM
The Battalion
S arah Whitlock, a senior psychology
major, was born with cerebral palsy.
It is a disorder of the central nervous
system that causes spastic paralysis and de
fective motor ability. She has never had the
privilege of being able to walk, to use the
restroom alone or to even do something as
simple as getting dressed by herself.
Whitlock has functioned in a wheel
chair her entire life. She has a staff of eight
people who assist her in everyday activi
ties, such as getting out of bed and helping
her get ready for the day.
“My staff helps me with normal things
people do by themselves,” she said. “To
get out of bed, I have to use a hydraulic lift
that must be pumped by hand. I can’t
pump it, so I need someone to do it for me.
“Just putting pants on in the morning
and getting dressed is a chore for me. To
use the restroom, I have to go back to my
dorm. I can’t go anytime or anywhere I
want, i live on a schedule, and 1 have to
stick to it.''
Across campus, while Whitlock is mak
ing her way to class in her power chair,
Kevin Richardson, a senior informational
systems major, is walking to his next class.
He does not use a wheelchair and he looks
just like anyone else you pass while walk
ing to class.
Richardson was born with cancer and
had his right eye removed when he was 10
months old. He grew up with a prosthesis
in his right eye and full use of his left eye.
At 16, he was hit in his left eye with a dart
and lost partial sight in that eye as well.
Richardson has been forced to adjust to
his minimal sight. He has taken classes to
learn braille and how to function with the
loss of his sight. Richardson’s life activities
have become limited since he lost partial
sight of his left eye.
“I have to be more cautious so I don’t
hurt what sight I have left,” he said. “The
sports 1 play are limited for me. I just start
ed to play racquetball, but I have to wear
special goggles. I can’t go outside if it’s re
ally windy because I can’t take the chance
of getting something in my eye.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 defines a disability as a “mental or
physical impairment which substantially
limits one or mbre major life activities.”
A person with a disability would not be
able to perform such things as manual
tasks by themselves or be able to see, hear
or speak without major difficulty.
Services for Students with Disabilities
ensures that students who are disabled
have access to all University programs.
According to Services for Students with
Disabilities, there are 400 students at Texas
A&M who are defined as disabled.
Though most people associate disabili
ties with something physical, such as be
ing in a wheelchair or having to use crutch
es, the majority of those 400 students have
invisible disabilities. These include blind
ness, deafness, dyslexia and other learning
disabilities.
Whitlock and Richardson need special
assistance from their professors when they
are in class.
Because of his partial sight, Richardson
must sit in the front of the class so he can
see the professor.
see Disabled on Page 5.
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