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A story about feeling excluded and stigmatized as a neuroatypical person. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"db3df2ef-6cd2-44b0-95f5-9ddce0526963"},"title":"Life Outside a (very small) Box by Anonymous"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Some say the world was not built to be accommodating for neuroatypical people. It's true. In order to achieve our goals and realize our potential, we also face systemic barriers that must be overcome. One might think that a university health program would be less confrontational. It's wrong. Let me explain.<\/p>\n\n

I wanted to find a program that shared my values \u200b\u200bof self-determination, inclusion and collaboration. I wanted to help others give what I wanted to give to myself, which is a rich life with a disability. After all, nearly 16% of the Quebec population lives with some form of disability. Not all of them need to be unhappy, and if they are, they should be able to be accommodated by knowledgeable healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n

In my first years of study in the health field, I found what I was looking for. The foundations of my profession made a lot of sense to me. I had good grades on top of that! When we started clinical training, I started having problems. When expressing my point of view, I often fell into the blind spots of my colleagues and teacher. I quickly felt compelled to fit into a mold to be successful and to become a good professional. I was made to understand this through comments, sighs and exclusion. In group work, I felt that I was slowing down the group by expressing my opinion. I hardly managed to put my color in the works and preferred it that way to keep interpersonal relationships minimally harmonious.<\/p>\n\n

And as we progressed through this one, the dissonance was more and more bothersome. My grades, my school attendance and my sense of belonging to the program gradually dropped. I developed social anxiety and a school phobia in my senior year. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"c8376fd3-fae1-45cc-83fe-4af8aef8984b"},"title":"The Wicked Problem"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

The first step was to ask myself the question whether I was necessarily the cause of my problems and to go and talk about it to workers and people who were also neuroatypical. They allowed me to ventilate, to understand what was happening and not to internalize the reproaches that were made to me. They directed me to resources, such as integration services for students with disabilities. Receiving my request was relatively easy. The application of recommendations in internship settings? Another challenge, if not a failure. I understood that transparency is not always a winner when declaring a disability. Some people don't really know how to adapt to it, even if they say they do. To date, I could not say the best strategy,<\/p>\n\n

I have also found opportunities for student engagement outside of my faculty. So I could meet people who looked more like me and develop myself through environments where diversity was essential. The contrast between me and the others therefore no longer existed, because I was different like everyone else. For certain mandates, I was brought to work with people who could help me and with whom I had a harmonious and effective collaboration. These moments outside of faculty reassured me of my \"worth\" in the \"real world\", that is, when people do not look at each other through the prism of diagnoses. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"7e0957c2-cb5e-4a4d-9603-2efd81f628ae"},"title":"Finding a Solution"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Don't take anything personally that doesn't help you achieve your goals. Do not hesitate to sow seeds, the world does not change overnight. Speak loud so that others will run because you walked. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"a8d027a7-dd8c-4688-be63-5eded1300078"},"title":"Final Thoughts"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Life Outside a (very small) Box<\/em>. (2021, October 4). Liberated Learners. <\/span>https:\/\/wicked.liberatedlearner.ca\/collaborator\/life-outside-a-very-small-box\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","subContentId":"b65e3088-bcad-4adc-b340-31df84040e56","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Sans titre Text"}},"title":"APA Reference"}],"hTag":"h2"}

Liberated Learner Wicked Problems- Life Outside a (very small) Box

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Liam Peart