Take A Step Back, Let The Journey of Learning Unfold
Someone said to me recently "we are all disabled in some way", what he was meaning is that there are few of us who don't have one problem or another and indeed some of us may have many. It would be fair to say that some carry an extra burden of a physical or neurological condition that cannot be easily shrugged off, stress or depression are no small matter either and cost some people their lives.
When I first began my career it took a lot of adjustment to take a bit of a step back from being "too sympathetic" towards people with a disability, although ultimately I can see why this is a necessary within Education. People I have found who've worked hard to overcome the obstacles of a disability to enter Higher Education do not want our pity, they want our admiration and they deserve it too. They want to show us that with a little bit of support they can climb the mountains of academia no more or less so than any other student, so often they do and they succeed.
It is within this context that a very esteemed person also once said that "disabled people have the right to succeed and they also have a right to fail". As much as the second half of this statement may take some examining to appreciate, it is underpinned by two notions. The first that not all disabled students will succeed academically just as all able bodied students will not do so, the second therefore being that when failure does occur at least disabled students can say "they tried" . Students can't say that if they're not given a fair go to have a go in their own right.
Pass or fail this is a vitally important principle. I know from experience of at least one disabled person who had a family member complete on their behalf the bulk of the assessment requirements required to complete a course. The net result of which was that although the course was "completed" the student's morale was completely smashed. They did not own the success of the courses completion, they didn't feel any pride with their name being on the certificate, so no graduation or accolades from others were sought and the certificate ended up in some dusty drawer.
We should strive to help people on their way as it is only the right and decent thing to do, although we should not be the navigators of that journey except when our help is sought. There is a place for holding out a hand to others in need but there is also a lot to be said for letting people achieve their own accomplishments in their own right. It is what makes us, what defines us, what shapes our values and ideals as well as sets them in concrete.
We have an obligation to make such opportunities accessible within the realm of Education. However once people are there we also have an obligation to stand back and to let people discover what really drives them and what will catapult them through this journey that they themselves have set out on.