University at its core is about education and research and getting your degree. But there is so much more to it like societies, spending time with friends, events and so much more and managing all that while still getting that education is a huge task as it is. You add disability to that and it becomes even more difficult to manage. However, despite all this, it is definitely possible to enjoy university to its fullest! So here are my tips for managing university life with a disability:
You’re not going to miss out if you don’t go to everything
I think my biggest worry in the first term of first year was that because I didn’t go to all the parties that I was massively missing out. That because I didn’t feel up to going out every night over freshers, that I wasn’t going to make friends. But honestly, this really wasn’t the case.
I still made friends when I felt up to going out and you can still socialise with people outside of parties. Whatever you feel up to doing is completely okay and you have to do what’s right for you. Besides, most people you meet at parties, etc. you never meet again anyways so it’s really not essential, they’ll be plenty of opportunities to make friends and have fun!
Equally, sometimes it’s worth pushing yourself a bit
I’ve always had a mindset that if I’m going to be in pain from my disability anyways then might as hurt for a good reason (this is in the context of my chronic pain/ disability that can’t get better or worse).
If you really want to do something like go out on that beach day or whatever you want to do, sometimes it’s worth being in pain or exhausted for the next few days after if you’ve had a great time doing it. It’s all about managing your life so you’re not overdoing it too much but also not letting your disability stop you from enjoying life to its fullest.
Set realistic expectations of yourself
This is mainly in the context of the academic side of uni but can be applied to all of it. Setting realistic expectations of yourself right from the start of uni will do you a whole lot of good. It does not matter that your friend or someone on your course is reading 5 papers a day and getting their coursework in 2 weeks in advance, if that’s too much for you, then that is okay.
You can only do what you can do and as long as you’re doing your best, then that’s all anyone can ask for. Even though you’re there to get your degree, you’re also there to have fun and have a social life and also give yourself time for looking after yourself as well.
Get a planner
I discovered this way too late being almost a the end of my second year but just get a planner. Whether its a physical one or an app, trying to remember everything to need to do in the week plus when coursework is due and when you have exams and when you have events on, its just so much easier if its written down somewhere.
With my disability causing brain fog and issues with memory, I was forever forgetting important deadlines or just things I had on until just a few days before. Having a planner has really helped me organise my life a lot better and really helps with the memory and time keeping issues.
Budget EVERYTHING
I will attach a link to my post on how to budget here but, especially with the added costs of managing disability, it is always good to have an extensive budget to make sure everything is accounted for. It will make your life a lot easier and less stressful knowing that you can afford rent and food and everything you need to live your life.
Use all the support that is available to you
Admittedly, sometimes not everyone can be overly helpful at uni with helping with issues with disability but there will be someone there who can help. The main thing is knowing the people that you can go to if you have any issues at all. Yes there is the accessibility team or welfare team but there’s also your tutors, lecturers, head of departments, the SU team and many more.
Yes it is a pain when the people specifically meant to help with disability just aren’t helpful but there will be someone there at the uni that will be able to help and knowing that you have those people can make all the difference.
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