Panel Talks About Disabilities

Vanora Estridge - Guest Writer

Published: Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Updated: Wednesday, October 8, 2008

A panel discussion entitled Breaking the Silence: What Students With Disabilities Have Been Waiting To Tell You was held on the second floor of the Student's Building on Monday, Oct. 6.

The panel consisted of three Vassar alumnae/i, a current Vassar student and the moderator, David Flink, the Executive Director of Project Eye to Eye, which has chapters at several different colleges, including Vassar.

Project Eye to Eye is a disability support service and social justice movement that strives to raise awareness of learning disabilities and of disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The program also strives to provide help for young people who feel that they have been isolated and labeled by their diagnoses.

As part of this mission, Project Eye to Eye assigns mentors to children with disabilities like these. The mentors have the same disabilities as the children, and are able to provide support and understanding to the young people struggling with these stigmatized illnesses.
The panelists at the discussion had all been diagnosed with a learning disability such as dyslexia or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The ambiance of the event floor in the Students' Building was serious and contemplative, despite the occasional laughter that trickled across the room when panelists shared amusing stories.

But the session seemed to have people spellbound. Each member of the audience was present for a different reason, whether it was members of the Vassar chapter of Project Eye to Eye, or just those who were captivated by the panel's title.

The panelist discussed the fact that their disabilities have caused them to be stigmatized by society. They also talked of the need for change in attitudes toward individuals with learning disabilities.

Three of the four panelists said that they had come to terms with their disabilities; they have learned ways to adjust and move forward with their lives.

According to the statistics provided in a pamphlet published by Project Eye to Eye, less than two percent of those diagnosed with learning disabilities ever receive bachelor's degrees.

Only five percent of all students with learning disabilities and ADHD go on to any form of higher education, whereas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nine percent of the general adult population is enrolled in college or graduate school.

Each of the panelists, excluding the current Vassar student, has graduated from college, with two in graduate school and one working. Flink graduated with honors from Brown University with degrees in psychology and education.

There was a common sentiment that traveled from one panelist to another: the role that groups play in bringing people away from the feeling of loneliness and feeling that they are the only one with their particular disability.

It was through a group session that Flink met Jonathan Mooney, with whom he co-founded Project Eye to Eye, which is now a national organization.

More information about Project Eye to Eye can be found at the program's Web site projecteyetoeye.org. There is a program newsletter, called The Retina, which is available at the site.

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