Can a disability (epilepsy) be an advantage?

Dancer41
Sat, 09 Dec 2017 21:55:13 +0000

@clmiller3 - I have a child with a disability and while I don’t think of it as an advantage (nor does she), I do understand your re-phrased question about disability and diversity and I’ve wondered it along the way myself. I do think students with a disability add to the diversity of a school. In my child’s case, her disability is obvious. There have been many instances where she’s been bullied, isolated or worse - assumed to be intellectually unable to do the work or perform at the level at which she’s capable. Her classmates and teachers have learned to accept her as part of the community and I believe the community is more diverse because she’s in it. During the admissions process, she was very careful not to use it as an excuse or a pity card, but as she’s matured, she’s accepted herself in a way that allows her to acknowledge that the disability is a part of who she is. She was ok allowing her GC to mention it in her recommendation. Not sure exactly what the GC wrote, but assuming it speaks to her character, work ethic, perseverance, etc. My daughter also mentioned it organically in her essay. The essay was about another topic, but there was a reference to the disability. We aren’t concerned that it’s out there as my daughter interviewed at many schools and therefore it was not a secret. She’s faced a lot of adversity in her life because of the way she came into this world. She will have a hard road ahead - people can be cruel. If her disability helps her in some way as colleges review her application because they know how much harder she works for the same result, I’m not ashamed to say that I’d be happy. Best of luck - this road is not easy.