A hallmark of any university’s success is the capabilities of its students. In Ateneo for instance, diversity manifests, among other ways, through the growing population of Students with Special Needs (SWSNs) on campus. However, despite the efforts being employed by the University to accommodate the needs of SWSNs on campus, there is still more that needs to be done to create a more inclusive and open environment for them.

SWSN is the umbrella term for students who have specialized psychological or physical needs, and it encompasses both students with temporary disabilities such as injuries and those with permanent physical and neurobiological disorders. According to the Loyola Schools Office of Health Services (LSOHS), the most common conditions among SWSNs are Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, and physical disabilities due to health concerns.

Administrative support

The LSOHS and the Loyola Schools Office of Guidance and Counseling (LSOGC) are the main offices that handle the population of SWSNs. These offices are aided by the Office for Student Services (OSS), which delegates tasks based on the particular cases of each student and which office would be best suited for their needs.

OSS Assistant to the Director Ma. Estrella V. Paulino says that generally, all faculty and staff are given basic Psychological First Aid training on awareness and protocols for various disorders. Disorders and conditions that are briefed on include anxiety and phobias to more specific cases like self-harm and suicide. The special needs of common disorders such as ADHD and Aspergers, a specific syndrome on the autism spectrum, are addressed through means of interventions and adjustments within the classroom setting. These are made on the professor’s end, such as adjusting to the lifestyle that a student’s specific condition entails.

With the Ateneo’s expansion over the past few years, concrete provisions for physical disabilities have also been implemented by the administration, such as lifters in driveways to accommodate those with physical disabilities and renovations for larger bathrooms for Persons with Disabilities (PWD). Additionally, the OSS offers a personal ID service, where SWSNs who have disclosed their condition to the University may simply claim their IDs at the office instead of undergoing the normal application process. Designated parking slots are provided as well in addition to stair lifts.

These developments stem from the administration’s prioritization of improving student services to strengthen the support that the faculty and staff can provide. “Having the faculty be a solid support system is important because they are the first line of defense for any needs of the students,” says Paulino.

The LSOGC also plays a major role in providing necessary aid, specifically for students with psychiatric disabilities and mental health concerns. Through emotional regulation programs, guidance tests, expressive therapy, the Integrated Ateneo Formation (InAF) program for students’ holistic development, and other such initiatives, the LSOGC aims to offer a safe space where students can seek help and support. Currently, the office is looking to finish Blue Snooze, a service that will allow tired students to take a nap for a maximum of 30 minutes, which can be found on the second floor of the Social Sciences Building.

Although care for mental health is widely advocated by professionals and organized groups, LSOGC Director Gary Faustino, MA, RPsy shares that the stigma surrounding people with psychiatric disabilities is nonetheless prevalent. “[The students] don’t like opening up.” He adds, citing stereotypes and misconceptions on these illnesses.

Additionally, external and environmental factors such as peer pressure and social media are major influences to mood changes and psychiatric disabilities. In light of this, Faustino mentions that grit and resilience are “foundations for emotional stability,” which the LSOGC hopes to instill among students struggling in difficult situations.

Quality of life

In addition to the services provided to SWSNs, the University also has measures in place to accommodate the students’ academic and extracurricular affairs.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA) Josefina Hofileña, PhD notes that the concerns and requests brought to her office often relate to the physical and sensory impairments of the students. In cases such as those of students with hearing difficulties or partial deafness, preferred seating at the front or to a specific side of the classroom is the primary request. For those with chronic fatigue or limitations for mobility that require the use of a wheelchair, affected departments collaborate with professors and other offices to keep a student’s classes within a specific radius or area. The ramps, chair lifts, and elevators are utilized to ease mobility around campus.

In terms of academics, while it is not a requirement for SWSNs to disclose their condition to their professor, a student may still opt to bring it up if they feel that it is necessary. For instance, if a doctor recommends that a student take up a lower unit course, the family may consult the ADAA in order to adjust the student’s Individual Program of Study (IPS). If the school itself wants to initiate a change in the student’s IPS, the consent of the student and the family is always required before any adjustments could be made.

The Physical Education (PE) program, in particular, has recently been implementing plans that seek to provide a wider variety of opportunities for the participation of SWSNs. There are currently two programs that SWSNs are encouraged to join: the Foundations of Physical Fitness and Health Lecture (PE 101) and Recreational Activities (PE 113).

Even then, PE Program Director Walter Francis Torres notes that SWSNs are still welcome to enlist in other PE programs. “There is such a thing as wheelchair fencing,” he comments in reference to accommodating SWSNs in the undergraduate fencing class (PE 128). “We have table tennis, volleyball, football, shooting, track and field, running […] as far as they can participate.”

There are also plans to add two additional courses to the roster for next semester’s PE classes called Expressive Dance (PHYED 154.20) and Adapted Physical Education and Recreation (PHYED 154.30). Both classes are specifically designed for SWSNs.

As school organization culture is an integral part of Atenean education, SWSNs are also encouraged by the OSS to join the Ateneo Special Education Society (SPEED), according to Paulino.

SPEED actively promotes awareness and advocates for the Persons with Special Needs (PWSN) sector, beginning within the campus. One of the projects implemented by the organization is Aspire, a job fair specifically catering to PWSNs and their right to employment. Another initiative is SPEED’s initiative of partnering up with establishments that employ PWSNs through A Special Cafe. This project is introduced to raise awareness for PWSN employment and spread awareness beginning within the Atenean community. Consequently, the success of this project garnered the award of Project of the Year and External Collaborative Project of the Year by the Coalition of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) Award last school year. The organization was awarded with Organization of the Year by the COA Awards as well, a testament to the quality and efficacy of their efforts.

Uncommon demands

For certain cases, SWSNs may need specialized equipment, such as a Braille Translation Software and printer, which the University purchased for visually impaired students, one of whom was Roselle Ambubuyog (BS MA ‘01). How ever much this may assist blind students, this only addresses one form of sensory impairment. “We accommodate what we can accommodate,” Hofileña mentions. “There is also the need to take into consideration the capacity of the school to address particular needs.”

Although the University has taken significant steps over the past few years in order to make the overall environment more inclusive for PWDs, there are still important measures that have yet to be undertaken. Political science assistant professor Alma Maria Salvador, PhD highlights the issue, describing her experience with the implementation of a blended classroom and cyber education approach for the MA Political Science major in Global Politics graduate program. This method was developed in collaboration with the Institute on Disability and Public Policy for the ASEAN Region in 2015.

Since the program was funded externally, the department had more leeway to employ a variety of nontraditional tools and techniques to facilitate communication between the students and teachers. These involved the hiring of sign language interpreters and establishing a system for holding online lessons to accommodate the special needs of some students, such as those with mobility impairments. However, the blended classroom-online platform approach has since been discontinued due to difficulties in its implementation, but the overall program is still ongoing, though without the extensive use of online platforms.

Salvador emphasized the difficulties that her two deaf students experienced during the course of the project, stating that the lack of training for both the teachers and auxiliary staff inhibited effective communication between them and other members of the community, especially when not in the company of their translators.

Although the project is still being implemented without the blended classroom-online platform approach, Salvador explains there are no current plans to expand it into the undergraduate level.

Partial inclusivity

Despite clear attempts at catering to the PWSN sector, the University is still far from being fully inclusive to SWSNs. Catering to the sector’s needs is undoubtedly a challenge for any institution, but it is evident that there is still a lot more than can be done.

By comparison, Salvador stresses that other universities provide a much wider range of facilities and services that are specially adapted to the needs of SWSNs, such as sign language translators and extensive ramp and elevator networks to ease transport. Furthermore, Ambubuyog’s case only goes to show that it is very much possible for PWSNs not only to survive, but also to thrive in the Ateneo. Though the demands are high, they can be met.

Salvador emphasizes the need to create a clear and defined space for SWSNs within the University. As she notes, it is still necessary to integrate SWSNs into the social environment on campus and train both faculty and staff to be able to better communicate and accommodate their needs.

At the end of the day, this is a call to action that will only be met with enough dedication and will from all members of the University. “We have to come to terms with expanding the program…they have their own space…What’s our commitment [in the] Ateneo?” she asks.