field school

[MeganAnne]

I am going to an outdoor field school this summer and am so nervous! I graduated May 03 and my ic started a few months later so I'm not accustomed to school and dealing with ic. Any suggestions? Do you even bother telling your teachers why you're getting up to go often? What about during tests?

[blue]

I don't attend school, but I think it would be beneficial for you to advise your teachers of your situation. You have a disability, they should accomodate you.

[calmkiwi21]

When I was in school a couple years back I made sure that my teachers were aware of my condition and most of them just let me go whenever I needed to without asking. When it came to test time they usually would either have a teacher go with to make sure no cheating was happening(exams only) but even then they usually would just let me go. If you have a note from a doctor that really helps as well. I find most teachers are usually very understanding and that way they don't ask questions later :)
Laterz
From
Amy

[kadi]

As a high school teacher, I never have a problem with students who give me a doctor or parent note re: the bathroom.

Since this is college and your teachers are not legally responsible for your safety while in or out of class (you're an adult), you are even less likely to have a problem...

Any professor if handed a doctor's note on letterhead, would be obligated to not penalize you (in USA-per the Americans with Disabilities Act). Beyond that, one would hope basic human compassion and decency would prevail!!!

I remember there was one college student who posted here that "Disabled Student Services" at her college allowed her to take her exams in their room with a bathroom close by and handled any difficult professors for her. Might be worth checking to see if your college has such an office...

Good luck! How great that you're not letting IC drag you down & you're going on with your dreams!!!!

[amaris]

I agree with the advice given. A note from your doctor would go a long way in helping describe your need to go frequently.

In addition to telling a teacher about my IC, I know that at my university I could have formally request accomodations through their disability management office. Basically, it would require documentation from my doctor.

Good luck with your studies.

Amaris

[SharonA]

Ages ago and in a land far, far away, I worked at a college in the Disabled Student Services. We did do everything we could to make things easier for our student clients. One of the things we did was work with the instructors to inform them about their students we represented. They were informed of the disabilites and limitations of these students. Sometimes, we went to classes to take notes for and help those students who needed that type of help which also included being a proctor.

Is this field school part of a post grad course? Are you still considered a student at the school? If so, search out the Student Services available to you. If not, then I would suggest that you be your own representative and inform your instructor of your condition and limitations.

Best of luck to you... :)

[MeganAnne]

:) Thank you so much for the responses! Wow, I just posted last night and look at all of them. You ladies are great!

The course is actually an archaeological field school so it will be out in the woods. There are only about 20 of us in the course, and it is off campus, so I don't think I will contact student services, but I will let my teacher know ahead of time. I guess I'm getting more used to explaining to people I have bladder issues!

Thanks for all the support! Any school success stories? I find it really hard to think about going back to school full time with IC, but it's been a goal of mine for some time.

[amaris]

I've had IC since I started grad school in 1999. I was able to get through because my symptoms were mild until last fall when things took a turn for the worse. I was lucky that things didn't get bad until after I was done with my course work. Since I got worse while I was working on my research, fellow students and my advisor hadn't really noticed that I was taking so many trips to the bathroom and in pain.

Thanks to a good uro that gave me the diagnosis and started me on my meds and the info here, I finally am starting to feel a bit more like my normal self. Getting my IC under control so it doesn't interfere with my work has been a success in and of itself (even though only 1 person at school knows a lot about my IC)........Now if I can just make it to my defense this fall......

[MeganAnne]

That is great, Amaris! You've come a long way... you'll surely be able to give your defense!:thumbsup: What did you study?

[amaris]

molecular cancer biology