<p>Hello everyone. I suffer from a mild physical disability which, in layman's terms, makes my bones be fractured fairly easily if, per se, I fall. At school, I use a walker for safety. However, at home and outside, I am able to walk on my own. I just have to be very careful, as my chances of fracturing a bone are very high. I have already fractured my bones approximately 8 times. I currently live in Canada, but plan on going to a university in USA. However, I never leave the home without my parents. I have had no social life, and usually my parents accompany me wherever I go. Now I am planning to go to a university in another country. My parents are not supporting my decision as they are overly cautious. I too have a few questions in my mind. Can someone recommend universities which meet my needs? Specifically, I would need someone such as a "special needs assistant" to accompany me from my dormitory to my class (I am planning to live on the campus). Also, how is the food system in these universities? I am strictly vegetarian, so is it difficult finding such food on the campus? I am capable of cooking the food, but my parents would disapprove of me leaving the campus by myself to get groceries and such. </p>
<p>Talk to the disabilities office at the university you are interested and see what they have to say.
I am not sure if they would be able to assign you a support person.
Does the Canadian govt pay for assistance like that?
Can you start going out by yourself at home so your parents can see how you do?
Can you tell them your plan for what will happen if you fall? Do you have a meical alert bracelet?
Have you considered a motorized scooter?</p>
<p>The services provided by schools will vary. I suspect that the larger the school, the more options might be available. For example, at my daughter’s school they have a point to point service where they will pick you up and transport you to a point closest to your class. The problem is that not all buildings are close to the road/parking lot. In that case you would still need to walk. I don’t know if you will find a support person as you described. A scooter and walker sounds like a better option.</p>
<p>The food issue should be workable (never ideal) at most schools. You will need to look into each school. I would caution you against assuming that you can cook all your own meals as a freshman. When living in a dorm, it can be time consuming. In your case carrying cooking supplies and food to a common kitchen could be a issue. Many of my daughter’s friends planned to cook and wind up eating out instead.</p>
<p>The bigger issue to consider is health insurance. Our insurance system works vastly different then Canada. Can you family absorb the cost of treatment that is not covered by US insurance such as copays and co-insurance?</p>
<p>As a parent of a student with heath issues, I understand where your parents are coming from. We also had to limit the schools that my daughter looked at. I hated the fact that I had to do that but sometimes you have to. Schools will try to make all possible accommodations (actually require by law to make reasonable accommodations) but only you can determine if it will work. Keep in mind that if it doesn’t work, in most cases you will not get a full refund. Most of the times it has work for us but there have been hiccups that cause major problems.</p>
<p>schools must provide “reasonable accommodation” based on the ADA ( Americans with disabilities act).</p>
<p>You need to figure out what they feel reasonable ( usually handicapped access to building transport), but not an aid if you are mobile. It will all depend on your doctors recommendations. </p>
<p>Good advice above is to go out a bit on your own a bit and see how you do</p>