A second year Black student with autism, Chase Binford expressed at a disabilities panel he felt lesser than his neurotypical classmates in highschool. Binford felt alienated from being judged by his own race for “acting of another race.”
“In high school, I compared myself a lot to other people,” said Binford. “I felt like everyone was so much smarter than me and had it all figured out. I used to get judged a lot and misunderstood. Even people who were the same race as me would think I was too different or acting of another race.”
Binford and three other students shared their personal experiences of overcoming bullying, mental health struggles, and stereotypes based on their disabilities such as autism, ADHD, and deafness at a panel held at LAC.
“Strengths in Differences”, a panel hosted in the M Building on Tuesday, gave students with disabilities the opportunity to share their experiences and describe their educational journeys.
The panelists included Francheska Guryeva and Sarah Pineda, soon-to-be graduates who are deaf; Chase Binford, a second year student who has autism; and Samuel Borrowdale, a second year student who has autism and ADHD.
Each student detailed their respective challenges navigating their early academic careers.
“I wasn’t diagnosed until my freshman year of high school, and I was bullied throughout middle school,” said Borrowdale. “When I got to college, I finally found the support system I needed.”
Gureyeva attended a regular high school instead of a deaf or hard of hearing school to accommodate her.
“The first thing I remember growing up as a kid was that many people didn’t know if I was really deaf or just hard of hearing, so growing up in a hearing school for me was incredibly difficult,” said Guryeva, speaking through an interpreter.
Pineda expressed that she was bullied even though she attended a deaf school.
“Growing up, I was at a deaf residential school where all the students were deaf and I still got bullied,” said Pineda through an interpreter.
An insightful topic of conversation during the panel was the intersectionality of having a disability and personal identity, including gender and race.
Left to right: Samuel Borrowdale, Chase Binford and Sarah Pinedas prepare what they are going to say prior to the start of the “Strengths In Differences” panel. Pinedas communicates through LBCC interpreter Stephanie Bonales. The panel took place in the M Building at LAC on Oct. 24. (Ryenne Jolliff)
“I identify as a woman,” Guryeva explained. “I think many people tend to look down on people who identify with multiple identities, but I understand that I can. We are the right people to be identifying who we are with disabilities.”
Borrowdale, an Asian man, encountered being stereotyped as a child.
“Kids started noticing all the red marks on my tests and they would wonder ‘Hey, why do you have so much red on your test? Shouldn’t you be better than that?’” Borrowdale said. “And that was my first time interacting with those Asian stereotypes. And as I got older and matured, I realized that not all Asians have to be that. Everyone can be who they want to be.”
Pineda said: “I am proud of not only me, but all of us up here. We all have different personalities and different things that we have to go through, but that struggle to get to the next level is all why we’re here. We’re all human and that’s the one thing we have in common.”
While all of the students agreed that LBCC is accommodating toward students with disabilities, the school could make improvements to be more accessible.
“Having more interpreters and having them available, definitely more of that,” said Pineda. “Even just emergency alarms with lights. There’s a lot of sounding alarms that I can’t hear. There’s not a lot of information being broadcasted throughout the school. We definitely need to be more innovative in that.”
In addition to asking for greater availability for interpreters and widely accessible information across campus, Pineda also expressed a desire for LBCC to hire deaf instructors. “It would be great if we had deaf instructors (for subjects other than ASL). Hearing people can learn from deaf instructors, but I would have direct communication and I really feel that would help me be successful, and help the college be successful.”
Gureya said: “There’s different reasons why our accommodations need accommodating. Whether it be the tutoring centers or life skills. It’s our own beautiful journey.”
Ultimately, the students want to convey a message of belonging and inclusivity on campus.
“We can’t just sit by and do nothing,” Guryeva said. “We have to be active. There’s so many things out there in the real world that we don’t grow up with, things that we may be blind to, but we need to start opening our eyes to see what real life’s about. Disabilities won’t stop us.”