Picking Up the Pieces: Finding My Way as a Visually Impaired Woman in Higher Education

by Stephanie A.N. Levin, Damian Mellifont PhD (Editor), Jennifer Smith-Merry PhD (Editor)

Overview

What barriers and traumas do students with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairments, experience in higher education settings?

Drawing on personal experience, author Stephanie Levin provides an overview of disability history within higher education settings and explains the impact of poor care on disabled students. Stephanie was only 20 when she experienced retinal detachment that required surgery. Shortly afterwards she experienced retinal detachment in the same eye which resulted in vision loss. With her newfound identity as a visually impaired woman, Stephanie struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. She refused accommodations within her university for fear of stigmatization, but she found that her acquaintances, professors, and friends viewed her differently.

Through themes of trauma and identity, this book is ideal reading for teachers, carers, and disabled students as well as students of Disability Studies and Education.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781916985919
Publisher:	Lived Places Publishing
Publication date:	04/09/2025
Series:	Disability Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Stephanie A.N. Levin is a doctoral candidate in the educational leadership program at Rowan University. She is also a management assistant at the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. Stephanie is enthusiastic about promoting inclusiveness for higher education students with disabilities and she is an advocate for accessibility and social justice.

Dr Damian Mellifont is a neurodivergent researcher who leads and contributes to studies that advance the economic and social inclusion of people with disability. Damian is a member of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CDRP) leadership team at The University of Sydney and head of the Lived Experience Research Lab. Damian has been an active member of the Centre over the last 5 years, with extensive prior experience in government policy analysis and evaluation. Damian strongly advocates for the disability inclusion mantra of, ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ to be consistently applied to research about disability.

Dr Jen Smith-Merry is Director of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney, Australia. The Centre for Disability Research and Policy produces collaborative research that actively influences policy and practice to improve the lives of people with disability in Australia and the Asia-Pacific and create a better life for people with disability around the world. Jen strongly believes that academic research, policy and service design should be led by people with disability. Jen has published over 100 academic and policy papers and policy focused research has led to significant structural reforms for disability policy in Australia.