Are you 18 years old? Are you independent?
These are two of the requirements to own a hearing dog. Being independent means that you can take care of yourself, and obviously, you need to be at the age of maturity.
University and college are examples of how you approach adult life; you are no longer in your parents’ cocoon. It is up to you to grow in this new phase that is adulthood, without forgetting your parent’s teaching and where you came from, because it made you the person you are now. It may take lots of strength and pressure to find a job that eventually leads you to want to find your place, and not forgetting the opportunity to socialize with more mature adults to expand your views. Although lots of responsibility comes with age, you make decisions that one day will affect your future; this is down to your personal issues, such as the imminent drop of your studies to help your family or the possibility of being offered a chance to advance in your study with an internship, but also changing your mind in the subject you have chosen from the beginning.
At 18 years old, you have decided to go to university or college, and many thoughts come to mind: find new friends, move to another state, and find a job to sustain your studies. But what happens when you are deaf or hard of hearing? More doubts come to mind: How can I make friends? Will they accept me? Is there a club for the deaf and hard of hearing?
A person with hearing loss faces challenges in the classroom, such as learning and writing new terminology, seating where students are far from the teacher to lip read, and the room’s acoustics.
Are universities and colleges more concerned about people with hearing loss?
According to the ADA, Taking a Service Animal to School | ADA National Network (adata.org), a person with a disability who uses a service animal may bring the animal to the same areas of the campus where the handler may go. The school staff may only ask two questions:
- Is the animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
Colleges and Universities may have a policy asking students who use a service animal to contact the school Disability Services Coordinator to register a student with disability… Higher education – an institution may not require any document about the training and or certification of a service animal. They may require proof that the service animal has any vaccinations.
The college or university must make adjustments to accommodate the student and the service animal. Still, the students are responsible for the service animal’s needs, such as food and a place for the dog to sleep.
What university or college are you going to?
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