Dads push — and UGA responds for students with disabilities

As fathers of children who suffered traumatic brain injuries, Scott Dougan and Chris Byrne know how hard their daughters work to keep up with their studies at the University of Georgia and continue the therapies vital to their recoveries.

Dougan, a UGA cellular biology professor, said his daughter, who has still not regained full use of her legs and uses a wheelchair after a devastating car accident two years ago, undergoes intense therapy four times a week.

Byrne’s daughter, struck by a car as a high school senior in January 2013 in Athens, still copes with memory and vision impairment and debilitating stretches of no sleep at all — as long as nine to 10 days. She, too, also has extensive weekly rehab.

These two Athens fathers don’t portray their daughters as victims, but as fighters — continuing with their dreams to be UGA students despite only being physically able to take one to three classes a

semester.

The two men felt UGA ought to recognize students with serious health challenges for their efforts.

So, Byrne began a campaign to prod UGA to change its policy allowing only students with full course loads to be Presidential Scholars or make the dean’s list.

Byrne wrote to UGA leadership about his daughter’s high GPA, explaining, “But despite this extraordinary work, she will not receive any recognition from the university as a Presidential Scholar or on the Dean’s list. Why? Because she is physically unable to take more than 9 hours a semester. So, my question is this: since she has taken 9 hours this semester, which is considered full time for a disabled student, is there any way within the system that she can be recognized for her academic achievements?”

Byrne’s efforts paid off: The UGA University Council recently changed the policy; now students approved by the UGA Disabilities Resource Center to carry a reduced caseload for documented medical reasons, such as brain injury or cancer, can qualify for academic honors. UGA President Jere Morehead signed on to the policy earlier this month.

Byrne shared his many email exchanges during the past year with UGA officials, all of whom agreed with his sentiment but suggested the wheels of bureaucracy may not move as fast as he might like.

That is when Byrne sought out Dougan, who understood firsthand the struggles students with brain injuries face. Dougan enlisted his colleague in the department of cellular biology Mark Farmer, who serves on the University Council, and the pace quickened.

“Most professors, myself included before my daughter’s accident, don’t have a clue how to deal with students who have brain injuries and what their challenges are,” said Dougan in a phone interview. “No one had ever thought about this situation.”

In talking with UGA, Byrne emphasized, “If disabled students are truly seen by university administrators as part of the university and student body, the school should find ways to include, not exclude, them from academic recognition.”

At the time the car struck her on Milledge Avenue in downtown Athens, Byrnes’ daughter was dual-enrolled at UGA and ranked sixth in her high school class. Her severe injuries kept her hospitalized from January to July in the ICU and then in rehab at Shepherd Center. Her goal throughout: Graduate from high school and resume her studies. She started at UGA in the spring semester of 2014.

It has not been easy. “I don’t think anyone understands how hard it is energy-wise just to come to class for these students,” said Byrne. “They are working harder than fulltime students taking 15 hours but were getting no recognition or encouragement.”

Now that UGA has changed its policy, Byrne has reached out to his alma maters, Le Moyne College and Niagara University, to ask them to consider doing the same thing.

Dougan’s daughter Karla is negotiating the challenges of UGA with her trademark drive and spirit, becoming one of the handful of students in a wheelchair to rush a sorority, said her father. Dougan praised the sororities for making it possible for Karla to participate in pledge activities, since many of the houses are not wheelchair-accessible. He said students with brain injuries often isolate themselves so it helps when colleges enable and foster involvement.

“A brain injury can happen to anyone at any time,” said Dougan. “I have a niece who had a stroke two weeks after my daughter’s accident, and she was 14. I know another family whose son at Georgia Tech was hit by a car while he was riding a bicycle. Being able to attend school with their peers is an important part of their recovery. If we want people with brain injuries to be able to be a functioning part of society, they need an education.”

CONTRIBUTED UGA freshman Karla Dougan is among the students balancing weekly medical appointments and physical therapy with studies. She is still in recovery from a serious car accident two years ago.