David Bardsley鈥檚 childhood years were difficult, to say the least.
After three years of medical investigation that led to a period of institutionalization, he was nine years old when he was diagnosed with what was then called 鈥渕ental retardation.鈥�
It took 20 years before he received the correct diagnosis of Tourette鈥檚 syndrome.
鈥淲hen I got my diagnosis鈥t least I knew there was a reason for my peculiar behaviour,鈥� Dr. Bardsley says. 鈥淭he diagnosis was a mixed blessing, but it answered a lot of questions and cleared up a lot of things from my past.鈥�
Tourette鈥檚 syndrome is an inherited neurological disorder. It was less prevalent when Dr. Bardsley was a child as it is today, which he suggests could be the reason he was misdiagnosed.
Before Dr. Bardsley even knew he had Tourette鈥檚, he had already graduated from the 黑料吃瓜网Faculty of Dentistry鈥檚 Doctor in Dental Surgery and Master of Science in oral and maxillofacial surgery programs, and was practicing as a surgeon in Vancouver.
鈥淪econd term in third year [at Dalhousie] you [had] to go to the [Victoria General Hospital] and scrub in. I wasn鈥檛 there two days and I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was my real first exposure to [dental surgery]. When you got to see what the specialty was all about, that was a whole different world. I loved it.鈥�
Dr. Bardsley returned to 黑料吃瓜网to speak at the Faculty of Dentistry鈥檚 Centennial Celebration last week about his new book The Less Than Perfect Child.
鈥淎 couple of years ago I got asked to speak to a rotary club. After I鈥檇 given probably 50 of these talks, people always asked for the book,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 wanted parents and individuals to understand what it鈥檚 like to have a behavioural and learning disability. It鈥檚 not necessary to be cured in order to have a happy, healthy, fulfilling life. I鈥檒l probably go to the grave with my Tourette鈥檚, but life is pretty good.鈥�
Dr. Bardsley鈥檚 book discusses the important alternatives to psychotropic medication, which is often used to treat behavioural and learning disabilities such as Tourette鈥檚. He says the support he received at home was crucial to his success.
Supporting students through accommodation
At Dalhousie, the Office of Student Accessibility and Accommodation also supports students and facilitates their access to the university鈥檚 academic programs, activities, facilities and services.
The university鈥檚 goal is to provide students who require accommodation with the support necessary to be successful, says Nancy Webb, the Faculty of Dentistry鈥檚 manager of academic affairs. The faculty follows the university鈥檚 accommodation policy.
鈥淲ithin the last four or five years we鈥檝e had a couple of students who have required accommodation and it鈥檚 really nice to see that [the university鈥檚 process is] working and the students are meeting [the program requirements] with success. We鈥檙e very comfortable with the way it鈥檚 going.鈥�
Academic accommodation for students has become more common in the Faculty of Dentistry over the past few years, she adds, suggesting this is the result of the university鈥檚 broader efforts through the Office of Student Accessibility and Accommodation.
鈥淲e certainly have gained inspiration from the first student we had who received academic accommodation through Dalhousie's new formal process. The student told us that she was told in her [previous] undergraduate studies that the likelihood was that she would not succeed,鈥� she says. 鈥淸The student] came into our program, we provided the accommodation, and everyone was comfortable that she had met the challenges of the program and we were quite confident in her abilities.鈥�
Ms. Webb says the accommodation process allows faculty to recognize their limits so they can identify whether a student has met the challenges of a program.