To be a Disabled University Student in Finland

This study describes the learning careers of two people with cerebral palsy, how they got to university and how they are coping with the demands of the Finnish university system. The Law of support for disabled people which came into force in 1988 provides fundamental rights and support for a disabled person to cope as independently as possible in Finnish society. Universities have also opened their doors to disabled persons, though cautiously. The social, judicial and humanistic fields of science are the most popular ones as study targets of disabled students. Today there are students with cerebral palsy handicaps, visual and hearing impairments, and those with various motor handicaps studying in our universities. In addition, there is a great number of people with medical chronics such as anorectics, diabetics, epileptics and those with atrophy.