NARASI PROSES ADAPTASI KOMUNIKASI MAHASISWA TUNANETRA DI PERGURUAN TINGGI

Abstract

Students with visual impairments experience various obstacles in the adjustment process in university. This study aims to understand the communication adaptation process of blind students in inclusive universities. This research is a qualitative descriptive research that uses narrative analysis with the narrative analysis structure of the Lacey and Gillespie model which is a development of Tzvetan Todorov. The theories used are the Interaction Adaptation Theory and the Anxiety Uncertainty Management Theory. The research informants were three students with visual impairment (total blindness and low vision) at an inclusion university in Mataram City who were interviewed in depth regarding their life experiences in the communication application process at university. The results of this study show that the communication adaptation process of each blind student in higher education creates various strategies based on previous experiences, communication networks, and the support of the closest people. The communication adaptation process of informant I uses assertive communication to build networks with friends and lecturers in adapting, including in fighting discrimination carried out by the lecturers themselves. The adaptation process of informant II who underwent an online lecture system that made her not interact directly with lecturers and friends in the learning process, making her often communicate with campus managers to get access that suits his needs. The adaptation process of Informant III underwent obstacles with the support of the closest people, his experience that did not come from inclusion high school made him take longer to adapt but the communication network between himself and fellow blind people and lecturers helped him to stay in university. The form of interaction between the three informants carried out as an effort to adapt is to tell their needs to others and build networks with various parties. In order to adapt to the uncertainty and anxiety they experience, blind students use dyadic communication to explain directly what anxiety and uncertainty they are thinking about. This research provides insight into the management of communication and adaptation of blind students and its implications for the development of better inclusive education.