Recommendations

STAFF

• Partake in education and awareness initiatives on chronic health conditions, specifically with an anti-oppressive and trauma-informed lens.
• Understand the importance of cultural safety in the context of providing support for chronic health conditions, especially for front-line staff who may not wish to further stigmatize students’ experiences.
• Create opportunities for students with chronic health conditions to connect with each other and share their experiences or provide mentorship (peer programs).
• When creating programs or initiatives for students with chronic health conditions, co design with students with lived experiences.
• Provide snacks or water within spaces that students gather between classes.
• Create opportunities for students with chronic health conditions to showcase their strengths
• Engage in critical self-reflection to assess biases and stigmatizing beliefs.
• Help students create a kit of items they may need if their chronic health condition flares-up. An example can be found in the appendix.
• Create a plan for graduating students so that they know where to access supports after graduation.

FACULTY

• Reach out to accessibility services to better understand your own role and how you can collaborate better to support the student.
• Be mindful about how you are discussing accommodations with a student who has chronic health condition and try not to ask questions that may lead to disclosure.
• Adopt UDL within the classroom as much as possible, whether it is within syllabi, rubrics, office hours and assessment strategies.
• Be mindful about students who have chronic health conditions in the classroom and try not to draw attention to them if they have to leave class or if their assistance device makes a sound. Note that sometimes their cellphone may be part of their medical device.
• If there is a student who uses accommodation in class, make sure to monitor your emails to ensure any time sensitive emails are not missed. This includes emails from accessibility services.
• Share with other faculty about what you’re doing to support students, and how your practices are making a difference in their lives.

POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

• Train faculty and staff on disability, chronic health conditions, cultural safety, accessibility and accommodations.
• Provide faculty and instructors with resources that gives them capacity to properly support students with accommodations, especially within big classes.
• Ensure access to accessibility services and their information is easily available for both students and faculty.
• Create policies that require UDL within classrooms.
• Ensure students can access health care teams at their campus health services or be referred to a community health centre that can support their needs.
• Provide third spaces (spaces for students to be in that are not school or home related) for students to be able to step away from academics to socialize and rest.
• Create structural changes to ensure easy and barrier free access to washrooms, having functional automatic doors, availability of feminine hygiene products, snacks, and other materials after hours that students with chronic health conditions might need during an emergency.