Advocating for oneself is not a skill that is taught to everyone, but it is extremely beneficial to have, especially for students with chronic health conditions or disabilities. Advocating for oneself can look like:
- Advocating for accommodations from staff or faculty
- Advocating for better support by a health care provider, especially if symptoms are dismissed
- Advocating for accommodations at a workplace/co-op/placement
Student Voice: The Importance of Speaking Up: Managing Chronic Illness in the Workplace – First Year Co-op Student
Jordan Leis, a first-year student, talks about his experience with ulcerative colitis and starting a co-op.
“I was so worried about being an inconvenience to my boss. In your first year, engineering students know very little about the industry so, you’re trying to sell yourself as the lowest liability option. That pitch wouldn’t work for me as someone with chronic illnesses because my bosses would have to worry about me.”
It’s important to remember that, while advocating for oneself is encouraged, students are under no obligation to disclose their disability or chronic health condition to faculty, staff or placement/co-op workplace. In addition to this, accessibility advisors or staff are always there to help advocate on behalf of the student if students are not comfortable advocating for themselves directly to faculty.
Ways for Students to Advocate for Themselves (Fu, 2023; Women’s Health and Equality Queensland, 2025)
With a doctor:
- Clearly stating “These condition/symptoms are impacting my ability to function in life/school” or that you are “currently experiencing a flare up of disability related symptoms”.
- If possible, keep track of how your condition is impacting you by taking notes and writing down dates and times. Note down the functional impairments you may experience and be prepared for your appointment as much as you can.
- If you are comfortable, bring a trusted friend with you to your appointment if they may be able to help with advocating for you
- Practice what you would want to say beforehand with a friend and write down what you would like to chat about
- Try to figure out what your desired outcome is with your health care visit
- Ask questions such as why a certain treatment option or lack of treatment is being recommended, whether there are alternative options, if there are side effects for certain medications, and where you can go to find more information on what was discussed at the appointment.
- If you need a note, remember that this may not be covered under your student health plan, and it is not covered under OHIP.
- If you are looking to provide documentation for your campus accessibility services, look into the documents and prepare the form you need to fill out to the best of your ability before your visit.
- If there is still dismissal of concern or you don’t feel fully supported, consider talking to a trusted friend or family member for support and consider if this health care provider is the right person for you.
Role of Social Media
While each person’s experience is unique, social media has shown to play a role in how people with chronic health conditions share information with each other. Some examples are Tik Tok videos on certain health conditions, Instagram pages or Reddit forums. These social media communities enable people to learn from their peers, such as their experiences with health care providers and the medical information and advice they have received (Kjærulff et al., 2023). This would be an important consideration for health care providers as students may use these peer experiences to inform how they seek out support.
With faculty (Fairmont University, n.d.):
- Review what your own responsibilities are for your own accommodations and what you need to be accountable for as a student
- To avoid delays in accommodation, reach out to your professor immediately after classes begin. Schedule a time and chat in person. Be persistent if you don’t receive a response via email and potentially try to chat with them after class.
- Prepare for your meeting by noting down specific times of the year that you may think would be a challenging time (October/November when it gets darker at night earlier (daylight savings), high stress periods like midterms and exams where flare-ups may occur, etc.).
- Discuss what your main challenges might be throughout the semester and if there is anything concerning in terms of assessments or course delivery that might be impacted by your chronic health condition.
- Let them know that you will be in touch with them throughout the semester so that they know to keep an eye out for your email if it pops up.
- If there are concerns or dismissal, connect with your campus’ accessibility services. This is also applicable if you are not comfortable talking about your need for accommodation directly with the professor.
Additional Information:
Tips for Communicating with Your Professors About Accommodations
Fairmont State University outlines what students can do when communicating with their professors and what to do before, during and after meeting with them. While the process of acquiring accommodations can differ between the US and Ontario schools, the general tips on communicating with professors can be applicable. (For specific steps, please consult the Accessibility and Accommodations Services at your school).
Transition Resource Guide: Advocacy & Disclosure
The Transition Resource Guide highlights some additional information on how and when to disclose your health condition, how to advocate for oneself as well as the benefits and risks of advocating.
