Should I Register for Accommodations?
Author: Kiran Basra
I did my undergrad at the University of Toronto, where Accessibility Services feels like it was designed to make the disabled students drop out. You need to re-apply for accommodations every year. You wait at least three months for an appointment. Some steps can only be completed in-person out of an office located above a 7/11. I never even fully registered, though I started the process multiple times. The hoops I had to jump through defeated me. I was skeptical when people told me McMaster was different. But when I went through the process, I was quite impressed! If you have a disability, McMaster’s Student Accessibility Services (SAS) can be a very useful tool.
You don’t need a doctor’s note. I started developing symptoms of narcolepsy when I was eighteen, but I had to wait four years before I got an official diagnosis. If you have gotten sick, even if you are lucky enough to have a family doctor able to refer you, waiting for a specialist takes months. Health is not clear-cut; there can be false findings before you find out what’s happening to you. This means that when an accessibility office asks for a doctor’s note, anyone newly investigating their disability and grappling with their new limitations – the people who need help the most – are out of luck. SAS gives you the option of an Assessment of Functional Impairment (AFI). At McMaster, just answer how your disability affects you, and you can register for an intake appointment from there.
They only ask for the information they need. My intake appointment was only a week after I registered. I’d been expecting to wait months. You are assigned to the same advisor throughout your time at McMaster, so that they can develop expertise in your case. My accessibility advisor was friendly, told me about her personal experience with needing accessibility services, and was scrupulously careful about using person-first language. Every question she asked me was about functionality, and when I wasn’t sure of the answer, she didn’t press. SAS will not ask you to disclose any information you don’t want to share – at no time in this process will anyone ask you what your disability is.
Their accommodations are designed for undergrads. More time on exams, extensions on essays. They have no impact at all on what a grant agency or a supervisor decides. Go into your appointment knowing what you want SAS to do for you. I needed a special accommodation; an official note saying it wasn’t my fault if I fell asleep in the middle of a conversation. My accessibility advisor got it for me, but it was an idea I had to come up with on my own, not something that my advisor suggested when she heard about my case.
SAS can give you concrete solutions. SAS can fund a standing desk to be put in your lab, if you’ve gotten into a car accident and can’t sit for long without pain. SAS can arrange alternate lighting, if fluorescents give you migraines. If what you want is emotional support, though, SAS isn’t the place. Check out the Grads Are Rad (Resources, Accessibility, Disability) student group for that. They hold monthly in-person events with free food on campus.
Your supervisor will find out. No one finds out what your disability or your functional limitations are, but your supervisor will likely be notified about your accommodation plan, once one exists for you. If you were admitted to SAS for something concrete and specific, this is not bad – after all, your supervisor needs to know if someone will be dropping off an ergonomic device. If what you need for your disability is social or emotional support, registering with SAS will do nothing but reveal that you went to SAS. Consider your confidentiality needs before you make any decisions. The city of Hamilton has resources to support disabled people too. They aren’t as high-quality as what McMaster offers, but not associating your health with your workplace may help you feel more secure.
Registration is one-time. Health isn’t static. If your situation develops or you acquire more information, you may want to change your accommodations. You need another meeting with your accessibility advisor, but you don’t need to re-register. If nothing needs to change, all you have to do is log into the MySAS portal at the start of a semester. It only takes two clicks to reactivate your accommodations.
A disability can take over your whole life. Student Accessibility Services at McMaster is efficient, well-connected, and genuinely wants to help you. It’s an excellent tool to use, and can empower you to continue your academic career, but it is only meant to provide logistical help. If you are struggling with what your disability means about your life and your future, you might need emotional support that SAS cannot give. In that case, seek out McMaster’s Grads are RAD group, or one of the many local organizations advocating for disability justice.
Social support from people who understand can be an important way to help you stop obsessing over what could have been and start thriving in the life and the body that you have.