Dakota, 15

I’m Dakota (they/them), I’m 15 and going into my junior year in a public school. I have autism, ADHD, hypermobility, and fibromyalgia(technically juvenile fibromyalgia because you have to be 18 to get a fibromyalgia diagnosis). I also have mental health conditions that can be disabling.

Being disabled affects my school experience quite a lot. I have an elevator key so I don’t take the stairs. I have a 504, which gives me permission to leave class to go to the office. I also feel sick a lot and would go home a lot.

As a disabled student my experience varies. Some students make the experience negative, and the r-slur is common in a lot of conversations I overhear. My experience with the staff also varies. Some teachers are very understanding, and will follow my 504 and are great. Other teachers have been less understanding, and I have had some bad experiences.

With my mental health, I have to be escorted to the office by a staff. Most teachers will call a staff and make it somewhat discreet, but one teacher was not as discreet. This teachers room has an entrance to the commons area(which is really echoey). I used my pass to leave and she went into the commons to find a security person. Instead of beckoning the security person who was across the commons, they yelled for the person and basically yelled that I needed to be escorted to the office, and everyone in the commons heard and I’m pretty sure that the people in the class I was in heard as well. I was already having a hard time, and that made it so much worse.

I also would go to the nurse’s office a lot, and there were a few people who were in there. The actual nurse was rarely in the office(she was chill). The other staff(i think they’re a nurses assistance) is there most of the time. She would always look a little disappointed when I showed up. One day I showed up and she sighed and said, “what was it this time?” in a disappointed tone. I felt really embarrassed and had to be convinced to go to the nurse when I needed to next. She also didn’t follow district protocol for one of my meds(if I feel tired at all I should be sent home). I had to advocate for that.

What I wish was different is the cleanliness of the elevator and the accessible bathroom. The elevator is constantly dirty and I had to sanitize before and after using the elevator. The bathroom is also constantly gross, with pee and used toilet paper on the floor. The accessible bathroom is also locked a lot of the time, when it shouldn’t be.

Most of my 504 came from my middle school, so the high school followed that. Last semester I was trying to get an iep, so they did some testing to see if I qualified. They said I wasn’t autistic where it matters for the school, so I had to fight to get more accommodations after being denied. I also had to fight a lot for accommodations in middle school because I “didn’t need them”, which was because I masked a lot and would suppress my issues to stay in class. The school was also very unwilling to make accommodations before I got my autism diagnosis, because “since I’m not disabled, why would I need them?”.

I am physically disabled, and my school is mostly accessible, except for not having enough places to sit in the hall.