Drew, high school student

Hi ! I am Drew. I have POTS, HSD, and chronic pain issues involving the pelvic floor. I also have ADHD. I go to a public school and I use a cane at school due to my school not being wheelchair accessible. I could try to use my wheelchair at school, but I would just roll backwards. My pronouns are he/him.

How much does being disabled affect your education/experience at school?

It greatly affects my education. I miss so much school and always have so much catching up to do.

Overall, was/is your experience as a disabled student negative, positive, or neutral? why?

It has been very negative. My 504 coordinator at my school believes since i am not in special ed i don't need any accommodations or services. Which is simply not true. Teachers often will not accommodate me and it's hard to get accommodations in choir and in theater. I has a teacher who was always really mad that I was absent and would single me out in front of the class.

What do you wish was different?

I wish my school would be more willing to help out with my disability. I am unable to go up stairs due to my disability and I had the threaten my school with the civil rights center in order to get a key to the elevator. I often do not have access to a nearby bathroom and would have to walk 7-10 minutes to a bathroom. I wish the school itself was accessible as it was built in the 60s and is very old.

Is there anything your school does that is helpful to you as a disabled student?

No. No one really is willing to work with me.

What is something that your school does that you find the most helpful to you?

Not the school itself, but I have a teacher that lets me type instead of write long assignments because it's less painful for my HSD.

If your school does anything to help you, was it easy to get that help or did you have to fight to get the accommodations you need?

It was a daily battle my junior year. They wouldn't make exceptions to rules that required to much walking for me that i needed exceptions for.

If you are physically disabled: is your school physically accessible? Do you have any issues with this?

My school is not physically accessible.

What are some things you wish teachers/staff/administrators knew about being a disabled student?

I wish people knew how draining it is to go to school everyday but also how disappointing it can be. There are many opportunities I would have if i didn't have a physical disability.

If you could change one thing about how your school deals with disability, what would it be?

I wish they would let me have the accommodations I need and be willing to meet with me the discuss accommodations at all.

Do you have a specific story that you think exemplifies your experience as a disabled student? If so, feel free to share it.

I was needed the elevator and feeling very sick unable to use the stairs but needed to go to the bathroom due to pelvic floor issues. My teacher let me down the elevator. There were no bathrooms nearby so it was a 10 minute walk. I was not able to get back up the stairs and was stuck downstairs for 30 minutes, no one noticed or cared and i had to call my friends in the class to tell them i am stuck downstairs.

Intersectionality: Do you have any other identities or aspects of yourself that you think affect your experience as a disabled student? (ie. LGBTQIA+ identities, race, socioeconomic status, religion, location, etc)

I am in a single parent household which makes things harder. This is because we are on a very limited income, my mom is constantly busy , and she doesn't have anyone to help her juggle my health and being a mom. I am also transgender which makes things very hard because there's a lot people need to accept and understand about me and it's rare people accept both me being trans and me being disabled.