Oliver, high school student

I go to a regular public high school, and I have hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome as well as POTS.

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

definitely more difficult than for my able bodied counterparts- i have to deal with a lack of understanding and harassment from students and teachers about mobility aids and my symptoms.

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

so far it’s been more negative than positive, most of my teachers have to be educated several times about my disability, although many are still disrespectful. from students, it can be even worse. they tend to be extremely rude about my crutches and school administrators almost never have consequences.

What do you wish was different?

i believe there should be more education and conversation surrounding disabled individuals in schools, as well as more accessibility being built into schools.

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

i have the ability to leave class if i’m having a POTS attack to rest, and i’ve been provided an elevator key in the past.

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 fairly easy to get my accommodations, but i had to talk to several people and many were dismissive.

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

my school is decently accessible- there’s multiple elevators and ramps for other stairs, but one of the elevators is almost always broken and the problem hasn’t been addressed.

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

it can be extremely overwhelming, it’s not a joke and we don’t use our disabilities as excuses.

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

educating students and teachers about what it’s like to be disabled, listening to disabled students

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

several years ago when i started using a cane i had several people laugh at it, and one even took it from me because i “didn’t need it.” he had no consequences for this

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)

being gay + transgender definitely affects my experience in school, being disabled and queer makes it even more difficult to form connections w/ peers.