Pursuing Inclusivity: Narrating Episodic Disability and Accommodation Access in Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Reflection and Transformation: Centering Disabled Students' Perspectives in Shaping the Future of Higher Education

Abstract

This narrative study examines how undergraduate students with episodic disabilities (EpDs) navigate accommodation systems at a Canadian university. Participants described emotionally and academically exhausting self-advocacy efforts in response to unclear support during episodes, inflexible policies, documentation burdens, stigma, and delays in accommodation. Using the Episodic Disability Framework, we show how institutional practices misalign with the dynamic nature of EpDs. Student stories reveal the pressing need for responsive, flexible, and coordinated accommodations. This study calls on higher education institutions to dismantle static definitions of disability and adopt policies that reflect the realities of students with fluctuating support needs.

Authors

• Daniela Pucci, University of Toronto

• Julia Forgie, University of Toronto