Need help with disability law & allergic diseases

[Ciel]

After meeting with disability services at my college I was informed that anaphylaxis, allergies, asthma, etc are excluded from their services and not eligible for accommodations because they are not considered to be a real disability, it would be impossible to enforce, blah blah blah.

Are there any Canadian members who are familiar with Canadian disability law? Ontario specific if not federal. Or does anyone speak legal-talk? So far I can't find anything on the school's website or within the AODA. Suggestions from American friends also very welcome.

I wasn't asking for enforcement btw, I can take care of myself but unfortunately must also depend on the co-operation of peers to stay healthy. All I would like to request is that a sign be posted on the door to 3 classrooms designating the rooms as food & fragrance free. There are other rooms on campus that already do have signs.

I have had a few issues at school (nothing catastrophic). And I admit that anxiety is a major component, but please tell me - does it seem reasonable to ask for an accessible learning environment? Yes, I can get up and leave if necessary but why is it fair for me to be continually excluded from the classroom or from participating in the lesson due to a medical disability? Or do you think I should just drop it? Am I being needlessly difficult? Plain crazy?

Feeling on the edge of panic for hours almost every day is a terrible, terrible feeling and being hyper-alert literally all the time is distracting to say the least....and that right there is some compelling motivation to fight.

Can you guys help me come up with a plan? Please & Thank You!

[spacecanada]

I cannot offer much help from a legal or support organisation perspective, but if they already have signs on some classrooms, they must be there to accommodate someone else, right?  (Unless it is a science lab, where no food is allowed anyway.)  Something isn't right.

Does Sabrina's Law cover post-secondary education?  I don't see why not:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_05s07_e.htm

Ontario Human Rights Commission:
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/disability-and-human-rights-brochure
They specifically say 'environmental sensitivities' as a disability. 

Hopefully others have better information and suggestions for you.

[CMdeux]

Wow-- I'm so sorry.  Even Americans have a better response (generally) than that in higher ed.   


Hopefully you'll get additional input from our Canadian members. 

[twinturbo]

Putting the mention of anxiety into perspective. DH is a college professor therefore my two kids with LT MFA are on campus all the time, always have been. It's very mobile food, there's a little bit everywhere all the time. So even though we're not students we still have to negotiate a campus constantly, and quite frankly, it is different. I wouldn't characterize it as an anxiety, but perhaps that's because the professor in question's discipline is emotion, and anxiety means something different than how most use it in relation to LTFA fear-vigilance stimuli.

Anyhow, the management style is different. Everyone has a little food on them all the time, everywhere. There's no detention for sneaking a bite during class.

On the legal front we may share enough basis in ancestral common law that our general process mirrors. For US law it's all part of one disability in education divided by primary and secondary, then postsecondary. The reason is our compulsory education law governs individuals between mandatory ages. Beyond that education is considered voluntary and therefore regulated differently, more in line with employment as far as standards of accommodations. What governs disability in Canadian primary and secondary education? What governs disability in employment?

Last, what is the definition of disability in order to satisfy that designation in the eyes of institutions? Start there.

After some consideration might be worth mentioning a possible cultural disconnect here. I'm culturally a product of US military/DoD life so even though I grew up pretty much on the Canadian/US border I'm probably on the end of the bell curve of rigidly American in thinking when it comes to interpreting laws, regs.



Would need more time to look, but...

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005

Accessible Campus not what I would call a great resource. However, sometimes it takes a few duds to lead to the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

[Ciel]

Thanks TT for the links and such willingness to put in an effort to try to help! And thanks also SpaceCanada! Unfortunately for me Sabrina's Law is only applicable to school boards (i.e., children) and it does not extend to post-secondary education; although to be honest I don't think it would be appropriate to do so either. Thanks for the support CM!

My teachers are working with me and have been supportive in announcing that all classes are nut and fragrance free. One even declared no eating in class unless with permission (in cases where it might be medically necessary). So I'm comfortable with that for now and I don't think I need anything further....except maybe having the moaners and groaners shut their mouths and keep it to themselves, ha! Physically I know I am safe with these considerations and if I do feel unsafe I can move or leave. Emotionally though, safe doesn't ever really exist.

[SilverLining]

Does Sabrina's Law cover post-secondary education?  I don't see why not:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_05s07_e.htm

"board" means a district school board or a school authority; ("conseil")

I don't think colleges are part of the board, so therefore Sabrina's Law probably does not cover it,