Accommodation in practice

Section 1 of four

How this landscape is organized

This is the accessibility work of a learning design practice, gathered in one place. It draws on two branches: Accessibility, which concerns access at the level of an individual person and the obligation an institution holds toward them, and Universal Design for Learning, which concerns designing for the predictable range of learners before any individual request is made. The two are related but not the same, and the arrangement here keeps them distinct while showing where they meet.

Resources are arranged in eight groups by what they are for, rather than by which branch they grow on. A group therefore holds resources from both branches where the question they answer is shared. Each resource names its home branch so the distinction is never lost. Groups are given in alphabetical order.

Every resource states the bodies of knowledge it rests on and cites its sources by number to the reference list in Section 4. Where a resource is still in development, it is marked as such: the grounding and sources are settled, and the written resource is not yet published.

Two kinds of relationship are given for each resource. Most related is calculated from sources and themes held in common, and surfaces resources that answer similar questions from different groups. Connected resources are the direct relationships recorded on the map — the resources a reader is likely to need alongside this one.

Section 2 of four

What is here

5 resources in this group — 5 from Accessibility.

Visit the Accommodation in practice page · All eight groups in one page

Section 3 of four

Every resource, in full

Sources are written out in full here as well as numbered, so that following a reference is never necessary to understand an entry.

The practice around an individual request, and what design does beforehand to change how often one is needed. Individual cases are decided by accommodation professionals; these resources describe the conditions they inherit.

Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement

Disclosure burden as a design variable

In development

Access that is gated behind disclosure asks a person to name a private matter to someone holding authority over them, and the documented costs of that request are real: anticipated stigma, delay, and for some, a decision not to ask at all. This resource treats disclosure burden as something design can measure and reduce — why a flexible deadline requiring an email is a disclosure event and a built-in buffer is not — while leaving the accommodation record itself where it belongs, with the office that holds it.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Accommodation in practice. Stigma and concealment (Goffman); academic ableism; BC information-governance requirements

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Equity

Sources

Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
Reference 42: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Disability, Equity · 3 shared sources
Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access
Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability, Equity
Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access

Connected resources

Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Accommodation in practice
Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice

Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions

Program architecture for conditions that vary

In development

Attendance policy, deadline architecture, cohort progression, and leave-and-return pathways — the structural layer of a problem that individual accommodation handles with difficulty because most systems assume stable limitations. It is program and policy design, offered in the knowledge that disabled people and experienced advisors hold far more understanding of these conditions than the design literature yet reflects.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Accommodation in practice. Episodic disability framework (O’Brien et al.); disability studies

Themes. Accommodation, Wellbeing, Access

Sources

Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.
Reference 8: Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, Queer, Crip. Indiana University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation · 1 shared source
Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Accommodation · 1 shared source
Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Access
Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Access
Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation

Connected resources

Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice
Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation

Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors

Who decides, and what a referral has to carry

In development

What an accommodation office decides, what it requires from an instructor or a designer, and what a referral has to contain to be usable. It covers the implementation gap in which an approved accommodation is recorded and then not delivered, and the boundary between designing conditions and adjudicating an individual case. The second belongs to the advisors and accommodation professionals who hold that work.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Accommodation in practice. AHEAD program standards; Canadian human rights jurisprudence; disability in higher education

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Access

Sources

Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
Reference 48: Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source
Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice

The Interactive Process in Learning Settings

A shared duty, not a request and a ruling

In development

Canadian human rights law treats accommodation as a process with obligations on every party to it, including the person seeking accommodation, and it sets limits on what may be asked of them. This resource covers who initiates, what good faith requires on each side, what documentation of the process is distinct from documentation of the person, and the points at which the process stalls: no response, an unworkable offer, or a request handled as a complaint.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Accommodation in practice. Renaud (SCC, 1992); Meiorin (SCC, 1999); BC Human Rights Code

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Access

Sources

Reference 56: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation
Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source

Connected resources

The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice
Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation in practice

Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping

What is asked of a person before they are believed

In development

What documentation is actually required, set against what institutions routinely request. Cost, waiting time and access to diagnosis are barriers in their own right, and requirements written for stable, diagnosed conditions operate differently for undiagnosed, episodic and fluctuating ones. It covers privacy and custody of records, and the conditions under which self-report is sufficient.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Newer or contested

Accommodation in practice. Disability studies; stigma and disclosure (Goffman); BC information governance

Themes. Accommodation, Disability studies, Equity

Sources

Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
Reference 42: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.
Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Disability, Equity · 3 shared sources
Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation · 1 shared source
The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation
Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation · 1 shared source

Connected resources

Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice
Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice

Section 4 of four

References and resources

The theory, law, and standards these resources are rooted in, listed once and cited by number above. Peer-reviewed, statutory, and institutional sources link directly. Books, reports, and legislation are cited in full so they can be found in any library catalogue or official register.

Disability studies6. Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
Disability studies8. Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, Queer, Crip. Indiana University Press.
Human rights law36. British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
Human rights law38. Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.
Disclosure and stigma41. Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
Information governance42. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.
Episodic disability43. O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.
Health professions education48. Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
Human rights law56. Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1992/1992canlii81/1992canlii81.html
Disability services in higher education57. Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics

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Every resource on this page reflects applied work carried out with learners, design teams, and partner organizations, and is grounded in the scholarship listed above. An interactive version of this map presents the same content as a navigable diagram.