ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
Accessibility
Everyone accesses physical spaces and learning differently. I strive to create a variety of ways to access my services in the hope that everyone will find something that works for them. Whether you have a recognised disability or simply have different learning needs, I will do my best to make sure the learning environment is as customized to your needs as possible. I do not require formal paperwork pertaining to your diagnosis. If you have suspicions about a condition you might have, and would like to try accommodations for that condition, feel free to ask!
Due to the pandemic, all my sessions right now are virtual. I run most sessions on Zoom.
Crip Time, Lateness, and Other Time Policies
Alison Kafer, a professor and author in the disability movement, describes crip time as: “rather than bend disabled bodies and minds to meet the clock, crip time bends the clock to meet disabled bodies and minds.”
Crip time is a concept that the disability community has developed. It refers to how schedules and time constraints are often designed with only neurotypical and non-disabled people’s abilities in mind. As such, neurodivergent and disabled folks may find that they cannot fit themselves into these schedules, or that these schedules require inordinate amounts of effort on their part to adapt to. Crip time is, in short, a philosophy where I commit to bending schedules to fit the person, instead of requiring the person to bend to fit my schedules. I live this philosophy by committing to the following:
When you book my time, I will be there for you for that amount of time. That’s my commitment. In return, I ask that you show up in whatever way is best for you. If you are going to be late, need to leave early, or need breaks in the middle, that’s fine. Just let me know. We all have different needs, and I promise unconditional positive regard even if you’re chronically late, unprepared, need many breaks, or chronically need to reschedule. I’m here for you in any way that supports you. This time is for you, and I will never be angry or frustrated at the way you choose to use it. I hope to create an environment where you are able to use the time in whatever way you need, without guilt, shame, or anxiety.
For the sake of my business, I do require full payment of the time you’ve reserved, whether you use it all or not. Cancellations with 24 hours notice are subject to 50% refund or credit to future services. Last minute cancellations and no-shows are subject to the full fee. I will always try to reschedule when needed, within my schedule’s availability.
I understand that emergencies happen. This policy is written to carefully balance my ability to support you no matter what you are going through at this moment, as well as my ability to continue to thrive in my career. Please feel free to ask me any questions if any of this is unclear.
Attention and concentration challenges
I can also provide shorter sessions if you know that staying present and fully utilizing an hour session doesn’t work for you. This is helpful to people who have trouble concentrating for long periods of time in a row. For example, I have found that students with a recent concussion often do better in two half-hour sessions than in the one-hour-long sessions. There is nothing wrong with that, and just as much work can get done. If you feel mentally fatiguing in our sessions and would like to explore what it’s like to have shorter, more frequent sessions instead of one long one, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Deaf, deaf, hearing impairments, and auditory processing impairments
Zoom has an automatic subtitle function, where it will guess what is being said and provide subtitles in real time. This can be very useful for those with auditory processing challenges, those with partial hearing, and deaf or Deaf people. Please let me know if this is something you would like to try. They are not perfect, but I have found that they are close enough that I have always been able to understand what is being said.
I am learning ASL, but I am not a native ASL speaker and I am not even close to being confident enough to provide tutoring in sign language. If you prefer to access tutoring in sign language, I may not be a good fit for you.
I am also able to provide sessions where communication happens purely over text. I prefer the chat function of Zoom when doing concentrated sessions, rather than the tiny keyboard of my cell phone. Please note that in the past, I have found that text-only sessions can need more time than audio sessions, so we may have to plan longer sessions.
Visual impairments and blind students
If you have trouble seeing diagrams that I draw, I am able to provide verbal image descriptions.
Triggers
Trauma, including academic trauma, can leave people with triggers. If there is anything that is triggering (or even just uncomfortable) to you that you’d like me to avoid in sessions, please let me know. One example is that some students prefer that I avoid using red pens as they feel harsh and critical.
Safe space
Comfort objects like blankets, polite/non-disruptive pets, or anything else that might make your learning experience less stressful are welcome to attend our Zoom sessions. This is a judgement-free safe space and there is nothing that is too “silly” for our sessions.
Anything else
If you have an accessibility need that is not yet met by any of the initiatives I have listed above, I hope that I can create an environment where you feel like you can tell me. I do not require justification or a formal diagnosis of disability in order to accommodate. It is entirely your choice whether you tell me why you need the accommodation or not (in other words, if you choose to tell me the nature of your disability, I am honoured and will use that information to further support you, but it is not required). You don’t even need to identify with a disability at all in order to ask for accommodations. My job is to create an environment that is conducive to supporting you in your academic journey; if I could be doing that better, please just let me know!
It’s also ok to not know exactly what accommodation you need. If something isn’t working for you, but you don’t know what might solve it, then please tell me. We can work together to brainstorm ideas that may help. We may try a few and see what works best. I believe that this can be a collaborative process; you don’t need to come to me already knowing everything there is to know about what will make this work for you.