About 2,300 of Mount Royal University’s 15,000 students receive support from the institution’s access and inclusion services. That’s more than 15 per cent of the student population with a disability protected by Alberta Human Rights Legislation.
Video: Calgary Journal reporter Charlotte Vos reports on invisible disabilities
But not all of those 2,300 students have visible disabilities.
In fact, only around 25 per cent of students who are served by Access and Inclusion services have visible disabilities. That leaves roughly 75 per cent of students with disabilities that cannot be seen at a simple glance.
Robin Randall, who works as the assistant technology advisor with Access and Inclusion Services, says students may require assistive technology in the classroom.
“Even if you’re blind or hard of hearing, you still can’t really see those unless the person has a dog or a cane,” Randall said about invisible disabilities. “You can’t see those disabilities until you interact with the person.”