NDCO Tasmania

Disclosing your disability

Every time you enter a new educational setting or meet new people you may need to make decisions about disclosing personal information.

Disclosure in an educational setting may be about ensuring that you can access supports that the institution offers students with a disability or medical condition.

Disclosing may mean:

• educating someone about your disability or medical condition;
• telling someone about the impact of your disability or medical condition on how you do things successfully, for example, you may need more time to complete tasks or exams;
• telling someone about your learning style, do you learn best by reading, doing or listening;  
• providing documentation about your disability or medical condition to the Disability Officer; or
• talking to another student about your disability or medical condition.

Considering Disclosing

The choice of whether to disclose or not will be different for everyone because we have different experiences and different needs.  Disclosing is a personal decision – you are the only one who can make it.  For further information visit www.uws.edu.au/ndco/disclosure.

Ask yourself the following question.  Who may need to know and why?

Disclosure – Worksheet (Needs Editing)

The Disclosure Continuum:  Mark on the line below the point between the two statements that indicates how comfortable you are about disclosing/telling about your disability or medical condition. 

I don’t care who knows about my disability or medical condition – I am comfortable talking about it.

No way I’d want anyone to know about my disability or medical condition – I’m not at all comfortable talking about it.

Think about your position on the disclosure continuum above.  How is this likely to affect when or how you disclose?  When are you most likely to disclose:

• early on before I start my course
• when I think of it
• before my first assignment is due
• when things go wrong
• before my final exams
• not at all

What experience have you had at disclosing?

• I have never told anyone about my disability/medical condition
• I feel uncomfortable telling anyone about my disability/medical condition
• I am never sure what/how much to tell
• It has been unpleasant when I have told people about my disability/medical condition
• I don’t think people believe me when I tell them
• People might assume certain things about me if I disclose
• Other  

What effect do you expect telling people about your disability/medical condition (disclosing) will have?

• It should make things easier for me
• It will probably mean that I will fail
• I will get the support I need
• Other students won’t include me
• Lecturers/Teachers will complain
• People will be more helpful if they know

Places to go for assistance if you want to talk about disclosing include:

• student support services
• counsellors
• disability contacts
• lecturers or tutors
• “Choosing Your Path” – Disclosure: It’s a Personal Decision  www.uws.edu.au/ndco/disclosure