-yes. this. absolutely. there is a huge ableist undercurrent that still dismisses non-physical disabilities. relently self-advocacy and a huge amount of resilience is needed to just to get through classes. managing the many moving pieces of the UVIC support system is itself a full time job. no amount of advocating for meaningful changes worked. supports, accommodations, and just general functional, interconnected systems, are absent, or very tenuous. anyone medical is enormously overstretched, and so, access is seriously limited

-yes, everyone should try to use the supports they are allowed to use. yes, everyone should jump through all the hoops. because occasionally, sometimes, for some people, in some situations, it helps

-but do understand that the support systems aren't actually as supportive as one might wish,