Asking for Accommodations at Work
This is a learning tool that simulates a conversation between an employer and a youth with disabilities. It will help users practice how they might have this conversation and gather feedback on your approach.
This simulation is part of a larger project called the Healthy And Productive Paid work for Youth with disabilities (HAPPY) lead by Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital. The HAPPY youth toolkit is a resource for youth and young adults with disabilities to provide support in disclosing their disability in the workplace or with potential employers and requesting accommodations. It can help youth with disabilities consider their options about disclosure and accommodations, and can also help build self-advocacy skills to support them in this process.
About this Module
Healthy And Productive Paid work for Youth with disabilities (HAPPY) is focused on enhancing inclusive employment for youth with disabilities. Created by a team led by Dr. Sally Lindsay, Senior Scientist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, and Associate Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto. This project aims to identify effective disclosure strategies and workplace accommodation processes, to improve quality of life and job performance for youth with disabilities. HAPPY consists of toolkits and simulations for youth, clinicians / service providers, and employers, to support conversations around disability disclosure and to facilitate accommodation processes.
The youth toolkit is a resource for youth and young adults with disabilities to provide support in disclosing their disability in the workplace and requesting accommodations. It can help youth with disabilities consider their options about disclosure and accommodations, and can also help build self-advocacy skills to support them in this process.
The toolkit comprises of a 48 page interactive PDF with immersive learning tools including disclosure templates, a youth simulation scenario, and an online learning tool simulating a disclosure conversation.
Learning Objectives
From the HAPPY Youth Toolkit, you will learn:
- What a disability disclosure is and why it is important
- Things to consider about how and when to ask for workplace accommodations
- Knowing your rights and learning to self advocate
About Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital believes in creating a world where all youth and children belong. We are the only children’s rehabilitation hospital in Canada focused on combining world-class care, transformational research, and academic leadership in the field of pediatric disability. We are a top 40 Canadian research hospital that is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Providing both inpatient and outpatient services, Holland Bloorview is renowned for its expertise in co-creating with clients and families to provide exceptional care and is the only organization to ever achieve 100 per cent in three successive quality surveys by Accreditation Canada. Holland Bloorview is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, consistent and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Together we dream big. Together we champion a world of possibility.
Dr. Sally Lindsay
Dr. Sally Lindsay is a Senior Scientist at the BRI and Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto. Her PhD is in the Sociology of Work and Health. As head of the BRI’s TRAIL (TRansitions And Inclusive Environments Lab), Dr. Sally Lindsay’s research focuses on the participation and social inclusion of children and youth with disabilities at school, work and in the community. Current projects focus on transitions to adulthood, disclosure and workplace accommodations and ableism among youth with disabilities.

ALL JOB SEEKER COURSES
