University & College
Disability Services Prep
Helping Students Transition Confidently into Post-Secondary Education
The transition from high school to university or college can be especially challenging for students with ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety, or other neurodevelopmental differences.
Many students qualify for disability accommodations in post-secondary education but feel unsure how to register, what to request, or how to advocate for themselves in an entirely new academic environment.
No referral required · Private pay · Small group & individual coaching available
University & College Disability Services Preparation — Ontario
Helping Students Transition Confidently into Post-Secondary Education · Grades 11–12
The transition from high school to university or college can be especially challenging for students with ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety, or other neurodevelopmental differences. Many students qualify for disability accommodations in post-secondary education but feel unsure about how to register with disability services, how to request accommodations, how to advocate for themselves, and how to manage new academic expectations.
Our program helps students prepare for this transition by building the skills and confidence needed to navigate post-secondary learning environments — before they arrive, not after they’re already struggling.
What Students & Families Often Experience
High school had scaffolding.
Post-secondary won’t.
In high school, accommodations are often arranged by parents, teachers, and the school. Students may have IEPs, resource room access, and staff who check in. The system manages most of the process for them. At university or college, that changes completely. Students are expected to register independently, provide their own documentation, follow up with professors, and advocate for their needs — often on a campus they’ve never navigated before.
For students with ADHD, learning disabilities, or anxiety, this handover can hit hard. Not because they aren’t capable — but because nobody prepared them for the specific steps involved in making their accommodations work in a new environment.
The students who navigate this best are the ones who walked in knowing how the system works.
Book a Guidance CallShe got accommodations in high school because I pushed for them. I won’t be there to push at university. She needs to know how to do that herself.
He knows he has ADHD. He knows he’ll need extended time. But he has no idea how to actually get it set up at his new school.
First year was harder than it needed to be. I didn’t register with disability services until February. I didn’t know I was supposed to do it in September.
She’s so capable. But the idea of walking up to a professor and explaining her diagnosis makes her physically anxious. She needs to know how to do that.
We got the psychoeducational assessment. We got the report. Nobody told us what to do with it when he got to university.
Why This Transition Is Hard
Post-secondary disability services are excellent — but only for the students who know how to access them.
Every Ontario university and college has an accessibility or disability services office. These offices provide meaningful accommodations — extended exam time, note-taking support, quiet testing environments, assignment deadline flexibility, and more — to students who are registered and who know how to use them.
The barrier is not availability. It is navigation. Students must identify themselves, submit documentation, complete registration processes that vary institution to institution, follow up with their professors each semester, and sometimes advocate actively when accommodations are not being implemented. For students who struggled with self-advocacy in high school, or who have never had to manage this process independently, the first semester can pass before any of this gets done.
Preparing before arrival — understanding the process, practicing the conversations, building the habits — changes how that first semester goes.
What students often don’t know before they arrive…
How to register with disability services
The registration process varies by institution and is entirely the student’s responsibility. Many students don’t know it exists until after they needed it.
What documentation is required
Post-secondary institutions require specific documentation to grant accommodations. Students often don’t know what they need, whether their existing reports qualify, or how to get updated assessments.
How to communicate with professors
Approaching professors to discuss accommodations requires specific skills — knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to follow up professionally without over-explaining a diagnosis.
That accommodations must be renewed each semester
Accommodations do not automatically carry over. Students must re-engage with disability services each term and re-notify professors — a process that requires consistent self-initiation.
How academic expectations shift dramatically
No one follows up on missed assignments. No one reminds you about deadlines. The structure that held high school together largely disappears — and students must replace it themselves.
Who This Program Supports
Designed for students preparing for what’s next.
This program is specifically designed for students in the transition window — preparing to enter post-secondary education and ready to build the skills for it before they arrive.
Students in Grade 11–12 preparing for university or college — ideally beginning this preparation before the final year, while there is still time to apply it.
Students with ADHD, learning disabilities, dyslexia, or executive functioning challenges — who may qualify for post-secondary accommodations and want to understand how to access them.
Students who have existing accommodations in high school — and want to understand how the post-secondary process differs and what steps they will need to take independently.
Students who will be registering with post-secondary accessibility services — and want to arrive at their institution having already prepared their documentation and understood the process.
The goal of this program
To help students build the skills and confidence needed to navigate post-secondary learning environments — so that the transition is something they have prepared for, not something that catches them off guard.
What Students Learn
Support may include:
Sessions are practical and focused on the real steps students will need to take. Topics are adapted based on each student’s specific situation and destination institution.
Understanding how university disability services work
How accessibility offices function, what they provide, how they differ from high school resource support, and what the student’s role in the process is at post-secondary.
Preparing documentation required for accommodation registration
What documentation post-secondary institutions require, whether existing reports will be accepted, and what steps to take if updated or new documentation is needed before arrival.
Learning how to communicate with professors and accessibility advisors
Practicing the specific conversations involved in disclosing a disability, requesting accommodations, and following up professionally — without over-sharing or under-communicating.
Developing time-management and executive functioning strategies
Building practical systems for managing a semester-long academic calendar, multiple simultaneous courses, and the absence of the external structure that existed in high school.
Preparing for increased academic independence
Understanding what changes between high school and post-secondary — from assignment tracking to professor relationships to deadline management — and building the habits needed to manage those changes effectively from day one.
Potential Benefits
What students may develop.
While individual outcomes vary, the program is designed to support a smoother transition into post-secondary education. These are not guarantees — they reflect what many students work toward through the program.
stronger self-advocacy skills
The confidence and practical language to approach professors, disability services staff, and academic advisors — asking for what they need clearly and professionally.
improved understanding of post-secondary accommodations
A clear picture of what accommodations are available, how they are accessed, what documentation is required, and what happens each semester to keep them active.
greater confidence navigating university systems
Arriving at post-secondary having already learned how the system works — rather than figuring it out under pressure during the first semester.
strategies for managing academic independence
Practical tools for managing time, tracking deadlines, and maintaining academic organization without the external scaffolding that high school provided.
Program Format
Small group coaching, delivered virtually across Ontario.
Groups allow students to discuss common experiences and learn from peers preparing for similar transitions. Individual coaching may also be available where appropriate.
Why small groups?
Groups allow students to discuss common experiences and learn from peers who are preparing for similar transitions. Hearing that other students share the same questions and uncertainties can reduce anxiety about the process — and the peer dimension of the group can make practicing self-advocacy conversations feel less daunting.
Group composition is matched by academic destination, learning profile, and program goals. Groups are kept small — a maximum of 2–3 students — to ensure each student’s specific situation receives meaningful attention within each session.
Individual Coaching
Individual coaching may also be available where appropriate. Whether individual sessions are a better fit than a small group is discussed during the intake process, based on the student’s specific situation and needs.
Why This Matters in Ontario
Every Ontario post-secondary institution has disability services. Most students don’t know how to use them.
Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires all post-secondary institutions to provide accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The infrastructure exists. The challenge is navigating it.
All Ontario universities and colleges have accessibility offices
Under Ontario law, every post-secondary institution is required to provide reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Services include extended exam time, alternative testing environments, note-taking support, and more.
Registration is the student’s responsibility — and it must happen early
Unlike high school, post-secondary disability services do not reach out proactively. Students must initiate registration, provide documentation, and follow up. Many students miss accommodations in their first semester simply because they didn’t know to register before classes started.
Accommodations must be renewed every semester
In most Ontario institutions, accommodation letters must be requested and sent to professors at the start of each term. Students who are not in the habit of doing this consistently can find themselves mid-semester without the supports they are entitled to.
The students who navigate this best prepared in advance
Students who arrive at post-secondary having already learned how disability services work, practiced the relevant conversations, and built foundational time-management habits are better positioned to use their accommodations effectively from the start.
This program is designed for Ontario students preparing to enter post-secondary education. Students from anywhere in the province can participate virtually — before they arrive at their institution.
Book a Guidance CallEligibility & Fit
Is this program right for this student?
The guidance call is designed to answer this question honestly — for every student and family, regardless of the answer.
This program is designed for students who…
This program may be less appropriate if…
Professional Oversight
Programs delivered by regulated clinicians.
This program is delivered by regulated professionals who are accountable to Ontario’s professional colleges — held to standards of practice, ongoing professional education, and ethical conduct established and enforced by their regulating body.
The specific clinician matched to a group depends on the students’ profiles and the nature of the program. All clinicians have background and training relevant to neurodevelopmental differences, academic transitions, self-advocacy, and the populations this program supports.
Clinician credentials are confirmed during intake. If you have questions about the professional background of the clinician delivering your student’s program, please raise them during the guidance call.
Registered Psychologists
Bringing clinical knowledge of ADHD, learning disabilities, executive functioning, and post-secondary academic accommodation frameworks to program delivery.
Registered Social Workers
Supporting the self-advocacy, communication, and emotional dimensions of the transition — including anxiety about disclosure and navigating new academic systems.
Other Regulated Professionals Where Appropriate
Additional regulated professionals may be involved depending on the student’s specific profile and the nature of the coaching program.
Program Fees
Clear fees. No surprises.
All fees are discussed and confirmed in writing before any commitment is made. No charges are incurred before formal acceptance into a program.
Small Group Coaching Program
2–3 students per group · 60 min · 1× per week
Insurance & Extended Health
Services are private pay and not covered by OHIP. Many extended health plans cover services delivered by regulated clinicians — please confirm coverage directly with your own insurer before starting. Receipts are provided after each session for reimbursement. Clients are responsible for confirming their own coverage.
No Charges Before Acceptance
All fees are discussed and confirmed in writing before any commitment is made. No charges are incurred before formal acceptance into a program.
Private pay. Not covered by OHIP. Receipts provided for reimbursement.
Getting Started
Begin with a guidance call.
A short conversation so our team can understand this student’s situation and determine whether this program is the right fit — before any commitment is made.
Book a Guidance Call
A brief call to understand the student’s learning profile, current accommodations, and post-secondary plans. No obligation, no referral required.
Program Fit Assessment
We confirm whether this program is appropriate, discuss group vs. individual format, and explain what the 6–8 weeks would involve and when to start.
Registration & Intake
Fees confirmed in writing. Consents completed. The student is matched with a group and clinician, and a schedule agreed upon.
Program Begins
Sessions build progressively from understanding the disability services system through to practicing self-advocacy conversations and building independence strategies.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions
Begin With a Guidance Call
The transition goes better
when students arrive prepared.
A short call allows our team to understand this student’s situation, confirm whether this program is the right fit, and explain what the 6–8 weeks would involve — before any commitment is made.
🕐 Opening late spring / summer 2026 — not yet accepting patients
A brief conversation to understand the student’s situation and find the right next step.
No referral required · No obligation · Virtual · All of Ontario · Grades 11–12 · Call-back option available
Private pay. Not covered by OHIP. Fees confirmed in writing before commitment. No charges before formal acceptance.
Post-secondary is a fresh start.
Help your student arrive ready for it.
The accommodations exist. The supports exist. What makes the difference is knowing how to access them — and having practiced doing it before you needed to.
Book a Guidance CallNo referral required · No obligation · Virtual · All of Ontario · Grades 11–12