A wide range of health conditions may impact on students’ learning and their ability to attend lectures and tutorials, complete assignments by due dates or be assessed in the usual ways.
Long-term and chronic health conditions may last for months or years, or be permanent. Some conditions may lead to functional impairment and may include cancer, arthritis,HIV/AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, respiratory problems (such as asthma), chronic fatigue sydrome, and occupational overuse syndrome, and may result in such conditions as mental and physical exhaustion, muscle and joint pain, headaches, nausea, poor concentration and memory and lowered tolerance of various environmental conditions such as light and chemicals.
The resource Teaching Students who have a medical disability contains information on:
- The impact of medical disability on learning at university
- Communicating with students with a medical disability
- Teaching students with a medical disability
- Assessment strategies