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Children are not claimants

If they say: She hasn’t asked for accommodations herself.

Say: Children with invisible disabilities may not know how to ask for support—and they’re not expected to. Once the school is aware of possible disability-related harm, the duty to inquire belongs to the institution.

Legal grounding: Schools must act on observed or reported harm. The Tribunal affirms that children are not required to self-advocate to trigger protection.

This entry is drawn from Kim Block’s Part 3: Duty to Accommodate – Meaningful Inquiry, which powerfully affirms that children cannot—and should not—be expected to initiate or direct their own accommodation processes. When distress or exclusion is visible, the responsibility to act lies with the adults who hold institutional power.

Key takeaways

Children are not responsible for triggering their own supports
The duty to accommodate arises when the school becomes aware of disability-related harm—regardless of whether the student has used formal language, made a request, or self-identified their needs.
The law accounts for age and ability
While adults seeking workplace accommodations may be expected to communicate clearly, students are understood to have evolving capacity. Their ability to name or describe their experience cannot be a precondition for receiving support.
Schools must take action based on what they know
Once signs of disability-related harm are observed or reported, the institution holds the responsibility to investigate and respond. Failing to act because a child said they were “fine” is neither reasonable nor lawful under Section 8 of the Human Rights Code.