By Ratsamy Pathammavong, FUTURES Program Lead

Content note: this post talks about exclusion from work and school.

Ask a Disabled student how they found their job, and many will say luck. Luck helps, but nobody can plan around it, and it isn’t shared equally. Community is different: you can build it on purpose, like a ramp.

What Disabled students told the Summit

In February 2026, The Disabled CoLab hosted the Ontario Summit for Students with Disabilities. Students filled in 112 research surveys, and 88 people took part live. Two reports came out in September, one on work and one on mental health.

Students with work experience often credited luck, privilege, or who they happened to know. One participant asked:

WHY is the word “luck” so common in these spaces?

Summit participant, 2026 mental health report

Another named the gap between rules and daily life at work.

“…laws protect your rights, but culture determines your experience within an organization.”

Summit participant, 2026 employment report

The employment report calls for support built into how schools work, for every student.

What our alumni told us

This October, we surveyed alumni of FUTURES and Next Gen, which ran in 2024. Of 52 who answered, 44 finished, and 40 of those identify as Disabled.

We asked about their work in the month before their program, and now.

• Paid work rose from 12 to 21 people, or 27% to 48%. Self-employment and freelance work count here.
• Paid jobs, not counting self-employment, rose from 6 to 14 people.
• Alumni about two years out moved the most. Their paid work went from 6 to 13 of 21.

On a 0 to 10 scale, here’s how many rated themselves 8 or higher:

• Knowing my rights as a Disabled person at work or school: 28% then, 67% now.
• Explaining my access needs to an employer or teacher: 37% then, 77% now.
• Knowing what kind of work I want to do next: 29% then, 69% now.

Two alumni shared these words with consent. We left their names out.

“It gave me the confidence to reach out to my current employer, who ended up creating a position for me.”

Next Gen alum

“I gained a better idea of how to accommodate myself and work with my disability instead of against it.”

FUTURES alum

Luck still shows up in our data

We asked alumni what else helped, and their answers echo the Summit. Of 43 alumni, 17 named timing or luck. Another 17 named family or friends, and 16 named school.

Only 7 of 42 had a job, internship, or placement connected to either program.

Our alumni leave with rights they can name and people they can call. The route into a paid role is still the missing piece.

About 22% of invited alumni answered, and people who felt helped may have replied more. Alumni rated “back then” from memory. We didn’t survey anyone who skipped the programs, so we can’t prove cause and effect.

Why we call community infrastructure

Infrastructure is what you can count on every day. Ramps, transit, and power work whether or not you got lucky.

When alumni described what changed, 16 talked about community, belonging, or feeling less alone. Confidence came up for 17.

Community gives you people who have been there. You learn words for your access needs. Before you disclose, you have someone to ask. FUTURES builds this kind of community, with ASL in every session.

Community isn’t the whole answer, though. Skills do not pay rent. Disabled young people also need paid, supported routes into work. Employers, schools, and funders all have a part in building them.

The next Disabled student who lands a job shouldn’t have to call it luck.

Join FUTURES this winter

FUTURES is free. Our leadership cohorts are for Disabled and neurodivergent young people in Canada. You can join if you’re 18 to 30, and you don’t need a diagnosis.

Every session includes ASL. Winter 2027 cohorts start between January 27 and February 2. Sign-ups for the two virtual Intensives cohorts are open now. Arts and Innovators sign-ups open in December.

See winter dates and sign up on the FUTURES page

If you’d rather ask first, DM us on Instagram at @access.studio.official. You can also email studio@accessnow.ca. To talk through your access needs first, book an optional chat on Calendly.

About the Summit research

The Disabled CoLab ran the Summit research. Samantha Fowler, Emma Collington, and Ariadne Jevnikar wrote the reports. Read both on The Disabled CoLab research page.

We quote Summit participants under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. We shortened one quote and made no other changes.

Thanks to every student who shared their story.