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Disclosure and confidentiality
There may be students who are aware of their learning disability when entering university but are reluctant to disclose or request support services fearing ridicule or being stigmatised by their peers and lecturers.
Other students are not aware they have a learning disability.
Students face many challenges regarding disclosure of a disability. For example, if they do decide to disclose, they then have to decide on when, where and how they disclose their disability.
Disclosure can also be challenging for faculty staff too, in relation to their roles and responsibilities when a person does disclose.
Students with mental health conditions may not wish to disclose because they fear being labelled as students with 'special needs' and the stigma attached to this.
There are also a number of misconceptions and negative attitudes towards people with mental illness so students do not want to be singled out, over-protected or discriminated against.
Faculty and support staff can help students to disclose by:
- providing a supportive environment, and extending an early invitation to students to discuss their requirements, so students will be more willing to disclose a disability.
- being respectful of the need for confidentiality when they have disclosed.
- alerting them to the support services and or accommodations offered by the Disability Liaison Unit once they are formally assessed and registered with them.
The ultimate responsibility rests with the student to disclose their disability.
Once a student has disclosed to the Disability Liaison Unit (DLU), personal and health information about them will not be released or disclosed to anyone outside the DLU without the student's consent. (Monash University Disability Liaison Unit Client Confidentiality Policy 2005).
- Staff can also ask the Disability Liaison Unit for advice and support on how to proceed with a student once they have disclosed their disability to them.
- In an inclusive teaching environment, a student with a hidden disability may not feel the need to disclose their disability since they are being given a 'fair go'.
For further information on Disclosure: 'Choosing Your Path. Disclosure: It's a Personal Decision' 
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