There are various opportunities to share your experiences and discuss bottlenecks or ideas with others, for example: 

• LSVb-student line: for legal questions about, for instance, education, study financing or rent advice.
• JongPIT: for and by young people with a chronic disorder or disability. You can contact them if you are looking for experts by experience.
• Student platfoms for students with special needs at higher education institutions (overview ECIO website). There may be more peer groups. Check with your educational institution.
• Confidential online community: for students by experience to share experiences and, for example, bottlenecks.

Opportunities for specific support requests

• JongPIT:  for and by young people with a chronic condition or disability. You can contact them if you are looking for experts by experience.
• Ieder(in): network for people with a disability or chronic illness.
• HB-Cafés in the region for those looking for more information, deepening, broadening, connecting with other gifted people or just a pleasant and meaningful evening with like-minded people. Check out the HB café in your area. There are also low-threshold, national meetings for the gifted aged 18-35 where you can talk to each other. These are organised by a group of students.  
• COC's Switchboard is an anonymous, safe place where anyone can find information, support or a listening ear. Switchboard is from COC for and by the lhbti+ community.
• Jong&Out community is by and for lhbti+ young people. COC Netherlands and regional COC locations support, guide and help them to do so. Activities are organised by the volunteer young people themselves.
• WhatsApp line for transgender migrants who have not been in the Netherlands for long. Here, anyone can ask low-threshold questions about care, discrimination, regulation issues and meeting up. You send an app to 020-2446558. On working days, you will receive an answer within 24 hours. You can ask your questions in Dutch, English, Spanish or French.
• Question Centre MUS: for students with a disability e/o chronic illness who want a good time between studies. You can come to them for questions about living and finding accommodation, internships and work or side jobs, money matters and socialising.
• Connect portal is an initiative of MIND where you can connect with like-minded people. This contact is via email and is based on your chosen topics, such as stress, lack of sleep or gloomy thoughts.

Sharing experiences is a powerful way for students with disabilities to support each other and create awareness.

Why sharing experiences is important

• You feel less alone: hearing the stories of others can make you feel that you are not the only one experiencing certain challenges. This can be very reassuring.
• You learn from each other: by sharing experiences, you can learn about strategies and tools others have used to overcome similar problems.
• You build a community: by being open about your experiences, you help build a supportive community where people can help and encourage each other.
• You create awareness: by sharing your story, you help others - including teachers and fellow students - to understand more about what it means to live with a disability. This can lead to more empathy and better support.

The impact of sharing experiences

• Community change: your story can inspire others to take action, whether it is improving accessibility in schools or supporting legislation that protects the rights of people with disabilities.
• Personal growth: by sharing your experiences, you can find your own voice and build self-confidence.
  Better policy: your insights can help schools and universities develop better policies and support for students with disabilities.
• Remember that your story has value and can make a difference not only in your own life but also in the lives of others. By sharing your experiences, you contribute to a world where everyone, regardless of their disability, can fully participate and be valued.

Get inspired with the experience stories below 

For inspiration, we share here experience stories of both (graduated) mbo students and higher education students:

Learning experiences

• "Studying in combination with informal care duties has to be well organised". Read the experience story of Ivo (HE)
• "Studying and informal care duties: dilemma in making choices." Read the experience story of Janneke (HE)
• "It may be difficult, but it is not impossible for a refugee to study in the Netherlands with informal care responsibilities. Read and watch Ranim's experience story. (VET/HE)
• "The impact of care duties on studying during corona pandemic." Read Annelies' experience story.
• "Doing an internship with a support requirement requires openness and flexibility." Read Anouk's experience story (VET).
• "Despite burnout, financial problems and total stress life back on track." Read Shane's experience story. (HE)
• "A system, a counter should facilitate you in education as well as in the labour market. Read Naomie's experience story. (HE)
• Studying with an auditory disability. Read Harm's experience story (HE)
• "Studying with a visual impairment is a challenge every day." Read Teun's experience story (VET).
• "Studying and working with autism has more impact than you think." Read Zoë's experience story (HE)
• "Barriers to studying with a visual impairment." Read Manon's experience story. (HE)
• "Studying with a chronic illness, fatigue and anxiety attacks." Read Juul's experience story. (HE)
• "Don't look at my disability but at what I can do." Read the experience story of Thomas (VET).
• "The important thing is to indicate what you can and cannot do." Read Emma's experience story (VET).
• "Let's be a bit more honest about our difficulties." Read Ellen's experience story. (HE)
• "Studying with NAH." Read Manon's experience story. (HE)
• "Studying with autism spectrum disorder." Read Annabel's experience story. (HE)
• "Studying with autism and ADD has more impact than you think." Read Petra's experience story. (HE)
• "Spastic and education." Read Job's experience story (VET).
• "The difference between summer months and school life with a chronic illness." Read Fenna's experience story. (HE)
• "How to deal with sudden study delays when studying with a visual impairment." Read Jessica's experience story. (HE)

Internship/work experiences

• Doing a part-time internship with a disability. Read Fenna's experience story (VET/HE)
• Naomi tells about the obstacles she had to overcome in her (study) career because of her progressive muscle disease. 
• Be inspired by the experiences of Thijs de Lange, who turned his disability into his strength.
• "Studying and working with autism has more impact than you think." Read Zoë's experience story.
• "NAH can happen to anyone. Read Rogier's experience story.

Abroad experiences

• "Studying abroad as a hearing-impaired person is a challenge, but it also gives you a lot." Read Sophia's experience story. (HE)
• At a young age, Salim Belmoussa was diagnosed with a progressive muscle disease. That did not stop him from pursuing part of his studies in law at Erasmus University Rotterdam at Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome. He is doing this with a grant from the European Erasmus+ grant programme Read and watch Salim's experience story. (HE)
• "Attention to the welfare of international students is needed." Read Anna's experience story.

Share your experiences too

Share your experiences by filling in the questionnaire. Together with you, we will create an experience story with impact.