Obstacles to studying with chronic pain conditions

As a student with chronic pain, you may find yourself facing a variety of obstacles:

• Lack of energy. You often experience a lowered energy level as a result of your chronic illness. This may negatively impact your ability to keep up with course work, attend lectures and take exams.
• Problems with the attendance requirement. Because of the symptoms you experience, you are not always able to attend class. You may also be absent due to doctor's appointments or medical treatments or because you are in hospital.
• Problems with tests/exams or in class. You are not always able to study for your tests or exams. Maybe you need more time to learn the material, or you would benefit from spacing out the exams and other assignments over a longer period.
• Problems with an internship or a job. It is possible that, because of your disease, you are unable to do an internship or can only take part to a limited extent. Effective communication and solid agreements are important to make this process go smoothly.

Even though these obstacles may cause difficulties, you can rest assured that more than enough tools and solutions are available that can help you successfully complete your degree programme. In the preceding section, click on the obstacle you are facing with which you could use some help. You can then read a lot more about that topic and find additional tips and tools. If your specific obstacle is not mentioned above, please refer to the comprehensive list of obstacles.

Support and facilities for students with chronic pain

A variety of adjustments and/or facilities are available that may be helpful to you during your degree programme at a research university or university of applied sciences. While there are national schemes, your educational institution will offer its own forms of additional support, too.

• Adjusted class schedule. Discuss possible adjustments with your study adviser or student counsellor. You may be able to space out the required courses over a longer period of time, or the attendance requirement for some courses could be relaxed. If possible, you could watch the lectures by video link or ask that they be recorded for you.
• Testing facilities. You may find it helpful to have extra time to take your tests or exams, to use a laptop or to space them out over a longer period of time. You can also discuss the possibility of alternative forms of assessment, such as doing a take-home test rather than a written test on site.
• Extra time to complete your studies. You should meet with your study adviser to discuss your options. If you incur a study delay due to special circumstances, you can also apply for a performance grant from the Education Executive Agency (DUO) (submitted via the student counsellor). The grant extends the period for which you receive student finance. For more about the grant, see the section on ‘Financial schemes’.
• Financial schemes. A number of financial schemes are available for students who incur a study delay or are unable to have a part-time job due to their disability. Click the link to see which schemes you might be eligible for.

Have a look at the other facilities that might be helpful for you, too.

Read here the tips that can help you for greater study success.

Through the Help Guide, you can find organisations that have expertise on your support needs. Check out the possibilities of this tool. (Dutch)

• Read other people's experience stories here.
• Share your experience story too. With your experience story, you can give others, such as education professionals and fellow students, an insight into what goes well and what could be improved when studying with a support requirement. A source of inspiration with tips, hints and flops. Together with you, ECIO provides an experience story with impact.