Academic Learning Experiences and Challenges of Students With Disabilities in Higher Education

Using University Resources

Participants used a variety of on-campus resources. Not all of these resources were directly obtained from the campus disability services. Many participants also benefited from supplemental instruction or tutoring available through academic services on campus. As for the accommodations, one of the participants, Aggie, described a testing accommodation she received:

So, my accommodations I received from the disability center have helped so much. It gives me time to calm down and be able to understand I do have time to calm myself down and then get my knowledge out that I do now.

Another participant, Matt, thought about applying for accommodations but then decided against it; he was, however, able to gain support from supplemental instruction. Supplemental instruction sessions were available to all students in specific courses. Matt stated he utilized supplemental instruction to support his learning:

Definitely, the thing with the SI [supplemental instruction] sessions, those . . . I’m also a biology major like most people here are. And yeah, basically, very much SI sessions are necessary for many cases. And we’re certainly not used to that at all, and I’m really grateful to have these kinds of things.

Participants also sought support from course instructors. Instructors provided resources and additional support for students who were struggling academically. For example, Toby described the process of how he asked for help from a professor:

I had to make the documentation with the services, and all I had to do was to write a letter and just print them out and just hand them to my professors. They’d [the professors] take the paper, and they were asking me questions. They were asking for what to do and I say, “Just don’t call my name because I can’t be caught on just by random. I need time to prepare my answer.” And the same for presentations like, “Oh, can I present first or last? I just need time to prepare.”

Participants’ descriptions indicated that they were able to use a variety of on-campus resources to improve their academic performance.

Struggling With Accommodation Issues

All the participants struggled with issues related to accommodations. The following narratives demonstrated participants’ experiential accounts about their challenges of using accommodations. Rachel described an awkward experience when she and other students with disabilities were singled out to leave a class for a test accommodation:

One of my professors was my business initiative class for freshmen. Whenever we had a quiz, before we started, he’d be like, “Okay anybody with a disability get up and go outside and take the quiz.” And so, it was so uncomfortable to exit the classroom, and everybody around me knew . . . I just need extended time I don’t know why. I wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of how the professor handles that type of situation.

Rachel’s experience shows that the professor’s approach to accommodation made her uncomfortable. She experienced being singled out when utilizing her extended testing time. This approach indirectly informed other students which individuals might have a disability whenever a student stepped outside for the quiz. Rachel went on, saying,

At the moment I didn’t realize, like this is actually making it harder for me to succeed in this course. It was me and two other students who left the class. It’s like so insignificant. None of the other students seem to have a problem with it so it’s probably just normal. The idea that I’m like it’s myself, it’s only me that has a problem.

Students with disabilities may have misconceptions about how an accommodation should properly be implemented if they are treated inappropriately in the classroom. Since the professor’s approach to accommodation was not fully appropriate, Rachel mistakenly believed this was her issue rather than recognizing it as an irregular practice.

When asked about their experiences in requesting accommodations, Alias indicated that seeking accommodations can be a terrifying experience due to others’ attitudinal barriers:

Some of the attitudes expressed by the coordinator for the medical school was a little bit—it felt not super-supportive or respectful. And so, for example, I didn’t ask for accommodations a couple of times because I was so nervous about what the repercussions would be. So that was really stressful, and I think that they don’t talk about the accommodations process.

Another participant, Ann, described her experience of seeking accommodations from professors. The responses she received from professors were mixed. She said,

I had pretty good responses from most professors. I had a couple of professors that I felt like we had a language barrier to some degree or maybe it was cultural. The one was a finance class, and then I had a math business math class that, you know, I got no feedback from the professor. And it felt like they were almost, especially with the finance professor, it was a hassle to deal with me.

Participants’ experiences indicate that attitudinal barriers or a lack of disability awareness could create difficulties or challenges for individuals with disabilities in the use of accommodations in classrooms. These barriers could come from incorrect assumptions or misunderstandings.

When asked about their disability disclosure experiences, participants discussed self-advocacy. They referred to self-advocacy as speaking for themselves and explaining what they need for learning. Four participants opted not to disclose their disabilities for various reasons. Rob said, “I’m really not good at [self-advocacy]. I was taught that was selfish.” Rob said it was challenging for him to advocate for himself because he equated self-advocacy with being selfish. He went on to explain why he chose not to disclose his disability for accommodation:

I’m truly don’t talk much about my disability. Growing up, I wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger’s until I was an adult, so I grew up having to act normal due to no diagnoses. The other thing was growing up, I saw other people that had learning disabilities or autism, that being identified as such as opposed to being a person with that they were that [disability]. And I don’t want to be Asperger’s, I have it. So, I really don’t talk about it much.

Rob indicated that he did not receive the diagnosis until he was an adult. He did not want the disability to define who he is as a person. Therefore, he did not seek accommodations. Matt echoed a similar reason for not discussing or disclosing his disability. Matt said,

I’m terrified of using my own accommodations or write them to anybody because I’m afraid of those exact responses. I know it’s part of my condition, but at least in my case sometimes, it was very stigmatized and was looked very badly upon, so I did not want anybody associating me with it. That’s a huge struggle I still face today. And it’s something that I’m definitely improving upon, but I’m still terrified with these things.

Based on Rob’s and Matt’s experiences, students with disabilities do not want to be seen only through their disabilities. Stigma surrounding disabilities can lead to negative experiences of others associating the person with a disability. Matt went on to explain he felt that self-advocacy set him apart from his peers. He said, “I guess I just don’t want to stick out because I guess in those terms, I have zero self-advocacy, which is a huge problem for me.” Matt experienced a fear of standing out or being perceived as different when discussing self-advocacy.

Alias described another example of why students with disabilities might be hesitant to disclose their disabilities and request accommodations. She said, “I didn’t ask for accommodations a couple of times because I was so nervous about what the repercussions would be.” Rachel indicated a different reason why she chose not to self-advocate:

I think the reason that I don’t advocate for myself that much is because I also want to feel like I can meet their expectations, so I don’t want to go and change things again. I don’t want to feel like I can’t do what they expected from me.

Rachel indicated a completely different perspective toward self-advocacy. She valued independence and meeting expectations over self-advocacy. While self-advocacy plays a crucial role in student success, understanding students’ perspectives on it and their reasons for not disclosing their disabilities is equally important.

Building Influence Through Advocacy

Participants were adamant that self-advocacy supported them to communicate what they needed to others. This subtheme revealed that participants were able to influence others by advocating for themselves. After the experience of being singled out, Rachel shared that she explained her disability to friends:

I like talking about those things [disability and accommodations]. I do talk about it with my friends but normally I have to feel pretty comfortable, because I know that I’ll receive some questions that I have to explain myself and like, “What, you’re smart”; I’m like, that’s not what it’s for. It’s not for that kind of ability.

Rachel revealed that key elements of self-advocacy are the abilities to prepare and to plan. Before she shared about her disability and accommodations, she needed to be well-prepared for answering questions from her friends, although some questions may have made her uncomfortable.

Another participant, Cassie, also used self-advocacy skills to communicate about her disability and accommodations with professors:

I am pretty vocal about my disability, so I don’t mind sharing. Normally, when I send an email at the beginning, I’ve never told a professor about the dissociative identity disorder. I mentioned the bipolar disorder. That’s normally what we talked about is email professors and will be like, “Hey we have this and makes learning difficult sometimes because we’re not able to attend class. We’re going through an episode; it’s extremely difficult to get things done.”

Cassie used self-advocacy skills strategically. She chose not to mention her dissociative identity disorder; instead, she gave an explicit explanation about why she needed a specific accommodation in order to succeed in class. In this way, she protected herself from being hurt, because people might refuse to believe her situation. Another participant, Toby, was a military student. He shared how he advocated for himself in an educational setting, specifically within a rigorous military learning environment.

It’s really hard for me to speak fluently, and they want us to be perfect in every possible, the way we look, the way we walk, and the way we talk. Whenever I see someone looking at me or even, I hear them talking about me, “Hey, why is he talking that way?” I go talk to them or I message them on text or something and say, “Hey, what you did is not right. I’ve stuttered.”

Toby’s description demonstrates that he has accepted his disability identity. Although it can be difficult for an individual to explain themselves, Toby’s experience is an example of courage and self-determination.

Building Influence Through Education

Participants shared that they educated others about their disabilities and accommodations. Aggie described personal stories of how to educate others about her disability:

I’m not going to be too hard on myself about it, because I do know that there are others dealing with it. So, I feel like if I show that it’s okay to be dealing with something like this, others will feel that they can share their experiences and seek help. I always talk about how much help the disability center has given me, and I hope by me speaking about that they’ll go and seek help.

Some individuals with disabilities found it difficult to ask for help from disability services. By sharing her personal experiences, Aggie was able to encourage students with disabilities to use disability resources. Jessica provided an example of how she educated others about her disability and accommodations:

So, I know for me, I started the habit very early in high school of writing a letter to all of my teachers explaining my blindness because I think when people hear the term blind, they assume it’s a very polar thing. So even though the disability services office would write me letters, I would make it a point to introduce myself to these professors and make sure they knew who I was. And then say, “Do you have any questions about how I use my tools, how I access material? Would you like me to show you how voiceover works, how my screen magnifier works?”

Jessica showed that she followed the steps to advocate for herself. First she introduced herself, then she explained her disability and accommodations. In this way, she helped promote disability awareness by using her experiences.

Embracing and Enduring

Participants demonstrated independence in overcoming the learning difficulties they encountered. Even if participants chose to endure an unpleasant situation, they demonstrated how they changed their perceptions when experiencing the situation. As Rachel shared that she was singled out to leave the classroom to take an exam, she said, “It didn’t feel very safe or comfortable, but for that I just dealt with it. I guess and I made it like, I just need extended time.” Rachel adjusted her perception in the negative situation by saying “just need extended time” to herself. Cassie also shared a difficult situation:

The biggest challenge for us has been exam time for an alter who doesn’t front very often will sometimes front and then they’ll have to take an exam that they haven’t prepared for it all and we can’t get an extension on that.

As previously mentioned, Cassie had a dissociative identity disorder. This posed a challenge when different alters were unable to get an exam extension because they faced difficulties in promptly switching to the appropriate alter that could effectively handle and complete the required task. When asked how to overcome the challenge, Cassie continued: “In that situation, we kind of bite the bullet and just go through and take the exam if the professor won’t work with us because sometimes they’re not willing to.” The phrase “bite the bullet” implies that they accepted the challenges and took the exam without assistance.

Mary demonstrated that students with disabilities should learn to adapt to learning challenges. She said, “You [professors] don’t have to do anything like special, and it’s also up to us. I think it’s up to us to figure out how to adapt.”

Using Study Strategies

Participants used study strategies to help themselves study more efficiently. Participants previously highlighted the use of university resources to improve their learning. Beyond just utilizing these resources, they also adopted independent study strategies, such as time management or building a study routine, to help them use the resources more effectively. These study strategies helped participants to work on coursework and meet the deadline if they did not receive adequate or timely accommodations from disability services or instructors. One of the participants, Ann, had previously stated, “I got no feedback from the professor. And it felt like they were almost, especially with the finance professor, it was a hassle to deal with me.” Since she did not receive support from the course instructor, she actively sought additional support to enhance her learning, such as tutoring. She also emphasized the importance of consistency and starting early, indicating that she recognized the value of establishing a routine and dedicating time and effort to her studies.

I’m in a couple of different instances where there’s been student tutoring available, I took advantage of that. Bring on different subjects, being consistent with it, starting that early. You know, just as keep motivated to doing something that’s not really easy.

Ann effectively utilized campus resources by using time management skills that emphasized starting early and maintaining a consistent routine. Similarly, Cassie shared that she relied on good notes for different alters to study. She had previously noted that she was unable to obtain an exam extension, which led to difficulties in swiftly switching to the appropriate alter for exam preparation. Therefore, she relied on study notes to help different alters prepare for the exam. She said, “Yes, we take very diligent notes on everything that way. Whoever is taking the exam whoever’s studying for the exam has enough information accessible.”

Other participants also described that they counted on taking comprehensive notes for studying. As Jessica said, “I’ll do a combination of like rewriting my notes or taking my notes and formatting them into re-bulleted lists or tables.” Matt, who did not seek support from disability services due to stigma issues, also expressed how he made his notes as fun as possible to read: “My notes would look less like history textbook, and more like a classmate explaining it to you from one friend to another.” Both Jessica and Matt were actively engaged in their notetaking practices and developed personalized approaches that worked best for them.

Understanding Learning Preferences or Strengths

In this subtheme, while participants did not explicitly describe receiving inadequate support or being denied accommodations, they expressed that understanding their learning preferences or strengths was helpful in self-accommodating their learning needs. Participants understood their learning preferences or strengths, so they had more control over learning methods or schedules. For instance, Mary expressed that she found another chemistry course that suited her learning needs and decided to enroll in it.

I don’t really like my chemist, or my chemistry teacher, I just don’t like her lectures. I actually joined another chemistry person’s lectures, so I attend them every single day. So that’s been helpful. And I know I learned auditory so the more I can hear it, the more I’m going to understand it. So, I emailed another professor and got his link.

Mary understood her learning preference for auditory learning. This understanding prompted her to reach out to another professor. She used a proactive approach to finding a learning environment that suited her needs better. Similarly, Alias shared that understanding of her personal learning preferences and strengths helped her gain more control over her learning:

One thing that has helped me a lot is just making sure I’m in a quiet place to study without distractions. That’s one thing that has helped, and having a very consistent, steady routine. I think for me, writing things over by hand, especially within 24 hours, copying my notes within 24 hours of lecture helps me to remember it really well. And I take the quizzes. So, I do practice questions. I also like to read the textbook if it’s a good textbook.

Another example was shared by Cassie: “Sometimes if a professor does post a lecture we will go back and re-watch it or use it to take the exam.” This demonstrated Cassie had an understanding of her learning preferences, and she used that understanding to take advantage of the class resources. She mentioned going back to rewatch recorded lectures and using them to prepare for exams, which demonstrated self-accommodation for her preferred learning style. This learning method helped her to learn the course content well.