Being a disabled student

These notes are part of a series for the book.

Seale, J. (2014) ‘Ch. 2, Being a disabled student in higher education’ in E-Learning and Disability in Higher Education: Accessibility research and practice, 2nd ed., New York, Routledge.

Outline

Introduction
Defining and understanding disability
1. Models of disability
2. Systems of classification
3. Legal definitions of disability
Institutional versus student constructions of disability
Disabled students’ experiences of higher education
1. Having to work harder
2. Lack of understanding and acceptance of needs
3. Disclosure dilemmas
  1. Rejection of the notion of being disabled as being ‘special’
  2. Discomfort at disability becoming a public matter
  3. When disclosure results in inaction
4. Inconsistency and variations in provision of support
Implications for technology use and access
Conclusion

Notes

There are several models used when defining disability. The following table reflects the models discussed in the Seale book, and also those discussed by Kaplan (2000) and Cooper (2012):

	Disability is...	Disabled people need...	Disability is classified by...	Legal notes...
Moral model	The result of sin	To adjust behavior or atone for sin; the person may be a source of shame to family and thus hidden from society
Medical model	Related to disease, defect, or deficiency	Medical professionals to adjust the disabled person to their condition The Rehabilitation model is an offshoot of the Medical model; it contends that disabled people need rehabilitation by helping professionals. This model gained acceptance after WWII, when disabled vets returned to the workforce.	1980: The International Classification of Impairment, Disability and Handicap (ICDH), was influenced by the medical model. Handicap and disability were defined as being caused by disease or trauma.	UK: Disability Discrimination Act (2003) interpreted disability as being a medical problem. US: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 uses the medical model.
Charity model	A tragedy that renders people helpless	Pity, care, and protection
Administrative models	A category in which people are assessed to see if they are eligible for benefits or compensation	Help provided by professional service personnel
Social model	An environmental or social failure to meet the person's needs	Barriers removed (the individual and society are responsible)	1976: This model originates from a booklet named 'Fundamental Principles of Disability', which was published in 1976. 1997-2001: The ICDH-2 was created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and influenced by the social model. Disability was seen as a convergence of health and environmental issues. 2011: The WHO created a new classification system named International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which identifies disability as a convergence of health, institution, and social issues.	UN: The UN definitions for impairment, disability, and handicap tend toward the idea that disability is a social construct. US: The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) also recognizes the social construction of disability.
Post-social models	Embodied ontology: Part of everyone (we are all disabled in one way or another)
Functional models	An inability to perform specific functions	Improved or personalized human-computer interactions (for example)

The medical model and negative views of people with disabilities

As a result of anti-discrimination laws, universities created tools for identifying students needing help. These tools require adopting one of the models, and sometimes the medical model was used. One result was that this sometimes promoted or supported negative views of students who have learning disabilities. These negative views affected the actions of those students. For example, one study ‘found that many dyslexic students were anxious to reject identities of self as disabled, even if such a rejection meant losing financial support’ (Seale, 2014, p. 26). Another study found that some students prefer the term “neurodiversity” because they interpret that term as encompassing positive and negative aspects, while “dyslexic” (for example) was seen as a wholly negative viewpoint.

Experiences of students with disabilities

Studies about students’ experiences point to several common themes and areas for improvement.

Pressed for time: Students feel they work longer and harder for less result. Help is available, but they must first spend time providing proof of their disability before receiving that help, which takes even more time in their schedule.
- Similarly, students report that although assistive technology is helpful, learning to use the tools is an additional demand on their time.
Disbelieved: They report that they feel peer tutors, professors, and support staff do not accept their need for help, or that they are perceived as “weird” or deficient in some way. Or, staff act as though the accommodations is a type of cheating that provides too much advantage to the student. This makes the student feel frustrated, embarrassed, guilty, and stigmatized.
- Similarly, students report feeling that some staff perceive assistive technologies as not truly needed or as providing the student with an unfair advantage.
Vulnerable or exposed: Students are careful about how, when, and to whom they disclose information about their disability even when this is needed to get help. This may be part of self-determination, and/or may also be rooted in discomfort at the disclosure, fear of embarrassment or not fitting in, or expectation of being disappointed in a lack of help after disclosing the disability.
- The assistive technology offered to a person with disabilities is sometimes based on what the “typical” person with that disability needs, instead of what the individual states they need.