Undiagnosed disabilities: ableist practices in higher education
Disabilities or dysfluencies are often stigmatized, which then leads to people either not wanting to be diagnosed or hiding their disabilities. They might be afraid of being different from their peers because of the ableist society that we live in, which is further perpetuated in education; higher education in particular deters people who need accommodations from getting them and often encourages people with disabilities to abstain from higher education in general. In order to stop the further perpetuation of this stigma, there needs to be a change in higher education.
Many people with learning disabilities are undiagnosed and still suffer from the symptoms of their disability. Learning disabilities impact millions of students each year. Many of these students either may not be able to receive the proper accommodations or are not diagnosed with the disability that is needed to receive these accommodations, and struggle through their coursework. Students not being diagnosed with a disability could stem from a fear of being viewed as different by peers or from a socioeconomic standpoint, in which students don’t have the resources to be tested. As reported in a press release from senators Hickenlooper and Cassidy, this lack of support for students leads to higher rates of students dropping out, lower wages in jobs after school, and increased rates of incarceration.
Many people, especially students, feel ashamed of their learning disabilities and try to hide their disabilities because they are fearful of being judged for needing accommodations and not being able to do their schoolwork at the same rate as their “neurotypical” peers. There is much discourse surrounding accommodations within schooling because some think that by having these accommodations, those with a learning disability have some sort of advantage, rather than the reality: that they are an equitable resource to help them succeed in practices that were set up to exclude people who have learning disabilities.
Some examples of accommodations include having tests read, gaining longer time on exams, and using speech to text. These accommodations are not doing the work for the student, but rather making it easier for them to make the most out of their education by ensuring they are able to succeed in test-taking and other aspects that are harder when having a learning disability.
In comparison with primary or secondary education, there are significantly fewer people with learning disabilities who pursue higher education. This could in part be due to the hassle of going through accommodation services. Another reason may be that there are students who are undiagnosed who never received accommodations, which then led to a disdain for schoolwork because they accept that they are “not good” at school and in turn do not pursue higher education.
As noted by Blinn College District’s disability services page, in high schools, the responsibility of locating the assistance needed to help students do well is placed on the teacher. In college, this responsibility shifts from the teacher to the student. This shift that takes place is not uncommon within higher education; there are more overall responsibilities and expectations that are placed upon college students. However, this responsibility is not something that everyone copes with well. This new responsibility that is now placed on the student often results in not receiving the proper accommodations in their college education. Additionally, there will not always be professors who are compliant with these accommodations. This is another big reason why many students who have learning disabilities don’t pursue higher education. An experience with a professor who doesn’t comply with accommodations can make some students feel ashamed and hinder their self-advocacy when being transparent about their learning disability.
The diagnosis of learning disabilities is crucial to the overall wellbeing of students. With a diagnosis there are accommodations that can then be offered to the student as an equitable way for education to occur to help ensure their academic success. We should all take part in erasing the stigma surrounding learning disabilities to dismantle the practices that are normalized in higher education.