Are Students with Disabilities an Identity?

College students with disabilities are covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 (Hadley, 2011). However, unlike high school, it is the college student’s responsibility to initiate services in the postsecondary environment. When students make the evolution to higher education, they are required to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), identify themselves as a student with a disability, offer documentation of their disability and the modifications needed, self-advocate to instructors, and contribute to services that will reinforce their academic progress.  

Freshmen entering secondary systems must adjust intellectually and socially to the college setting. This change generally necessitates a degree of physical separation and emotional disconnection from parents and friends who were important during high school, along with an acceptance of college-level expectations and rules. These adjustments may more challenging for students with disabilities, who often have difficulty knowing how their disability will affect them in college, including new types of testing situations and classroom instruction, social interactions, and the need to organize thoughts, information, and tasks (Milsom and Hartley 2005). “While complying with legal mandates to provide reasonable accommodations, higher education administrators may also need to assist students with disabilities in the development of their independence and self-determination skills”  (Brinckerhoff, 2002 as cited in Wadley, 2011, p. 2). Students are required to survive increased levels of freedom, handle unique challenges associated with their disabilities, and to matriculate into a new environment.

Now that we have provided a picture of students with disabilities let’s look back to the February 19th blog.  I introduced Renn’s purpose for identity centers…Typically, identity centers are designed to promote learning and development of the student defined as, “disempowered, underrepresented, or otherwise in need of designated support programs and services” (Renn, 2011, p.246).  

Are students with disabilities often disempowered, underrepresented, and in need of designated support programs and services? 

McCarthy (2011) states there are four models shaping “society’s understanding of and response to disability: the moral lens, the medical/rehabilitation lens, the civil rights or legal, and social lens” (McCarthy, 2011, p. 299). Do students with disabilities have similar struggles as other ‘identities’? 

Overwhelming majority (95%) of you felt as if Identity Centers are a positive aspect of Higher Education, in other words, they were not a waste of money and time. So, my next question is, should there be Identity Centers for Students with Disabilities?

Refences:

Hadley, W. M. (2011). College students with diabilities: A student development perspective. In New directions for higher education (pp. 77-81). doi: 10:1002/he

McCarthy, D. (2011). What are the implcations of providing  special considerations to particular students? In P. M. Magolda & M. B. Baxter Magolda (Eds.), Contested issues in student affairs: Diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue (pp. 298-315). Sterling, VA: St.

Milsom, A., & Hartley. M.T., (2005). Assisting students with learning disabilities transitioning

to college: What school counselors should know. Professional School Counseling, 8 (5), 436–441. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=17402990&site=ehost-live

Renn, K. A. (2011). Do identity centers (e.g., women’s centers, ethnic centers, LGBT centers) divide rather than unite higher education faculty, students, and administrators? If so, why are they so prevalent on college campuses? In P. M. Magolda & M. B. Baxter Magolda (Eds.), Contested issues in student affairs: Diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue (pp. 244-254). Sterling, VA: Stylus.