Teaching Students with Stigmatized Disabilities: Identifying Critical Issues for Pedagogical Practice

Abstract

It is problematic for educators to apply the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as they pertain to teaching students with psychological and emotional disabilities because voluntary self-disclosure of disability is prerequisite for developing “reasonable accommodations” by the student with the faculty member. The literature indicates that internalized stigmatized identity and fear of negative consequences are the primary reasons for nondisclosure of psychiatric disability. The routes students use for working out “reasonable accommodations” (the “official” and “unofficial” routes), and the implications of the students 'fears of negative consequences ensuing upon self-disclosure are discussed in the article. Specific recommendations for faculty are: communicating an accepting attitude to facilitate self-disclosure; providing inservice education about psychological impairments in the academic setting for faculty; developing a help network of colleagues, and limiting accommodations to those specific to the functional limitations of the student.

Keywords:

• Disability
• ADA
• self-disclosure
• reasonable accommodations
• psychological and emotional disabilities

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gail R. Levine

Biographical Information

Gail Levine, CTRS, is an Assistant Professor at Kingsboro Community College, 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Room E-115, Brooklyn, New York 12234.