The Research

Moore, A. M., Vaccaro, A., Newman, B. M., Daly-Cano, M, & Ruise, B. (2024). “I shouldn’t have to rely on them anymore”: College Students with Disabilities on the Journey toward Self Advocacy. The Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 36(1), 93-112. 

Abstract

Using data from a grounded theory study with 59 college students with disabilities, this article documents the complex process of developing self-advocacy during the transition from K–12 to post-secondary school settings. This article draws on rich student narratives to illuminate the nuanced self-advocacy processes that college students with disabilities adopted as they transitioned from extensive K–12 school-based and familial supports to more independent higher education contexts. Our findings point to evolving relationships students had with their parents/caregivers as they transitioned into college. The process of learning to self-advocate was also shaped by bureaucratic collegiate contexts that required students to develop new levels of self-awareness, assertiveness, and understanding of their legal rights regarding access to collegiate accommodations and resources.

Application in Practice

Disabled college students often learn how to self-advocate during their K-12
experiences, but changes in legal protections during college make that process
nuanced. Educators in higher education and K-12 settings can help support disabled students as meaningful allies.

“Understanding the lived experiences of disabled college students as they
learn to self-advocate in inhospitable Pk-16 educational settings provides
invaluable information for educators to do better and be better at supporting
students and serving as allies.”

Adam Moore