Abstract
To understand how undergraduate students diagnosed with a disability who receive academic accommodations negotiate stigma, this phenomenological qualitative study was conducted at a midwestern private university using Gibson's (2006) Disability Identity Development Model. Findings from this study of six undergraduates receiving academic accommodations suggest they qualified for reasonable accommodations to guarantee equal access and mitigate the impact of their diagnosed ADHD, depression, and/or anxiety and were granted academic accommodations such as extended time for testing and assignments. These students also used family, friends, and peers to support the navigation of the negative stigma of being perceived as “lazy” or “taking advantage of the system” because of their educational accommodations. These findings offer implications for practice to support efforts to decrease disability stigma associated with seeking academic accommodations.
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Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Leonard, D., & Sasso, P. A. (2026). Negotiating disability stigma in undergraduate students with academic accommodations. Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs, 42(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.20429/jhesa.2026.420101
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