1. The Higher Education Landscape

Abstract

This chapter briefly describes the higher education landscape as regards students with disabilities in general, and those who are neurodivergent and have invisible disabilities in particular. It discusses research on the systemic influences, historical and contemporary, of ableism, elitism, bias, and neoliberalism on academia’s responses to learners’ diverse needs. Also noted are some of the ways that students and educators have pushed back against these forces and continue to work for change.