What Happened Next? The Experiences of Postsecondary Students With Disabilities as Colleges and Universities Reconvened During the Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 caused nearly every college and university in the United States to rapidly shift to remote learning during the spring 2020 semester. While this impacted all students to different degrees, students with disabilities (SWD) faced new challenges related to their mental health, the accessibility of their instruction, the receipt of accommodations, and their interactions with faculty and student support personnel. Literature is emerging that describes the experiences of SWD during the spring 2020 semester and the swift change to remote learning. However, little is currently known about what followed for these students. The present study builds from a prior investigation of SWD during the spring 2020 semester and examines student experiences and perceptions during the 2020–2021 academic year. Eighty-eight SWD from colleges across the United States completed an instrument that contained a mix of demographic, yes/no, Likert scale and open-ended items. Responses revealed most items related to accessing services and instruction showed no improvement from the spring 2020 semester, and that items related to mental health, motivation to learn, and connections with peers were perceived as worse than in spring 2020. Open-ended responses revealed similar themes, with some students describing no improvements, and others noting that accessibility service offices and faculty provided enhanced methods of communication and support. Implications for practice and future research are presented.

Mental health and wellbeing of further and higher education students returning to face-to-face learning after Covid-19 restrictions

“…Our findings align with some of the previous research suggesting that age, gender expression and pre-existing conditions can place some students at risk of experiencing poorer mental health and wellbeing [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. Our findings also build on existing literature [ 13 ] suggesting that students who identify as gender non-conforming and/or students who identify as homosexual may continue to experience higher levels of mental distress than others.…”

“…However, there is wider evidence suggesting that some students were disproportionately impacted. For example, students with disabilities or additional needs were sometimes unable to access their accommodations which lead to varying levels of distress [ 7 , 11 , 12 ]. The disparities in other marginalised communities including sexual and ethnic minority and gender non-conforming groups were also highlighted during the pandemic [ 13 , 14 ].…”

Postsecondary Students with LD/ADHD Facing a Sudden Shift to Online Learning during the COVID–19 Pandemic—Emotional Costs and Implications

“…Specifically, students diagnosed with LD/ADHD experienced mild levels of depression and stress and moderate levels of anxiety whereas their neurotypical counterparts experienced normal levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Other studies, similarly, have found negative reactions and concerns stemming from the switch to ERT among students with a variety of disabilities (e.g., Madaus et al, 2022;McMaughan et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2021). Unplanned ERT creates different and stressful environments for instructors (Hodges et al, 2020;Sari & Nayir, 2020).…”

“…Madaus et al. (2022) compared the pandemic‐related experiences of students with disabilities in spring 2020 with their experiences in spring 2021. Participants’ responses related to accessing services and instruction showed no improvement from the spring 2020 semester; further, mental health, motivation to learn, and connections with peers were perceived to be worse in 2021 than in spring 2020.…”

“…Likewise postsecondary students with disabilities/health concerns were more concerned about the switch to virtual learning and reported experiencing more COVID-19related adversity in learning than students without disabilities (Zhang et al, 2021), and, as a result, trended toward reporting negative experiences with online learning as well as psychosocial stressors, with many being much more likely to report distress, increased depression, and anxiety than postsecondary students without disabilities (McMaughan et al, 2021). Madaus (2021Madaus ( , 2022 as well as Zhang et al (2021) and McMaughan et al (2021) focused on an aggregate measure of disability, but they did not consider the diversity between individuals with different disabilities, nor did they did focus specifically on students diagnosed with LD and/or ADHD.…”