UOPX breaks the stigma around invisible disabilities

How common are invisible disabilities? If University of Phoenix invited 100 statistically representative U.S. adults to its Arizona campus, up to 12 might use a wheelchair or assistive walking device. Six might wear hearing aids or cochlear implants. Almost five — those with visual impairments or blindness — might be using a white cane or perhaps navigating the campus with the help of a guide.

Those disabilities are visible.

Undetected among these guests, however, would be many hidden or invisible disabilities. In fact, according to national statistics:

• 20 would have dyslexia
• 18 would have depression
• 15 would have suffered from migraines
• 4 to 5 would have ADHD
• 2 to 3 would have bipolar disorder

Invisible disabilities can range from chronic pain and fatigue to, as mentioned, dyslexia, migraines, ADHD or mental illness — and many other diagnoses that affect one’s ability to perform life activities. Invisible disabilities (as well as visible ones) can affect both how an individual does a life activity and how long it takes to do the activity.

Students who have visible or invisible disabilities should check with their college to see if they can apply for accommodations or adjustments that can be made to some aspects of the course experience to mitigate the impact of the disability. Accommodations can include:

• More time to complete assignments
• Written materials formatted for text-to-speech tools
• Captions for live or taped video sessions

Unfortunately, asking is exactly the step that some students decide not to pursue — because, like it or not, disability stigma still exists in this world.

There are many examples of painful comments or realities in response to disability accommodations, including:

• A false belief that an accommodated student is helpless
• An assumption that an accommodated student is intellectually challenged
• A false belief that an accommodated student is lying, weak or incapable
• Discrimination or stereotyping

The data don’t lie. In data collected by University of Phoenix as part of its accessibility initiatives, the average increase of 30-day retention for accommodated students at University of Phoenix was 14.3% in 2023 (when compared with students who disclosed a disability but were not using an accommodation).

In other words, more students who used accommodations completed their courses and moved on to the next one.

In 2023, the university accommodated more than 15,000 students. The top-requested accommodation was extended time to turn assignments in without penalty.

What is the right amount of time students need? It depends.

For some students, four days is enough, and they are able to get everything in after their class ends without needing to request an additional extension. For others, the timing may be different.

Will some students experience negative attitudes or perceptions after disclosing an invisible disability? It happens, but it is increasingly rare.

For students who want to apply for a disability accommodation for a visible or invisible disability, a link to request an accommodation is available in every course in Blackboard, the classroom management system used at University of Phoenix.

Even if your disability has not been diagnosed (e.g., it’s a recent injury or an ongoing situation you haven’t sought medical treatment for), students are encouraged to apply.  University of Phoenix gives accommodations on a temporary basis to give a student some time to get an appointment with a medical provider.

Once a student has filled out the accommodations form, a member of the Student Accommodations Office will reach out by phone within 24 to 48 hours to determine eligibility. This is important since the university's undergraduate classes are only 5 weeks long.

What is the line for who’s eligible?

The standard criteria look at students holistically, and the Student Accommodations Office asks open-ended questions, such as:

• How is this disability showing up for you when you sit down to do your coursework?
• Have you tried to address how it’s affecting you?
• What has worked?
• Do you have a letter from your doctor — or could you get one — that would help us understand the manifestation of your symptoms?

Sometimes its just not possible for a student to provide documentation for invisible disabilities. For example, if a student was diagnosed with a learning disability 30 years ago, the student simply may not have access to those records.

Learn more about the Student Accommodations Office at University of Phoenix.