"I very much want all students to thrive in this course. If you need an accommodation in order to fulfill the requirements of the course, you are encouraged to contact [Student Disability Services]. Disabilities may be apparent or non-apparent, such as physical disabilities, learning disabilities, and psychological disabilities (mental health). I also know that disability is fluid and that the nature of disability sometimes changes throughout the semester. As such, you might not know all of your accommodation needs at the start of the semester. I hope that, to the extent possible, you will feel comfortable disclosing this information and discussing your disability/ies with me. I want to work against the stigma often associated with disability and the ways that higher education is ableist. It is your right to be successful in this course."

Example: Syllabus Statement from Elisa Abes

COVID-19 was a mass disabling event and led to a influx of newly disabled college students, and previously disabled students now figuring out how to manage new forms of disability. We often think of disability in COVID-19 in terms of long COVID but there was also many students who realized their neurodivergence during COVID-19 lockdowns or students who developed anxiety and depression in the wake of the pandemic. At the same time the turn to remote education in 2020 has given us tools (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft teams) and grace that we should continue to extend to our students even after lockdown.

Importance of Having Professors Embrace Disability as Fluid with COVID-19

Shifting viewing disability to diversity also pushes back against academic ableism in the classroom - e.g. rigid class attendance and participation policies which penalize fluid disability. Views of disability as fluid can be implemented in the classroom through the syllabus statement.  

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- Example: Disability Services as the University of Arizona
- Crip Authenticity
- Perceiving Disability as Diversity
- Syllabus Statements

How to Move Toward Embracing Disability as Fluid in Academia

Having Disability Service departments embrace disability as fluid also helps shift disability from being perceived as a harmful derivation from the norm and shifts disability to being perceived in higher education as a form of diversity. When this culture shift is picked up by broader campuses it can mitigate the amount of time students spend considering if they are 'disabled enough' to receive accommodations.

How Viewing Disability as Fluid can Change Student Views

Framing poor performance as being caused by student's being lazy contributes to heightened internalized ableism for students and perpetuates academic ableism. Since conversations about disability are often siloed to disability service offices students can go their entire college career without knowing they could benefit from accommodations - this is especially pernicious when coupled with academic ableism's view that poor performance should be solely understood as the student's fault.

Disability Fluidity and Academic Ableism

Abrams, E. J., Floyd, C. E., & Abes, E. S. (2024). Prioritizing Crip Futures: Applying Crip Theory to Create Accessible Academic Experiences in Higher Education. Disability Studies Quarterly, 43(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v43i4.8270

Prioritizing Crip Futures: Applying Crip Theory to Create Accessible Academic Experiences in Higher Education

An example of how we can improve disability services in academia to crip the accommodation process by viewing disability as fluid comes from a 2017 case study Kroger and Kraus did of the University of Arizona. The University of Arizona used guidelines from the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and implemented these guidelines into their process by instead of having students just present medical information and be given a set of accommodations students discussed with staff the disability barriers they faced. Students were able to edit and adjust accommodations throughout the semester based on their needs. 

Example: Disability Services at the University of Arizona

Crip authenticity refers to practices that center the fluid nature of disability and time that reject ableist assumptions that prescribe normative assumptions for how people are supposed to inhabit their bodies and engage with space and time. Crip authenticity recognizes disability as fluid both throughout a person's lifespan and when individuals move from one context to another.

Crip Authenticity

Academic ableism relies on the biomedical model of disability. This model focuses on diagnostic lables and the creation of an individualized approach to accomidations. The students hold responsibility to report and maintain accomodations throughout their academic career.

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