ABSTRACT
While many countries have regulations in place to safeguard the rights of persons with disability to secure needed or reasonable accommodations, many persons with disability are reluctant to disclose in postsecondary and workplace settings, resulting in limited access to resources needed for success. Though this may seem surprising given the increased focus on self-determination within transition programs, difficulty emerges when the systems that shape higher education and the workplace are perceived to be at variance with disclosure that might result in doubts about competence or aptitude. Research suggests interconnection between deficit discourses associated with disability and disclosure. What is needed is a template to deconstruct disclosure discourse to identify areas of dialogical difficulty.
This chapter explores the complex dialogue surrounding disclosure of disability in postsecondary and workplace settings and offers a template to guide understanding and engage in collaborative solution-building. A review of recent research suggested several emergent themes regarding the disclosure dilemma, such as negotiating disability and identity, which incorporates navigating the complex intersection between affirmed and ascribed identities; and negotiating disability and disclosure, including fear of lowered expectations, safeguarding competence and belonging, and viewing educators/employers as “gatekeepers” to vocational goal achievement.
Dialogical difficulties related to disclosure were found to occur in one or more of four domains that suggest strategies for self-advocacy and negotiation: People and Perceptions (the “who?” component; exploring stakeholders, their roles, values and attributions); Principles and Power (the “why?” component; identifying the values, ethics and frameworks that guide decision-making); Pathways and Processes (the “how?” component; examining prescribed and alternative means for goal attainment); and Product and Profit (the “what?” component; exploring outcomes and benefit). Equity accommodation is suggested as a term denoting a shift from a deficit-based depiction of accommodation to assuring that each individual has access to affordances, services, training, and an environment conducive to achieving self-chosen objectives.
