Not viewing disability as fluid makes it harder for students to disclose. When students disclose disability often they face disbelief, have to perform emotional labor to teach their professors about their disability, and face the stigma tied to disability. Current accommodations processes in higher education which rely on students knowing and disclosing their accommodations at the beginning of the semester are not flexible processes that embrace disability as fluid.

Rigid Views of Disability and Accommodations

Collen's narrative shows that while Colleen understood herself as disabled since her disability did not in the eyes of the professor fit into the rigid definition of who is "really disabled" Colleen was hesitant to claim disability and access accommodations because she knew her professor would perceive her as being dishonest, which the professor ended up perceiving her as, especially when having access to accommodations allowed Colleen to perform better in the course.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Collen Floyd had an undergrad class that stated on the syllabus that there were five pop quizzes during the semester. When Collen voiced to the professor that to have her accommodations met the pop quizzes would need to be sent over to the university testing center beforehand and would remove the element of surprise the professor stated they viewed Collen's accommodations as an unfair advantage and thought Collen would tell her peers about the pop quizzes. Collen took the quizzes without accommodations, but after her grades suffered she disclosed her medical information to her professor. By this time in the semester, Colleen had already been classified by the professor as a bad student. Colleen was told that if she really needed accommodations she would've requested them earlier. Colleen went through the emotional labor of divulging more of her disability to her professor which led to the professor deciding she was "disabled enough" to need accommodation. While Colleen's grades increased she was now viewed as cheating instead of being viewed as a bad student - her sudden grade increase was interpreted as proof of academic dishonesty. This led to mutual distrust between Colleen and the professor.

Example: Floyd's experience of Disability as Fluid 

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

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