"Things Can Be Tough": A Qualitative Analysis of Disability Disclosure in Graduate School

Understanding graduate students' experiences with disability disclosure is essential for ensuring equitable access to higher education. Through a systematic review of 173 public Twitter posts related to disability disclosure during graduate school, this study explored the following research question: What factors serve as barriers and facilitators for disability disclosure among graduate program students and applicants? Tweets were chosen for inclusion based on the following criteria: (a) Tweets reference disability disclosure during or when applying to any type of graduate school program and (b) Tweets reference disclosure of a specific illness during or when applying to a graduate program. Using a Universal Design (UD) framework to conduct a qualitative sentiment analysis, we identified key three themes. First, several users conveyed that their awareness of stigma toward graduate students with disabilities made them hesitant to disclose a disability. Second, users explained differences in the ways that individuals should disclose to Disability Services (DS) versus to individuals in their programs, and they noted that the barriers and facilitators varied depending on the outlet where someone discloses. Finally, users emphasized the importance of strategically timing disclosure, though users' advice as to which point in the graduate school process was most advantageous to disclose varied widely. Recommendations for future departmental policies and practices to support graduate students with disabilities are discussed.