Academic settings can problematize disability identity disclosure by providing different norms for visibility depending on the academic context. If a disabled person needs classroom accommodations, identity disclosure is required. However, academic communities contain more than classrooms. Social academic settings are common, and success in these contexts is crucial at all stages of education. Participation in study groups, sports, and student organizations is often associated with increased academic and professional success, yet these areas typically lack a clear process for disabled students to request accommodations. Successful participation in these settings tends to rely heavily on peer interactions. This emphasis on peer relations challenges many disabled students to pass as fully-abled, if possible, or to confront a reality of repeated identity disclosures.
The research reported in this chapter will reflect critically on the role of passing in a university student community that is taking part in a social academic intervention, the Allies for Ability Program, to promote ability-friendly safe space by increasing visibility of positive attitudes toward people with disabilities. People who complete the initial training can use the Allies for Ability logo to publicly identify themselves or their office as ability-friendly. Participants in the program are not required or compelled to disclose their ability identity status to their peers, yet during or after the program, some students choose to disclose identification with a disability community. The factors that predict passing or identity disclosure prior to and after participation in this program will provide unique insight into the role of passing and visibility in academic communities.
In preliminary interviews, participants frequently noted feeling isolated because of their disability and found it challenging to identify ability-friendly people and offices. Many participants were afraid to disclose their disability because of a fear of discrimination and stigma, even when disability disclosure was necessary for appropriate accommodations. Attitudes about passing or disclosure are always located within a matrix of social identities and experiences, and discussion of the relationship of disability to other social identities such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and sexual orientation will be included throughout this chapter.
It is important to understand the associations between passing and particular social and physical environments. Academic communities are well situated to facilitate an investigation of this topic as they provide contexts with and without clear guidelines for identity disclosure. The Allies for Ability program uniquely enables both passing and increasing visibility in the community. By increasing visibility of people with ability-friendly attitudes, this program avoids the problematic trend of making identity disclosure a central part of strategies to increase visibility for underrepresented social groups. These findings will be vital to expanding our understanding of passing, identity disclosure, and effective advocacy among disability communities.
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