Higher Ed And Mi/ptsd - Disclose Or Not?

[MT Johnny]

Really strongly thinking about applying to an online masters degree program in my current field.

What are the pros and cons of disclosing a PTSD diagnosis?

Do you actually have to be on disability for it to "count" in any way, or is merely having a documented diagnosis sufficient?

With employment I know disclosure is a very slippery slope, but I am assuming that academia is much more progressive and understanding (but you know what they say when you assume!)

So - is a diagnosed mental illness a factor in the grad school experience.

 

[Kintsugi]

Hey MT, I haven't been in graduate school, but it is something I will disclose. I learned in my undergrad that not disclosing can lead to serious problems.My symptoms mess with really weird things, like my inability to remember more than 5 deadlines and my sometimes crippling inability to face my email inbox.

So far as I know, the ADA covers you if you have a PTSD diagnosis regardless of your diabled status. I think we are "lucky" in that we have a disability that is federally recognized as a chronic disability (someone correct me if I'm off, here) in terms of asking for reasonable accomodation.

If you want to go into a field like journalism and specialize in warzones, yeah, you may get some push back/prejudice. However, I think most fields are pretty open to people's psychiatric disabilities?

I would think of it this way... if you were Deaf and had a cochlear implant, and you spoke near-normally and could read lips to supplement what you couldn't decipher etc., wouldn't you still mention, "By the way, I'm legally Deaf"?

ETA: you get to decide when to disclose. When you apply? After you're accepted? At the start of your first term? This is all on your time, MT, as far as I am concerned.

 

[Samantha_38]

I'm in grad school right now and I have not told anyone. I did not tell anyone in undergrad either. Although I have seen several people talk about accommodations on this sight, and even had some recommend I disclose and ask for accommodation. The field I'm going into, Physical Therapy, has a lot of potential triggers for me, but I knew this going in. I actually tend to be able to manage my triggers much better while I'm in class than I can anywhere else. School has always been a "get-away" for me though, since I was very young. I also pretty much don't disclose to anyone, so that might just be my overall preference. My main reason for not disclosing at school is that I don't want to be treated different. Even if accommodations could help, I'd rather do it knowing I went through the exact same as everyone else. I really don't like feeling different. That's just something I've decided for me. You have choose what's right for you though.

I'm definitely not saying my way is the best, just giving you one perspective. In all honestly, it's probably smarter to disclose. I personally would wait until you're accepted into the program however. Like I said, I don't disclose PTSD at all pretty much, but I have a son with some chronic health issues and I purposely don't inform potential employers, and didn't inform my grad school, until after I'm already hired/accepted. That's just because I don't think the majority of people can really be completely objective. Although they aren't allowed to not hire someone due to medical problems (as long as they can perform the required tasks of the position), I don't think most people can control (or maybe even recognize) their own bias. Knowing they want to hire someone who is as reliable as possible, the knowledge of a condition that is bound to cause some unreliability in the presence of a similar candidate that's maybe only a little weaker in a couple of areas they're looking for but more reliable, I think it'd be very easy to hire the similar candidate.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I'd disclose. Even if you don't need it, its an insurance policy of sorts.

Lets say you get hit with an episode. Your fate is ENTIRELY in the hands of your instructor because they have a choice of whether or not to accommodate you. Its entirely possible that they give you the "suck it up, buttercup" response and you end up having to drop the class if you can't instantly pull it together.

I have an accommodation plan and even so I encounter assholish instructors who say "you should have notified me two weeks ago if you were having problems".....completely ignorant of the fact that ptsd episodes can pop up at any moment.

If you care about your grades or have financial restraints and don't want to lose money because you had to drop out after an instructor gave you no leeway, then sign up with the disabilities department. Its not about doing what everyone else can do, proving yourself, or anything like that. Its a VERY practical matter.

And the thing is, you get to choose which accommodations you will use. That is, once your psychiatrist has given the explanation for what accommodations you need and why, its up to you as to whether or not you use them.

One of my accommodations is time and a half on exams. Its not about proving myself to be just like everyone else. (TBH, that ship sailed a long time ago....) My mind literally blanks out in the middle of exams and it can take a few minutes to re-orient myself and continue. (And even then, I'm moving at a slower pace through the exam.) Sometimes I finish exams in less time than everyone else gets, sometimes I use more.

I guess I get a little irritated with the pigeon-holing "everyone must conform" sort of attitude that doesn't allow for differentials in how we learn. Its sort of elitist if you think about it, right? (Funny, if we were talking about ADD or a physical disability, this wouldn't be so much of an issue.)

 

[Friday]

I didn't for the 8 or so years I was in academia. Including not disclosing I'm ADHD, officially, although I was open about that one on a personal level. LOL, to the point of giving lectures on it at a few different panels & symposiums.

My personal attitude, growing up with ADHD is that it's a pain in the ass to seek accommodations in advance of need, and that it often creates more problems than it solves until need presents. That it's far far easier to work around the system than within it. So if there is a need? Burn that bridge when we get there!

- All disabilities are covered (in the States) under Medical Withdrawal (MW on transcripts, which are legally not allowed to affect your GPA or Financial Aid Status, unlike a W, or HW: Hardship Withdrawal). I've used those a few times, most of the time it's a smooth & well worn process. I haven't needed accommodations after the fact, but it's also one of the fast ways to snap them into place. Medical Withdrawal clearly shows present need, & the added quarter time allows for processing of paperwork, & schedule building.

- There is a disabilities office at brick & mortar schools that will do a run through with you of services offered (while I don't disclose officially ahead of time, I always check that one out in advance; to get an overview of their local policies, & what is easy-easy for them to do, & to get an idea what I can do better myself). Most professors would generally rather deal with you on a personal level than deal with the disabilities office... So that one I use ruthlessly. The first day of the quarter when syllabi are presented? I generally know that day -from the syllabi & presentation of "Welcome to My World for 3 Months"- how the quarter is going to fly.

One of my hard lines is missing classes. I do. Period. Even in hard sciences, there are work arounds for that (evening lab hours, extra credit, etc. LOL I've gotten faaaaar better grades by being at the proctored stuff after hours getting cozy with the Prof & TAs, than quarters I've missed few classes and haven't attended them!). If a professor is pigheaded insistent that every moment in their presence is gold, and shall not be missed under any circumstance? Pfft. I drop that class and get a new professor for it. That's a hardline personality thing, and the disabilities office won't sway them an inch / it will be a quarter long fight. The professors that the disabilities office loves? Don't even need the intermediary. Kind of a Catch22: if you actually need the office as an intermediary? It's too late. The quarter will suck.

This has turned into a novel, so I'll stop here. There are definite reasons to disclose, as well as reasons to hold off. It really depends on personal circumstance.

 

[joeylittle]

You should not disclose as part of the application process unless you want to, as part of your identity/essay/story. Why? Because it's not relevant.

Doesn't matter if you are short, tall, in a wheelchair, Deaf, Blind, mentally ill, diabetic, fighting cancer, have a prosthetic limb, cart around an oxygen tank....none of it matters. It's a part of who you are, and if you want to write about it when telling them who you are, fine. That's up to you.

After acceptance, you immediately file with the university's version of an accessibility office/disability services/they all have different names for it. You take the accommodations offered even if you never actually need the extra time or whatnot. Why? It's infinitely easier to do that upfront than to reverse-engineer it and feel like you are on the spot and like you might be judged for making excuses, etc.

Universities are no more or less progressive than anywhere else; however, they are very aware of the law, and generally conform to it. But there are always places that have poorly informed representatives. Which is also why it's better to do it up front, so if you run into trouble, it's not in the middle of exams week.

 

[maelstrom]

I'd say never disclose officially, but if you find somebody you can trust personally, you can consider making him/her part of your support group.

 

[void]

@OP

can you get accommodations for disability but NOT specify PTSD?