Documenting the Needs of Student Veterans with Disabilities: Intersection Roadblocks, Solutions, and Legal Realities

Colleges and universities are currently experiencing the greatest influx of student veterans with disabilities in the past several decades. These numbers will continue to increase substantially. Student DS providers must be prepared to understand and respond to the often unique and challenging disclosure, documentation, and accommodation issues that student veterans with disabilities can present. These issues, which are often related to combat injuries, may include a failure to self-identify, disabilities that are invisible, late-developing or interrelated, and significant delays in obtaining needed documentation from U.S. government agencies, in particular the Veterans Administration. At the same time, how the recently enacted ADA Amendments Act may impact these issues is not yet fully known. This article outlines practical strategies, advice, and solutions.