Keeping in line with this year’s Disability Pride month theme, “The World Works Better with Us,” let’s talk about how we can grow inclusion, belonging, and support for our disabled law students—as well as disabled staff, faculty, and alumni of our law schools.
To start, there are simply more disabled law students than data can accurately tell us. A recent Michigan State University study highlights that approximately 280,000 undergraduate students are autistic, which indicates a population “critical mass” deserving of recognition and support. We can also extrapolate from the increased criticism of growing accommodations for students with ADHD at the undergraduate level, a similar effect is likely seen with this neurodivergent condition. And these are of course just two examples of disabled communities. Thus, law schools should continue to anticipate increased numbers of disabled students.
For disabled students coming to law school, this means we need to better plan for their needs and develop resources for them. Disability services offices can no longer be the sole way that disabled students are supported. Furthermore, the more we center the voices of disabled law students as we find ways to make law school work better for our disabled students, the greater ability to support their belonging and satisfaction, which the LSSSE Disability in Law School report highlighted as challenges for many disabled law students.
With law schools set to welcome their incoming classes next month, how can they best demonstrate that the legal world works better with disabled and neurodivergent lawyers?
- Train Faculty & Staff. Much like internal training on topics of law student anxiety, depression, and suicide grew after studies came out in the 2010s discussing student wellness, law schools should develop training on or bring in consultants to help inform faculty and staff about disabilities. Training will be most valuable where it focuses both on general information topics, such as understanding the different disability communities, and ways to support or prevent stigmatization of disabled law students. Disability training must also highlight ways that classrooms can be adapted to support disabled law students, such as through accessibility training or Uniform Design for Learning instruction. Resources and training on disability topics help programs and classrooms better support disabled students without those same students having to go through formal accommodations processes.
- Reduce Barriers to Success. Some disabled students do not have diagnoses, while others may not have the full accommodations they need. Furthermore, as schools—and bar jurisdictions—push back on accommodations, more students will not receive the accommodations they are entitled to and others will deem the process a losing battle, so they won’t apply. Thus, law schools can and should reduce barriers in and outside the classrooms. For example, recent laptop bans in response to AI in the classroom will create undue hardship for disabled law students receiving accommodations, many of whom would have to make an accommodation request to use assistive technology and effectively be forced to ‘out’ themselves as disabled because they are the only students with laptops in class. This is an even bigger issue for those who do not have formal diagnoses or who simply do not wish to seek accommodations, things we see commonly in neurodivergent law students because assessments are costly, have long waiting lists, and students face stigmatization. Law schools need more, not less, inclusion for disabled law students.
- Innovate Student Resources. Many law schools have a multitude of resources and services to support student wellness, while disability offices support the accommodation needs of many law students. However, law schools can innovate resources with disability in mind and reduce silos to create more comprehensive support systems. What do disabled law students in your building ask for? What kinds of resources would be easier to implement sooner, as opposed to those that may need longer-term planning? Engage with disabled students in your school to find out what they need and want, and make a plan to start growing the resources available beyond accommodations procedures. Many of the same resources and community building that can benefit students can also benefit other disabled members of the law school community.
- Bring in Guest Speakers. Law school guest speakers present on a wide range of topics from specific areas of the law to legal ethics and more. Law schools can invite disabled speakers to discuss these topics, but they can also invite speakers to discuss topics of community engagement, such as working with Deaf clients in practice, or disabled lawyers willing to share their personal stories. Lawyers are a community of people who learn from our peers—at CLEs and in law school—, and law schools can lean into this to show that our greater legal communities have many different experiences, including those of disabled lawyers. Community building through continuing education can help disabled law students see that they too can be successful as they find their place in the legal field.
- Increase Disability Visibility Through Openness & Mentorship. Building off the previous suggestion, students can begin to positively associate with their disabled peers and mentors within their building in a variety of ways. Students can create organizations or student resources, where they are supported by their school’s administrators. Plus, law school faculty and staff with disabilities can continue to provide mentorship and support. Academic success workshops that teach strategies or skills in studying can briefly include alternative strategies for disabled law students. As a neurodivergent lawyer, I make it a point to be open about my neurodivergence to help law students around me understand that they are not alone, and I try to include strategy alternatives in class and workshops for this very reason. Community-building and mentorship are key to improving belonging for disabled members of our law schools, and again this cannot be done in a void, but rather wholistically as we look at our educational environments.
Disabled lawyers have always been a part of the legal community, though not always outwardly so. The same is true of law school students. However, as we start to see more disabled undergraduates, we will inevitably continue to see more disabled law students, including neurodivergent law students. Law school and the legal field work better with us, and the more law schools include us, our perspectives, and our voices to shape the landscape of our schools and the profession, the greater the legal community will be as a result.
(Erica M. Lux)
