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Cited by 85Disability Education and EmploymentDisability Rights and RepresentationInclusion and Disability in Education and Sport

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Inside and Out: Factors That Support and Hinder the Self-Advocacy of Undergraduates with ADHD and/or Specific Learning Disabilities in STEM

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Pfeifer, Mariel A., Reiter, Eve Melanie, Cordero, Julio J., Stanton, Julie Dangremond·2021·CBE—Life Sciences Education
DOI 10.1187/cbe.20-06-0107PMC PMC8734393
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Abstract

Self-advocacy is linked to the success and retention of students with disabilities in college. Self-advocacy is defined as communicating individual wants, needs, and rights to determine and pursue required accommodations. While self-advocacy is linked to academic success, little is known about how students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) practice self-advocacy. We previously developed a model of self-advocacy for STEM students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or specific learning disabilities (SLD). Here, we use this model to examine what factors support or hinder self-advocacy in undergraduate STEM courses. We conducted semistructured interviews with 25 STEM majors with ADHD and/or SLD and used qualitative approaches to analyze our data. We found internal factors, or factors within a participant, and external factors, the situations and people, described by our participants, that influenced self-advocacy. These factors often interacted and functioned as a support or barrier, depending on the individuals and their unique experiences. We developed a model to understand how factors supported or hindered self-advocacy in STEM. Supporting factors contributed to a sense of comfort and security for our participants and informed their perceptions that accommodation use was accepted in a STEM course. We share implications for research and teaching based on our results.

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FIGURE 1. Our guiding model of self-advocacy for students with ADHD and/or SLD in undergraduate STEM courses. Each component of the self-advocacy model is defined in Table 1. These components are aspects contributing to self-advocacy in undergraduate STEM courses. Knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors are not intended to be linear, that is, it is not yet clear whether knowledge leads to beliefs which lead to behaviors. Communication is bolded, because it is essential for self-advocacy. One possible product of self-advocacy is accommodation use in a STEM course. Self-advocacy likely enhances academic success and retention of students with ADHD/SLD in STEM majors (arrow and round-edged box). Figure modified from Pfeifer et al. (2020).
FIGURE 1. Our guiding model of self-advocacy for students with ADHD and/or SLD in undergraduate STEM courses. Each component of the self-advocacy model is defined in Table 1. These components are aspects contributing to self-advocacy in undergraduate STEM courses. Knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors are not intended to be linear, that is, it is not yet clear whether knowledge leads to beliefs which lead to behaviors. Communication is bolded, because it is essential for self-advocacy. One possible product of self-advocacy is accommodation use in a STEM course. Self-advocacy likely enhances academic success and retention of students with ADHD/SLD in STEM majors (arrow and round-edged box). Figure modified from Pfeifer et al. (2020).CC BY-NC-SA · PubMed Central
FIGURE 2. Our emergent model describing how factors influence the self-advocacy of our participants in the context of undergraduate STEM courses. Square-edged boxes represent findings from our data, while round-edged boxes represent components that we propose influence self-advocacy behaviors in a STEM course. Internal factors are aspects of self-advocacy within our participants. External factors are aspects that influence self-advocacy outside the participants. Internal and external factors often interact (dashed line). Factors function as a support or as a barrier (arched lines), depending upon the individual participant and that participant’s experiences. The lines are intended to be multidirectional. Factors contribute to or diminish a sense of comfort and security and inform our participants’ perceptions that accommodation use is accepted within a STEM course. Sense of comfort and security and a perceived acceptance of accommodation use function together (straight, bolded arrow) to support self-advocacy behaviors in STEM courses.
FIGURE 2. Our emergent model describing how factors influence the self-advocacy of our participants in the context of undergraduate STEM courses. Square-edged boxes represent findings from our data, while round-edged boxes represent components that we propose influence self-advocacy behaviors in a STEM course. Internal factors are aspects of self-advocacy within our participants. External factors are aspects that influence self-advocacy outside the participants. Internal and external factors often interact (dashed line). Factors function as a support or as a barrier (arched lines), depending upon the individual participant and that participant’s experiences. The lines are intended to be multidirectional. Factors contribute to or diminish a sense of comfort and security and inform our participants’ perceptions that accommodation use is accepted within a STEM course. Sense of comfort and security and a perceived acceptance of accommodation use function together (straight, bolded arrow) to support self-advocacy behaviors in STEM courses.CC BY-NC-SA · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Pfeifer, M. A., Reiter, E. M., Cordero, J. J., & Stanton, J. D.
Affiliations
University of Georgia (US)
Corresponding author
Stanton, Julie Dangremond
ORCID
Venue
CBE—Life Sciences Education
Publisher
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
Published
2021-06
Volume
20
Issue
2
Pages
ar17
ISSN
1931-7913 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1187/cbe.20-06-0107
PMC
PMC8734393
OpenAlex
W3138652959
Cited by
85
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4
FWCI
15.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc-sa
Locations
  • CBE—Life Sciences Education (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Disability Education and Employment
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disability Rights and Representation
  • Social Sciences › Education › Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport
Keywords
self-advocacy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disabilities, STEM students, academic accommodations, student retention, internal and external factors, models of disability, higher education
MeSH terms
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Humans, Learning Disabilities, Mathematics, Students, Technology

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Inside and Out: Factors That Support and Hinder the Self-Advocacy of Undergraduates with ADHD and/or Specific Learning Disabilities in STEM. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1187/cbe.20-06-0107
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Pfeifer, M. A., Reiter, E. M., Cordero, J. J., & Stanton, J. D. (2021). Inside and Out: Factors That Support and Hinder the Self-Advocacy of Undergraduates with ADHD and/or Specific Learning Disabilities in STEM. CBE—Life Sciences Education. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-06-0107

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