Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? (reason.com)

Article summary

A recent article in The Atlantic reported that 38% of Stanford students claim to have a disability, with most citing mental health conditions and learning disabilities. This percentage is significantly higher than at other universities, with some professors suggesting that students are seeking accommodations to gain an unfair advantage. The article proposes that the current language of the Americans with Disabilities Act allows students to get expansive accommodations with little more than a doctor's note. This has led to a situation where some students may be misusing the system to avoid academic challenges.

Main themes

• Disability claims
• Academic accommodations
• Mental health
• Learning disabilities
• Abuse of system
• Elite universities

What commenters say

• The high percentage of students claiming disability at Stanford suggests that some students may be misusing the system to gain an unfair advantage.
• The ease of obtaining a diagnosis and accommodations is a major factor in the high number of disability claims among students.
• The expansion of the definition of ADHD and other conditions has contributed to the increase in disability claims.
• Students who are actually disabled are being unfairly maligned by suggestions that many students are faking their disabilities.
• The system is being gamed by students who want to avoid academic challenges and get special treatment.
• There is a fine line between providing necessary accommodations for students with legitimate disabilities and enabling students to avoid challenges.
• The fact that other universities have much lower rates of disability claims suggests that something anomalous is happening at Stanford.
• The discussion around disability and accommodations is complex and multifaceted, and cannot be reduced to simple accusations of abuse or fraud.