Key Attributes Shaping Success for Postsecondary Women with Disabilities

Prof. Lauren Lindstrom recently published one of the first qualitative studies to apply an anti-deficit framework to postsecondary students with disabilities. She and her colleagues, Dr. Rahul Ganguly (Charles Sturt University) and Ph.D. candidate Antoinette Banks (UC Davis), began examining the experiences of women with disabilities while conducting a broader study on resilience, career optimism, and academic satisfaction among disabled students in an Australian university. They quickly uncovered that many women with disabilities encounter additional challenges at the college level—such as low expectations, discrimination, and gendered misconceptions of disability—yet maintain high levels of academic success.

Focusing on the unique strengths and skills that women with disabilities bring to higher education, Lindstrom identified five common attributes that these high-achieving students demonstrate:

• Awareness of their strengths and needs
• The ability to advocate for themselves
• Understanding of services and support
• Problem-solving skills
• Robust social support networks

These five attributes offer new insight into how academic institutions can better support all students with disabilities. By tailoring resources and services to address disabled students’ strategies for high achievement, universities can bolster student success and remove learning barriers before they arise.

Navigating Higher Ed with Advocacy and Awareness

Lindstrom and her colleagues observed disabled women’s awareness of their own strengths and needs when asking about their motivation for enrolling in higher education. For many, disability made the choice to attend university feel more purposeful. Some sought career opportunities and financial stability, while others were motivated by personal fulfillment and self-realization. One participant described her decision after receiving a life-changing diagnosis. “I thought that I was not going to be able to do anything with my life that I had previously planned,” she said. “I decided that I would do the things that I wanted to do, and I wouldn’t let some stupid disease change that.”

Students’ recognition that they were entering university while living with a disability also strengthened their desire to seek out formal and informal resources once on campus. Repeatedly, participants shared that they spoke with their professors, took advantage of tutoring and academic writing services, stayed in contact with disability services, and enrolled in online classes when possible. Just as importantly, they built and maintained support networks—friends, family, and peers who continued to encourage them when the demands of college became overwhelming.

The women’s confidence in using both on- and off-campus resources also reflected their strong problem-solving skills. They quickly adapted to demanding course requirements, leveraging study and time management techniques to complete assignments. No matter the strategy, students made sure to build in time for self-care and to manage personal responsibilities such as child care. “My partner and his mum are fantastic looking after my son while I’m at uni,” one woman said. “That makes it much easier, because I don’t have to worry about him while I’m there.”

Intrinsic motivation also played a central role in women’s academic success. Advocacy opportunities and personal commitment empowered students to bring their lived experiences into the classroom, shaping campus discourse and challenging stereotypes. “I think disability needs to be acknowledged,” one interviewee said while discussing how it can be seen as a limitation. “My limits don’t make me less of a person, they just make me have different needs.” Another student shared: “I was pretty determined to still be able to get everything done, because a lot of people used to say to me, ‘Oh, you will just be on disability pension for your life now.’”

How Universities Can Better Support Disabled Students

By recognizing and fostering these five attributes that support success, universities can move beyond a deficit-based view of disability and instead celebrate the resilience and achievements of their individual students across diverse backgrounds who have excelled in spite of systemic barriers. An anti-deficit framework offers universities a powerful way forward—one that not only addresses accessibility gaps but also builds on the strengths students already bring to campus.

Lindstrom and her team also recommend that academic institutions put these insights into practice in three ways:

• Develop disability training for academics and focus on disability awareness, accommodation policies, and incorporating universal design principles.
• Offer resilience training for university students with disabilities so that they can manage academic and personal challenges with even greater success.
• Cultivate comprehensive and flexible disability support services that accommodate on-campus and distance learners and offer expanded service hours.

“These findings offer new insights for scholars, disability advocates, and educators,” Lindstrom and her colleagues conclude. “They must be considered in addressing gender and disability barriers and supporting higher education pathways for students with disabilities.”