Running head: INTERSECTIONS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

Intersections of race and ability: A look at Asian American students with learning disabilities
Jesus Romero
Western Michigan University

INTERSECTIONS OF RACE AND ABILITY

Intersections of race and ability: A look at Asian American students with learning disabilities
After the Civil Rights Movement, there were more students of color on college and
university campuses. While students of color often refers to students of different racial and
ethnic backgrounds, the definition has been expanded to include students with diverse identities
based on religion, sexual orientation, and ability. One of the groups that is considered to be
students of color is Asian Americans. However, some would argue that this group is highly
represented in higher education. In referring to Asian Americans, this includes individuals whose
ancestors are from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Students with disabilities are another group that
is gaining both increasing access to higher education and visibility on campus. Because students
have multiple identities that affect their development in college, I chose the voice of an Asian
American student with a learning disability.
In choosing a voice, I really wanted to explore how the intersectionality of multiple
identities shapes a college student's development. Asian American students were a population
that I was used to seeing on campus during college but they are underrepresented here at
Western. One of the student populations that I do not interact with often in my work is students
with disabilities. I thought it would be interesting to explore the voice of an Asian American
student with a learning disability considering the myth of the model minority. The myth of the
model minority is "the assumption that Asian Americans universally achieve unparalleled
academic success" (Museus, 2008, p. 3). Since learning disabilities affect the ability to learn, it
can make it more difficult for a student to succeed without the proper resources. Thus, an Asian
American with a learning disability faces a learning challenge but is also expected to do well
academically. Undergraduate enrollment of Asian Americans in the United States was 1.3
million in the year 2009 (Teranishi & Nguyen, 2012). During the 20072008 academic year,

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4.8% of undergraduate students enrolled in postsecondary institutions were Asian American

("Fast facts", n.d.). While students with disabilities accounts for only a small portion of Asian
American students, it includes all disabilities making the percentage of Asian American students
with learning disabilities much smaller.
Having knowledge of the low numbers of Asian American students with a learning
disability, it was not surprising that I found little to no research on this population. For this
reason, I decided to do research on Asian American students and students with learning
disabilities separately. One study found the importance of cultural validation in terms of cultural
knowledge, cultural familiarity, cultural expression, and cultural advocacy (Maramba & Palmer,
2014). It is important for students to have opportunities to study their culture in the classroom,
see others on campus that share their cultural identity, and express their cultural identity through
involvement in ethnic student organizations. In regards to students with learning disabilities, time
of diagnosis, perceived support, level of stigmatization, attributes of personality, willingness to
disclose, ability to self-advocate, and level of self-determination were all found to influence a
student's self-perception (Troiano, 2003). Early diagnosis along with a student that is well
supported both in and out of the classroom allows students to view their learning disability in a
more positive light, which helps them develop a healthy identity. If a student does not feel
supported by parents, faculty, staff, and other students, it will cause them to have low selfesteem. This can prove detrimental for students with learning disabilities because the student
needs to believe that they can succeed in order for them to do well academically. An Asian
American student with a learning disability may allow their disability to get the best of them and
this can result in issues with their racial identity development. There exists a need for research
that focuses on Asian American students with learning disabilities to understand the specific

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challenges that they face in their identity development.

To learn more about my voice, I also did some fieldwork in addition to looking at current
research. First, I inquired into learning how a student with a disability would register with the
Disability Services for Students (DSS) office at Western Michigan University. The student
would have to register online and then they would be contacted within two weeks by the office to
set-up an appointment. They would then meet with either the DSS Director or Assistant Director
during which they would provide documentation in order to receive the necessary
accommodations for their success. During the meeting, students are provided with the proper
resources to allow them to self-advocate for accommodations. The purpose of DSS is to aid
students in the process of acquiring accommodations but ultimately empower them to be
successful by learning how to advocate for themselves and improve their self-image. Another
one of my fieldwork activities was interviewing a student who identifies as Asian American. We
spoke about his experience as an Asian American student at Western and he said he had had a
mostly positive one. He did mention that he uses chopsticks during meals and people are
fascinated by it but it "gets annoying after a while" (V. Tran, personal communication,
November 17, 2014). The student talked about this along with other forms of microaggressions
but said that he simply shrugged it off as students being ignorant. This helped me realize that an
unwelcoming campus environment can prove very hostile to an Asian American student with a
learning disability especially if they are struggling to accept themselves both in terms of ability
and racial identity.
The environment is extremely important since it impacts the experience of students on
campus. In order for students to feel a sense of security and belonging, the physical environment
needs to ensure that all students are considered in the design and use of space. For example, an

INTERSECTIONS OF RACE AND ABILITY

Asian American student with a learning disability would receive a positive message if an
institution has both a multicultural center and a center for students with disabilities. Strange and
Banning (2001) discuss how the environment can communicate nonverbally through campus
artwork and posters that only depicts those who are White. It sends the message that only those
who are White matter to the institution. A student not only needs to see others like them in the
promotional materials but it is also crucial that they see others like them on campus. This can be
students, staff, or faculty since students feel validated when they can connect to someone that
shares a similar experience. Having a presence of individuals who share similar experiences or
those who can connect on some level allows for them to create community. When students can
identify with a community on campus, they are more likely to connect to the university and be
more successful.
Student affairs professionals play a significant role in student success since part of what
we do is provide a positive college experience for students. Those who work with students before
they come to college, such as Admissions counselors, should empower students to find the best
fit for themselves by providing them with important information to consider. For my voice of an
Asian American student with a learning disability, I would argue that the best institutional type
for their success would be a community college. Both faculty and student affairs professionals at
community colleges work together to ensure student success. Faculty at community colleges tend
to be more diverse and focus mostly on teaching while student affairs professionals value
working with underserved students and serve on campus committees with both faculty and
administrators (Hirt, 2006). At a community college, an Asian American student with a learning
disability would be more successful because they would be able to identify with faculty and
other students as well as benefit from more support from faculty and student affairs

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professionals. This would allow students to develop their racial identity and become comfortable
with different strategies for accommodating their learning disability. It is also essential that
student affairs professionals work together across campus to better serve students. In the case of
an Asian American student with a learning disability, the multicultural affairs office and
disability services office must communicate effectively in order to help the student develop their
whole identity. As student affairs professionals our role is to create opportunities for student
development.
I was able to learn more about the intersection of identities and how it can affect a
student's development through the exploration of the voice of an Asian American student with a
learning disability. While engagement helps with student success, it is also critical to consider
environment. The reasons students might not participate in campus life is because they do not
feel like they have a place on campus and this is the result of the environment. Student affairs
professionals have the ability to make environments more welcoming for all students. It requires
knowledge not only of what creates environments but also of student needs. We often work with
students that are different from us and this will only increase as the diversity of experiences and
identities of college students continues to change. For this reason, it is important that we seek out
opportunities to learn about the voices that we are unfamiliar with since we may not interact with
them as much or at all. We need to work to engage all students and provide the resources for
them to succeed. Perhaps my biggest takeaway from the project was recognizing that student's
multiple identities can either work with or against each other as the student works to develop
their whole identity. The voice of certain students can be invisible on college campuses unless
we recognize that they exist and allow for them to be heard.

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References
Fast facts (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=60
Hirt, J. B. (2006). Where you work matters: Student affairs administration at different types of
institutions. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Maramba, D. C. & Palmer, R. T. (2014). The impact of cultural validation on the college
experiences of Southeast Asian American students. Journal of College Student
Development, 55(6), 515530.
Museus, S. D. (2008). The model minority and the inferior minority myths: Understanding
stereotypes and their implications for student learning. About Campus, 13(3), 28.
Strange, C., & Banning, J. (2001). Educating by design: Creating campus learning environments
that work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Teranishi, R. T. & Nguyen, T. K. (2012). Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: The changing
demography of the United States and implications for educational policy. Harvard
Journal of Asian American Policy Review, 22, 1727.
Troiano, P. F. (2003). College students and learning disability: Elements of self-style. Journal of
College student Development, 44(3), 404419.