Skip to main content
CSWE Annual Conference 2025 Main banner

Interactive Workshop

Military Personnel, Veterans, First-Responders, and their Families and Communities

Beyond Camouflage: Finding Joy in Higher Education for Student Veterans with Invisible Disabilities

This workshop aims to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to foster disability joy among student veterans with invisible disabilities. By understanding the unique challenges faced by veterans and learning strategies to create inclusive and supportive environments, educators can enhance the academic and personal success of disabled student veterans.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
  1. identify various types of invisible disabilities, such as mental health conditions, chronic pain, TBIs, and neurodivergence, while recognizing how these intersect with aspects of identity, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status. They will thoughtfully explore the unique challenges these intersections present for disabled student veterans in higher education.
  2. develop strategies to create compassionate, inclusive, and supportive learning environments that promote disability joy. These strategies will prioritize the intersectional needs of disabled student veterans with invisible disabilities, ensuring accommodations are made with empathy, respect, and understanding of diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and service eras.
  3. implement teaching practices and institutional policies that celebrate the strengths and contributions of disabled student veterans, particularly in an intersectional context. These practices will prioritize listening to their voices and fostering a compassionate, inclusive space where they experience mattering and belonging.