Additional insight can be elicited by providing practical examples of how other factors can accentuate the learning difficulties caused by serious or persistent psychiatric symptoms. By discussing these issues, clinicians can provide veterans with a more realistic understanding of potential obstacles in the postsecondary setting and the need for a strategic plan to address such challenges. For example, if a veteran takes prescription medications to manage underlying psychiatric conditions, a discussion regarding pertinent pharmacologic adverse effects (AEs) can highlight how academic performance might be affected. As outlined in part 1, fatigue, drowsiness, restlessness, mental grogginess, and insomnia are just a few medication AEs that may impair academic performance by negatively affecting memory, concentration, and executive functioning.
There are multiple circumstances that can increase the degree to which psychiatric symptoms impede recall, memory, insight, judgment, concentration, attention, organization, and abstract thinking. Impaired memory, poor concentration, irritability, and decreased attention can occur in the normal postmilitary transition period or as residual effects from mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury. Multiple role responsibilities, such as being a spouse and parent, also can present significant mental distractions from academic endeavors. A physical impairment, such as tinnitus, hearing loss, or chronic pain, can impede classroom participation.
At this juncture, HCPs also should identify the academic consequences of impaired learning. Knowing these consequences will help veterans decide whether a course of action is needed to compensate for any learning disability that may be present. Inability to finish timed tests, difficulty taking notes, and inefficient studying are some of the more serious potential sequelae. Feared long-term consequences include a lack of progress through the required course load and, ultimately, failing courses.
A basic explanation of the potential financial effects of poor academic achievement provides another practical method for clinicians to outline negative consequences of an acquired learning disability. The student’s sole income for basic necessities is often the post-9/11 GI Bill, which pays for up to 36 months of education benefits and includes a living allowance and book stipend.
Unfortunately, given their financial dependence on the GI Bill, many veterans who withdraw from classes due to academic difficulties face economic uncertainty. If their withdrawal is not approved by the GI Bill program, these veterans must pay back all the money granted during the semester. Veterans who remain in school despite receiving failing marks cannot recover money spent on failed courses. This potentially results in veterans exceeding their entire GI Bill allotment before completing course requirements for their desired certificate or degree. Many veterans logically conclude that the potential financial devastation is a sufficiently severe consequence of impaired learning ability, and those who believe they have significantly impaired learning ability may become more motivated to reduce any risk of academic failure by pursuing academic accommodations.
In tandem with reviewing the potential severity of the problem, clinicians always should emphasize the availability of academic accommodations to circumvent the negative consequences of an acquired learning disability. Veterans who experience academic difficulties but are unaware of academic interventions may decide to forgo postsecondary education. By understanding basic details about accommodations, veterans can make the informed decision to pursue these interventions as part of a plan for academic success.
Perceived Benefits
Although identifying perceived susceptibility and perceived severity are necessary for veterans to consider academic reasonable accommodation use, eligible veterans still may not understand how these accommodations can apply to their situation. In the next step of HBM, veterans must view formal academic accommodations as a desirable solution to mitigate the effects of impaired learning ability. Veterans must appreciate the perceived benefits of such requests before they elect to pursue them.
At this point, HCPs should provide examples of academic accommodations to illustrate the simplicity and ease of such interventions. Tutoring, note-taking assistance, and providing additional time for testing are examples of a few types of accommodations featuring advantages that should be readily apparent to veterans returning to school. These measures not only lessen the likelihood of struggling academically, but also afford an opportunity to excel. By painting accommodations as a powerful method of self-advocacy, HCPs can inform veterans that accommodations enable a measure of control within the academic setting and assist with planning.
Perceived Barriers
Although identifying perceived benefits may be persuasive, discerning perceived barriers is an important HBM step that influences whether veterans will seek academic accommodations. Fortunately, many of the common barriers to accommodation requests are simply misconceptions that clinicians can address easily. For example, some veterans misconstrue reasonable accommodations as giving them an unfair advantage, which they find offensive to their personal integrity and pride. Clinicians should point out to these veterans that accommodations address deficits in learning abilities and merely level the academic playing field so the student-veteran is on par with those students without such impairments. The core work needed to pass the class remains unchanged by such accommodations.