Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#191

Post by aeturnum » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:54 PM UTC

jph00 wrote: post #147

Amongst groups for extremely gifted kids I’ve seen, well over half are neurodivergent. It’s a well understood issue in gifted kids psychology. When these kids are accommodated appropriately they ace their classes, and when not, they fail out entirely, even at the most basic levels of education. So the statistics mentioned in the article are not necessarily inconsistent with what we’d expect, since Stanford is a highl…

It is interesting to consider that disability may enable much higher academic performance as long as people get the proper accommodations. After all, wouldn't it be interesting if people we think of as disabled can - under the correct conditions - be more productive than 'able' people. An individuals' capability is generally pretty circumstantial and I think we should be open to asking questions about how optimal our current social structure is for productivity and capacity going forward. We may need to imagine new ways of living and structuring work and society to reach even higher levels of productivity.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#192

Post by nickff » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:54 PM UTC

dkarl wrote: post #178

jph00 wrote: post #147

Amongst groups for extremely gifted kids I’ve seen, well over half are neurodivergent. It’s a well understood issue in gifted kids psychology. When these kids are accommodated appropriately they ace their classes, and when not, they fail out entirely, even at the most basic levels of education. So the statistics mentioned in the article are not necessarily inconsistent with what we’d expect, since Stanford is a highl…

My current employer had me answer the question of whether I'm "disabled." I've never answered "yes" to this question since I've never been diagnosed with any form of neurodivergence, though therapists have suggested that there's a good chance I'd be diagnosed if I saw a specialist. But this time I noticed that my employer's definition of "disabled" included not only neurodivergence but also depression, which I do hav…

It probably helps the employer demonstrate that they hire and retain disabled people, likely assisting with some government quotas, and defenses against lawsuits by aggrieved ex-employees.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#193

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:54 PM UTC

dkarl wrote: post #178

jph00 wrote: post #147

Amongst groups for extremely gifted kids I’ve seen, well over half are neurodivergent. It’s a well understood issue in gifted kids psychology. When these kids are accommodated appropriately they ace their classes, and when not, they fail out entirely, even at the most basic levels of education. So the statistics mentioned in the article are not necessarily inconsistent with what we’d expect, since Stanford is a highl…

My current employer had me answer the question of whether I'm "disabled." I've never answered "yes" to this question since I've never been diagnosed with any form of neurodivergence, though therapists have suggested that there's a good chance I'd be diagnosed if I saw a specialist. But this time I noticed that my employer's definition of "disabled" included not only neurodivergence but also depression, which I do hav…

[deleted]

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#194

Post by jjtheblunt » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:55 PM UTC

psunavy03 wrote: post #126

OGEnthusiast wrote: post #25

American society is at the point where if you don't play these sort of games/tricks, you'll get out-competed by those who do. Bleak.

Depends highly on your field. There are plenty of military personnel and commercial pilots hiding things or avoiding being seen for any kind of treatment, because a diagnosis could lose them their jobs. Rolling out electronic health records has been a disaster for military recruiting, because such a large portion of kids flat-out lied on the medical screening, and 60+ percent of the population is already disqualified…

that's interesting, in that it would be very interesting if it motivates better fitness program funding federally

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#195

Post by guizadillas » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:55 PM UTC

ok_dad wrote: post #183

dyauspitr wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is neurodivergent though? If it’s a third of people, you can probably deem that normal.

It's a way to separate us so that we can fight about it and not focus on the important aspect which is to provide everyone the help they need and deserve to make a successful life for themselves. Some may need more help than others, and so the powers that be who want to keep all that profit for themselves target those who need more help with dumb articles like this one which spread FUD.

You almost lost me in the first half but yeah, that title alone shows the intentions of the editorial

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#196

Post by mberning » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:55 PM UTC

This is super common in affluent school districts. Bulldozer parents with lots of time and resources eventually get their kid some diagnosis that confers benefits in their schooling. Be it additional time on assignments, one on one tutoring, or whatever. They carry these diagnoses, habits, and expectations to college.

To be clear I am not making light of or dismissing legitimate issues. Simply pointing out that there are some that take advantage of the systems that exist.

You actually are starting to see this in the corporate world. People with a laundry list of diagnoses and other statuses that make them very tricky to let go for performance reasons.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#197

Post by weehobbes » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:55 PM UTC

kgwgk wrote: post #122

weehobbes wrote: post #91

I have a teenager who is at an academically rigorous college prep school. He is incredibly bright and one of the best students in the school. But he has an accommodation in math for extra time because he has a form of dyscalculia which makes him very prone to misreading and mixing up in working memory the numbers, symbols and other formulas. He understands all the concepts well, but his disability results in calculat…

Everyone who runs out of time does actually need extra time!

Agree!

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#198

Post by fsckboy » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:55 PM UTC

jph00 wrote: post #147

Amongst groups for extremely gifted kids I’ve seen, well over half are neurodivergent. It’s a well understood issue in gifted kids psychology. When these kids are accommodated appropriately they ace their classes, and when not, they fail out entirely, even at the most basic levels of education. So the statistics mentioned in the article are not necessarily inconsistent with what we’d expect, since Stanford is a highl…

>It’s a well understood issue in gifted kids psychology

if it's a well-understood issue in a scientific field, it's basically well-understood through the work of neurodivergent scientists.

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#199

Post by Animats » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

Is that something a Stanford student would want on their permanent record? Employers or the government might be able to obtain that information. You could be flagged for life as a reject.

Under the Trump administration, accommodations for mentally disabled people are no longer enforced. Most of the enforcers were laid off. The new policy is “encouraging civil commitment of individuals with mental illness who pose risks to themselves or the public or are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves in appropriate facilities for appropriate periods of time.” [1]

[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/endi...

Re: Why are 38 percent of Stanford students saying they're disabled?

#200

Post by jay_kyburz » Thu, Dec 04, 2025, 7:56 PM UTC

margalabargala wrote: post #103

lostmsu wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose cheating to get housing benefits is less of a dumpster fuck vs cheating to get ahead of other people in education.

The word "cheating" is loaded with a lot of values and judgement that I think makes it inappropriate to use the way you did. There's a point where it's not immoral to leverage systems available to you to land yourself in a better situation. Avoiding increasingly-overcrowded housing situations is I think one of them. If Stanford's standards for these housing waivers are sufficiently broad that 38% of their students qu…

If you lie (or exaggerate) about a disability and claim a benefit, you could be denying somebody with more serious disabilities getting the help they need.