摘要：Large numbers of recent generations of U.S. military veterans are returning to postsecondary education and utilizing the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Some of these student veterans may have invisible/nonapparent disabilities such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, mild Traumatic Brain Injuries, or other physical or sensory conditions that do not require visible prosthetics. These invisible/non-apparent disabilities may affect student veterans’ capacity to adjust to the learning environments in educational settings. Minimal research assesses factors impacting student veterans’ disclosure of their invisible/non-apparent disability to receive accommodations. The authors offer a conceptual article that includes a literature search of military veterans and help-seeking behaviors in higher educational settings based on the following criteria: 1) stigma experiences among student veterans with nonapparent disability; 2) barriers to engaging in help-seeking behaviors; and 3) conditions for acquiring counseling and other student support services in a non-military postsecondary educational setting. Sixteen articles met the search criteria and offer contextual factors that, if accounted for, may influence some student veterans to disclose to seek classroom accommodations for an invisible/nonapparent disability should the need arise. The article concludes by the authors applying theories and recent findings related to enhancing veterans’ willingness to address invisible/non-apparent disabilities and engage in help-seeking behaviors within higher education settings.
