Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Educational Psychology & Research

Committee Chair

Denise Winsor

Committee Member

Alison Happel-Parkins

Committee Member

LaSheba Hilliard

Abstract

Despite available resources for students with disabilities, AA female college students with ADHD continue to experience academic challenges that threaten their graduation goals. Students with ADHD are not graduating at the same level as their non-ADHD peers, which may often be due to inefficient academic self-advocacy skills that can address intersectional oppression. College students with ADHD often face academic challenges that contribute to lower graduation rates compared to their non-ADHD peers. African American women similarly experience lower graduation rates compared to their white peers. When combined, these intersecting factors highlight the compounded barriers African American female college students with ADHD encounter, particularly relating to retention and graduation, despite the availability of academic resources at the college level. This study used narrative inquiry to explore the academic self-advocacy experiences of cisgender African American women with ADHD attending a four-year Historically White University (HWU). Grounded in intersectional analysis through Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) and Black Feminist Epistemology, the research examined academic self-advocacy experiences and how ADHD symptoms and intersectional identities influence their self-advocacy efforts. Student narratives were gained through in-depth semistructured interviews, focus groups, and educational journey maps (EJM), shedding light on unaddressed educational gaps. Findings revealed that students’ academic self-advocacy was shaped by psychological safety, social context, and critical advocacy skills that often went unaddressed. At the same time, the results demonstrated that culturally responsive educational guidance, along with family and peer support, created conditions for safer, more meaningful self-advocacy practices. This study contributes to conversations about intersectionally driven practice and policy reform at the postsecondary level by centering the psychological well-being of neurodivergent African American women with ADHD. The findings also highlight the importance of intersectional educational tools that actively support retention and graduation for this underrepresented population. Keywords: ADHD, Black, African American, academic self-advocacy, advocacy, DisCrit, Black Feminist Epistemology, ADHD, academic self-advocacy, accommodations, transition, university, college, postsecondary, women, girls

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

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