Student veterans with disabilities in higher education: the lived experiences of transition and engagement.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20236571

The purpose of this study was to investigate the transition of student veterans with disabilities from the combat theater in to higher education. More specifically, the researcher delved in to the lived experiences of student veterans with disabilities as they transitioned from the combat theater to the higher education community. The factors that affected the transition experience of these students were explored. The study also investigated these student veterans' beliefs, attitudes and needs regarding their inclusion in the higher education community. Finally, an examination of the protections of federal legislation for student veterans with disabilities, transitioning of veterans, prevalence of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and polytrauma among returning combat veterans and financial implications of the new GI Bill and other complexities associated with this group of students also informed this study.