  The impact of COVID-19 on students has been enormous, with an increase in
worries about fiscal and physical health, a rapid shift to online learning, and
increased isolation. In addition to these changes, students with
disabilities/health concerns may face accessibility problems with online
learning or communication tools, and their stress may be compounded by
additional risks such as financial stress or pre-existing conditions. To our
knowledge, no one has looked specifically at the impact of COVID-19 on students
with disabilities/health concerns. In this paper, we present data from a survey
of 147 students with and without disabilities collected in late March to early
April of 2020 to assess the impact of COVID-19 on these students' education and
mental health. Our findings show that students with disabilities/health
concerns were more concerned about classes going online than their peers
without disabilities. In addition, students with disabilities/health concerns
also reported that they have experienced more COVID-19 related adversities
compared to their peers without disabilities/health concerns. We argue that
students with disabilities/health concerns in higher education need confidence
in the accessibility of the online learning tools that are becoming
increasingly prevalent in higher education not only because of COVID-19 but
also more generally. In addition, educational technologies will be more
accessible if they consider the learning context, and are designed to provide a
supportive, calm, and connecting learning environment.
