Barriers to Counseling for Special Needs University Students

Abstract

This qualitative study employed a phenomenological design to investigate barriers to counseling services for university students with special needs in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Twenty students with diverse disabilities (visual, hearing, physical, and learning impairments), five counselors, and three administrators were purposively selected from three universities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. Findings revealed five critical themes: (1) an acute, unmet need for disability-specific counseling due to compounded academic and psychosocial stressors; (2) systemic accessibility barriers, including physical inaccessibility (e.g., counseling offices located in buildings without elevators) and lack of accommodations (e.g., absent sign language interpreters); (3) inadequate facilities, with counseling centers lacking adaptive technologies like Braille materials or quiet sensory spaces; (4) inconsistent counselor expertise, where some providers demonstrated cultural sensitivity while others perpetuated harmful stereotypes; and (5) low utilization rates driven by stigma, scheduling conflicts, and prior negative experiences. Recommendations include immediate infrastructural upgrades compliant with universal design principles, mandatory disability competency training for counselors co-facilitated by persons with disabilities, and the establishment of peer support networks. Institutions must tie funding to measurable inclusion metrics, such as service utilization rates among students with disabilities, to ensure accountability.