Invisible leashes : service dogs, institutional barriers, and the fight for authentic access in higher education / Allison Christina Gainer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gainer, Allison Christina, author.

Series:

Disability studies (Lived Places Publishing)

Disability studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gainer, Allison Christina.

Discrimination against people with disabilities.

Discrimination in higher education.

College students with disabilities.

Teachers with disabilities--Education (Higher).

Teachers with disabilities.

Service dogs.

College students with disabilities--Services for.

Disability studies.

People with disabilities--Education (Higher).

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

Miller Place, NY : Lived Places Publishing, 2025.

Summary:

What does it mean to be disabled in a place that claims inclusion but prioritizes compliance over true community? Invisible Leashes offers a powerful narrative that blends lived experience, institutional critique, and practical insights. Through the lens of a university staff member and Ed.D. student with a dynamic, non-apparent disability, Allison Christina Gainer reveals how classrooms, HR offices, research labs, and field placements become sites of both struggle and advocacy. At the center of this story is a service dog, whose presence not only provides support but also disrupts hidden barriers and biases, symbolizing the visibility of disability in spaces designed for conformity rather than inclusion. With candor and urgency, Gainer interrogates the politics of disclosure, the emotional labor of self-advocacy, and the structural limitations of performative inclusivity in higher education. A call for authentic accessibility and systemic change, this book highlights the need for policy reform and disability leadership rooted in lived experience. Ideal for students, scholars, and practitioners in Disability Studies, Higher Education Administration, Educational Leadership, Social Work, Counselling, Human Resources, Organizational Leadership, Law, and Public Policy, as well as disability advocates committed to creating more inclusive institutions.

Contents:

Invisible leashes

Claiming identity in academic spaces: Disability and the self

Living in survival mode

Learning from the experiences of others

The cost of disclosure

The service dog as disruption

The duality of access: Human resources and student accessibility

Learning while leading

Policy vs. practice

Building back better: Beyond accommodation

Lily-Rue's legacy: A story of becoming

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from digital title page (publisher's site, viewed October 29, 2025).

Other Format:

Print version: Gainer, Allison Christina. Invisible leashes

ISBN:

9781915271716

1915271711

9781915271709

1915271703

OCLC:

1542915791

Publisher Number:

CIPO000312488

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license