Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Challenging Norms, Creating Art: An Anti-Ableist Lens On Visual Arts Education, Alexis Lino

Education | Master's Theses

This research explored the active role of disabled artists in their own descriptions of meaning making through their artistic process, utilizing phenomenological research to examine the lived experiences of intellectually or developmentally disabled and neurodiverse adult artists in the Bay Area. The literary study element of the research strove to understand and employ anti-ableism and constructivism as framing lenses, while also reviewing literature on issues such as access barriers, traditional quality standards in arts education, and the de-emphasis of art within curriculum funding priorities, indicating a need for continued reform toward promoting inclusive and process-oriented art education. With a focus …

Sexual Wellness Across Abilities: Reimagining Education For Adults With Disabilities, Damiana Kelsey

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs) lack sexuality education and opportunities for personal expression. Because of this, a sexuality education curriculum was developed for Gateway’s program, Without Walls. This program is specifically for adults with Intellectual Disabilities. This curriculum was delivered to 15 students ages 25 to 56. The purpose of this project is to bridge information for this population and make it more accessible. Especially with this group, there is a need for further discussion and a space to ask questions about social-emotional and sexual health. Over the course of 11 classes, the students reported having a …

Education For Sustainable Development Competencies In A Community-Engaged Art Workshop, Amy J. Schmierbach

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Arts participation can expand empathy and cognitive growth capacity while creating a social bond and communal meaning (McCarthy et al., 2004). As an art instructor for over twenty years, I have witnessed the bonds that can be created through collaborative art experiences. These bonds are nurtured from a space of equity and inclusion. Teaching a community-engaged art course can bring these qualities into the community, allowing university students to use their art skills in real-world applications to impact society through experiential learning art practices. Making art with others will enable us to help others build empathy and social bonds that …

The Spiritual Impact Of Disability On Parents And Caregivers, Grant Azbell

Discernment: Theology and the Practice of Ministry

This study was designed to examine the impact of disability on the faith and faith communities of parents and caregivers of persons experiencing disability. This study proceeded by asking nine parents or caregivers of persons experiencing disability a series of seven questions to evaluate the impact of disability on their faith and on their relationship to their faith community. The interviews were conducted on Zoom and the recordings were transcribed and coded to observe discernable patterns and themes amongst the participants. What emerged from the data is important for ministers, church leaders, and anyone wanting to know more about the …

On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique set of impairments and limitations presented by students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make the accessing of campus-based nonacademic resources more difficult and complicated than their typically developed peers. Each year, the rate of students entering college with disabilities continues to grow, but their mental well-being is relatively poor. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply the conceptual framework of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use (ABMHSU) to the experiences of college students with ASD to understand and predict their utilization of campus-provided mental health resources. The participants were seven college students with …

Improving Communication Access With Deaf People Through Nursing Simulation: A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration, Jamie L. Mccartney Ph.D., Tracy Gidden, Jennifer Biggs, Kathy Geething, Karl Kosko Ph.D.

Journal of Gender, Ethnic, and Cross-Cultural Studies

Baccalaureate nursing and sign language interpreting students participated in a pediatric discharge simulation with a deaf person playing the role of the baby’s parent. At the conclusion of the simulation, participants were emailed a consent letter and a link to a 17-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Responses were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, whereby nonparametric statistics were calculated to examine Likert-scale items. A Mann-Whitney test statistic was calculated, instead of an independent samples t-test, given the smaller sample in the current study (n = 26). A question was posed to participants that evaluated their self-perception of the effectiveness of …

Emerging As A Scholar-Advocate Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Isabelle Hoagland

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Paths To Equity: Parents In Partnership With Ucedds Fostering Black Family Advocacy For Children On The Autism Spectrum, Elizabeth H. Morgan, Benita D. Shaw, Ida Winters, Chiffon King, Jazmin Burns, Aubyn Stahmer, Gail Chodron

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Racism and ableism have doubly affected Black families of children with developmental disabilities in their interactions with disability systems of supports and services (e.g., early intervention, mental health, education, medical systems). On average, Black autistic children are diagnosed three years later and are up to three times more likely to be misdiagnosed than their non-Hispanic White peers. Qualitative research provides evidence that systemic oppression, often attributed to intersectionality, can cause circumstances where Black disabled youth are doubly marginalized by policy and practice that perpetuates inequality. School discipline policies that criminalize Black students and inadequate medical assessments that improperly support Black …

University Students With Disabilities, Accessibility, And The "Return To Normal", Kate M. Mahoney, Samuel A. Schneider, Anika Sebudde

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

In the context of the "return to normal" on university campuses in the ongoing pandemic, our research team wondered what students with disabilities could tell us about what makes university classes and services more and less accessible to them, and in that broader context, what pandemic modifications they hope continue. After two years of innovation, if we rush back to normal, we are at risk of squandering hard-won new skills, technology, and insights that are of broad value for all students. Disabled students' experiences and perspectives, as reported in 80 survey responses and 16 interviews, disrupt common assumptions about accessibility …

Adults Perspectives Of Friendships And Social Interaction Between Students With And Without Complex Support Needs During A Pandemic, Jorden Morales

Special Education ETDs

Social interactions and friendships are important for all individuals including those with complex support needs (CSN). The voices of adults including parents/guardians, primary caregivers, teachers, and related service providers who responded to a survey provided insight into supporting social interactions and friendships for children with CSN during the Covid-19 pandemic This mixed methods study used thematic analysis to explore participants’ responses to open-ended questions while multiple choice questions were analyzed through descriptive statistics. Additionally, this study included a research narrative to speak to the various roles I hold related to this study (i.e., parent, educator, researcher). Three themes emerged from …

The Threat Of Returning To “Normal”: Resisting Ableism In The Post-Covid Classroom, Sarah M. Parsloe, Elizabeth M. Smith

Feminist Pedagogy

The abrupt switch to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted pervasive ableism; accommodations that had been “impossible” were suddenly available. This critical commentary draws from interviews with 16 students and our own ethnographic accounts as student/professor to understand how COVID shaped disabled experiences in the classroom. As a student with a disability, Elizabeth was hyperaware of her vulnerability to illness, but also experienced herself as less impaired online. She could control her learning environment to minimize sensory and mobility challenges. Additionally, professors’ flexible policies helped her to manage energy, time, and symptoms. However, Elizabeth and her peers feared an …

Coronavirus Disability Survey: Assessing The Impact Of Covid-19 On Young Adults With Disabilities, Hena Rashid

Student Research Submissions

This paper seeks to inform individuals of the importance of digital inclusivity, diminish the digital divide, and accessibility to technological services of college students who experience a form of disability. The United States has conducted minimal research on the digital disability rhetoric, promoted minimal disability-inclusive measures to protect the rights and well-being of college students, and minimal assistance to mitigate Coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts to this population subgroup. This subject can have a big impact on individuals who suffer from disability stigma, low accessibility issues, and who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Furthermore, this subject will benefit college students …

Inclusive Pedagogy: Connecting Disability And Race In Higher Education, Meredith Persin

All Theses

Higher education was never made for marginalized people. The academy was created based on the privileged white, able-bodied, males who preoccupied higher education for the longest time. While that has certainly changed over the years, the institution itself is still in the past resulting in BIPOC students and disabled students continuing to struggle within higher education. While instructors have begun to take interest in the need for inclusive pedagogy within the last decade, it still has a far way to come in order to help the marginalized students with intersecting identities and students who may not benefit from a one …

A Model For Becoming An Inclusive Adult Educator: Designing For Disability, Tulare W. Park, Kayla D. Mohney, Erica R. Moore, Carol Rogers-Shaw

Adult Education Research Conference

This evidence-based model of inclusive teaching offers knowledge and practical applications for adult educators. It provides strategies for equitably addressing all student needs, particularly those with disabilities.

Asking The Right Questions: Accessibility And Library Study Rooms, Jessica Schomberg, Christopher R. Corley

Library Services Publications

This article assists administrators who want to ensure their libraries are inclusive of people with disabilities but don’t know where to start. We argue that organizations should understand not only the basic dimensions of ADA law but also dimensions of disability. They should also become familiar with multiple domains of disability and proactively incorporate reflective questions posed by researchers and advocates into the library space planning process. The article uses examples of common missteps in the development of study rooms with some reflection on how to learn from the experience.

Accessibility As A Foundation For An Equitable Digital Civic Engagement Infrastructure, Allison D. Rank, Rebecca Mushtare

eJournal of Public Affairs

Individuals and organizations in both higher education and civic engagement have become increasingly aware of their obligation to foster a sense of belonging among students and support historically under-represented populations within their work. As part of this effort, we argue the civic engagement infrastructure—a term we use to capture the full range of organizations and associated resources directed toward improving civic engagement within higher education that stem from actors both on and off campus—must pay more attention to digital accessibility. We document this need by establishing the degree higher education institutions rely on off-campus organizations and resources in civic engagement …

Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The impact of a deafblind diagnosis on an individual’s mental health and the well-being of the family involved can be profound. However, current research and available literature for the mental health treatment and therapy practices of deafblind persons and their families is limited (Kyzar et al., 2016; “WFDB Global Report 2018,” n.d.). This thesis used the Leeds Family Psychology and Therapy Service principles (Leeds FPTS) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum with established deafblind teaching strategies to facilitate an original arts-based community project entitled: “Things We Like.” This project provided an opportunity for deafblind students (ages three to 22) and their …

Academic Accommodation Procedure For Students With Disabilities, Office Of The Dean Of Students, Student Experience & Enrolment Management, Centre For Equity And Inclusion

Resources

The purpose of this procedure is to assist in implementing Sheridan’s Academic Accommodation Policy.

Academic accommodations considered in this procedure will be guided by the following principles:

• Inclusion and full participation

• Respect for dignity

• Individualization

  These principles will enable Sheridan’s commitment to ensure all students realize their full potential.

The Problem With The School System, Julianna Vanvalin

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

From the beginning of America, schools have existed in some shape or form. However, once the school system became standardized its failings started to show through. The modern school system is discriminatory against disabled students and students of a low socioeconomic status. It also does not properly prepare students for their future, and promotes poor mental health. In order to fix the school system, it is important to recognize the current failings in regards to students and aim to improve them.

An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Faculty With Disabilities In A Research University In The South, Gonzalo Camp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While diversity and inclusion has become a benchmark for universities all around the country, faculty with disabilities remain in the margins of higher education discourse and are a neglected population across the spectrum of academia. This thesis aims at exploring the experiences of faculty with disabilities at a specific research 1 university in the South. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five faculty members who self-identify as having a disability. Four themes emerged from this study: able-bodied lens, fear, social isolation, and coping mechanisms. Building on the existing literature, these findings offer new information to expand the knowledge on the challenges …

Rockets: Reaching Our Community Through Kindness, Education, Togetherness And Stem – A Sustainable Communities Project In Sumter County, Georgia, Crystal Perry

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This poster session highlights the ROCKETS program implemented in Sumter County Schools through UGA Extension. Through the ROCKETS Project in-school sessions, youth with disabilities are provided additional opportunities to belong to a larger group of youth through the Georgia 4-H Program. The ROCKETS Project focuses on Agricultural literacy and STEM education as content areas to cultivate, recruit and graduate the next generation of a highly-skilled diverse workforce.

The Lived Experiences Of People With Disabilities And Their Families: Transitioning To Adulthood And The Role Of Independent Facilitation, Emily Christine Tang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Objective

Emerging adulthood can be a stressful life stage due to the many life choices available and is especially challenging for emerging adults with disabilities (EADs) who face additional barriers in accessing supports and information regarding adult opportunities. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of transitioning to adulthood, and the role of a person-directed facilitation service, for EADs and their families.

Methods

Fourteen participants were recruited through purposeful and convenience sampling. Data collection procedures consisted of background questionnaires and one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were then thematically analyzed. Field notes, member checks and triangulation were used throughout the analysis process …

Disability And Migration: How Systems Of Violence Intersect With The Production And Experience Of Disability For Migrants In Morocco, Frances Condon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates the perspectives and experiences of physically disabled, chronically ill, or bodily-impaired migrants from south of the Sahara living in Rabat, Morocco. Increasing interest in disabled migrants’ rights from international organizations risks erasing those being ‘protected’ if it does not attend to the intersections of race, class, citizenship, and gender as they relate to the production and experience of disability for migrants. Produced by and for the (white) global North, I argue that traditional Euro-American disability studies scholarship is ill-equipped to address the issues faced by disabled migrants in post-colonial contexts. In addition to being ineffective, the uncritical …

Jmu Campus Inclusivity Video Project, Meredith Grace Browder

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

After experiencing a general lack of knowledge at James Madison University (JMU) regarding inclusivity of students with varying abilities, I decided to find the best way to educate the JMU community on how to be more accommodating on campus. I surveyed students served by the Office of Disability Services in order to assess their concerns and needs. My survey data indicated that the students on campus with disabilities have felt isolated at JMU because of multiple factors including both student and faculty ignorance. After researching the significant role played by videos and social media in shaping public opinion, I used …

Burning Community Integration And Disability, Christopher Shane Brace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with anxiety and depression have always been marginalized and stigmatized. Individuals with “hidden” disabilities are encouraged by society to keep them hidden, or face ridicule and persecution. Society decreases their sense of self-worth, and self-efficacy by destroying any perception of normalcy. Social support resources are vital for individuals with anxiety and depression’s continued mental health. As time goes on the individuals experience a decrease in the amount of available resources, at the same time the need for them increases. These individuals need a way to quickly replenish their social resources and the Burning Man regional network creates a unique …

Provision Of Assistive Technologies In Academic Libraries To Students With Visual Impairment In Ghana: A Case Study Of The University Of Education, Winneba, Ghana, Efua Mansa Ayiah Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Assistive technologies are tools used to promote access to information and general education curriculum for students with visual impairment. For students with visual impairment access to a diversity of high and low-tech assistive technologies, including screen readers, magnifiers, electronic braillers, braille n’ print, assist students in accessing materials in a standard print format which are not available to them. Provision of assistive technologies is to “level the playing field”, in conformity with the social model of disability where emphasizes is placed on physical and social barriers experienced by students with visual impairment and considers the problem as a society …

“It Helps If You Are A Loud Person”: Listening To The Voice Of A School Student With A Vision Impairment, Jill Opie, Jane Southcott, Joanne Deppeler

The Qualitative Report

Students with vision impairment who attend mainstream secondary schools in Australia may not experience education as an inclusive and positive experience. This study of one senior secondary student with vision impairment provides a rare opportunity to give voice and provide understandings of the experience from the perspective of the student. The research question that drove this study was: What is the experience of mainstream schooling for a student with a vision impairment? The participant in this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study was Edward (pseudonym), a student in his final year of secondary schooling. Edward encountered significant barriers to inclusion, specifically teaching, …

Faculty Visions For Teaching Web Accessibility Within Lis Curricula In The United States: A Qualitative Study, Adina Mulliken, Mireille Djenno

Publications and Research

This qualitative study explores the understanding and perspectives of faculty in US library and information science (LIS) programs about teaching web accessibility. “Web accessibility” can be defined simply as making websites accessible for all, including people with disabilities. Eight LIS professors and two graduate LIS students or recent alumni with interests in accessibility were interviewed for the study. Results showed that, although some faculty were novices, most interviewees thought it would be beneficial to teach web accessibility in a variety of LIS courses. However, despite the seeming consensus, discussion of incorporating web accessibility into curricula was rare. This study explores …

Students With Physical Disabilities - Reflections On Their Experiences With Work Preparation Programs, Services And Accommodations In A Higher Education Institution, Claudia Castillo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For a variety of reasons, college students with disabilities encounter stressors beyond those of students who do not have disabilities. One of the more salient examples is that students with disabilities are required to disclose that they have a disability and to communicate with faculty and staff in order to receive academic accommodations, as afforded to them under sub-part E of Section 504 of the Education and Rehabilitation Act of 1974. Therefore, postsecondary institutions are required to make appropriate accommodations available to students with disabilities, but they are not required to proactively seek them out.

The purpose of this study …

Ilhan, Nura, Radwa, Ziagull And Children, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threats from ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by an elder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the …