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 …

Supporting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Neurodivergence: University Of San Diego Accommodations And Resources, Carina Mendoza

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

This research focuses on better understanding the unique classroom experiences faced by autistic and neurodiverse students at the University of San Diego (USD) and offers recommendations to improve their college experience. Through a well-studied literature review and data collection through semi structured interviews and focus groups, the overall goal was to have a more holistic understanding of the current support services from faculty and staff that are available for students at USD. The study will provide unique challenges and curated recommendations for students with autism spectrum disorder and neurodiverse identities. This research also identifies specific areas where the USD can …

Neurodivergence In Dance Performance: A Thesis, Alannah Martin

Dance Written

Does neurodivergence have any effects on dance performance? The goals of this research project are to reflect, analyze, and understand how individual neurodivergence impacts creativity, identity, and the choreographic process. The intersection of dance and disability studies is an ever-growing area of research that is in conflict because of the societal nature of the two concepts. Within the disability studies field, neurodivergence and neurodiversity are relatively new and undeveloped ideas that primarily interact with dance studies as pedagogical areas of interest. There is little attention on the impacts of neurodivergence in dance makers and their creative products in performance. The …

“Vacation, All I Ever Wanted?” A Qualitative Analysis Of Travel Narratives From Interabled Families, Mary Heather Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study researched and investigated the travel narratives of 13 interabled families through qualitative research methods of thematic and contrapuntal analysis. Participants were parents who have at least one dependent with a disability in their family unit. Theories used to guide this study include narrative theory, family systems theory, and relational dialectics theory. Narrative theory laid the groundwork for understanding how stories function to communicate and construct identity. Family systems theory provided definitions and terms for how to understand dynamics within families. Relational dialectics theory guided the understanding for what tensions are at play for interabled families and how …

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 …

America At A Glance: Travel Patterns By Disability And Rurality, Luke Santore, Andrew Myers, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

RTC:Rural researchers use 2022 National Household Transportation Survey (NHTS) data to assess differences in travel behavior across disability status and rurality.

Autism And The Body Of Christ: Understanding, Accommodating, And Accepting Autistic Believers In The Church, Kaitlyn Cook

Senior Honors Theses

Autism is a neurotype that causes a different set of strengths and weaknesses and thus should be embraced and accommodated within the church. Not only are autistic believers able to grasp Christian concepts, but they also have different perspectives and skills that can be instrumental in building up the church. Promoting a correct view of autism and accommodating neurodiversity within the church will allow autistic believers to follow God’s command to be part of a body and build up the church. The church can employ several strategies to create an accessible environment for believers on the spectrum, including creating sensory-safe …

Exploring Parent/Caregiver Perspectives Of Self-Determination And Its Impact On Mental Health In Adolescents With And Without Disabilities, Jessica Schuttler, Sydney Walls, Tyler Hicks, Karrie Shogren, Hannah Adams, Richard A Chapman

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Introduction. Parents and caregivers play key roles in supporting the development of self-determination and mental health needs in adolescents with and without disabilities. This study explored parent/caregiver perceptions of the relationships among mental health and self-determination constructs for youth with disabilities, across gender and disability status. Method. Parents/caregivers of adolescents with and without disabilities completed rating scales regarding adolescents’ self-determination status (Self Determination Inventory) and mental health symptoms (Behavior Assessment System for Children, 3^rd Edition). Bayesian analyses examined the relationships among self-determination and mental health status. Results. Results are mixed, indicating moderate to robust relationships for self-determination as 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 …

Research Review: "Entrepreneurship Education And Its Role In Transitional Entrepreneurship As Veterans Transition From Military To Civilian Life", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This IVMF review examines the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education programs for military veterans transitioning to civilian life. Despite the significant expansion of these programs in the last decade, their efficacy remains understudied. Analyzing data from the National Survey of Military-Affiliated Entrepreneurs (NSMAE) (n = 2649), the study highlights the importance of entrepreneurship education and training during the transition period. It calls for interdisciplinary research to inform policy development and expand support for military veterans in entrepreneurship. This review also emphasizes implications for policy, practice, and future research, advocating for enhanced and tailored entrepreneurship education initiatives for veterans.

Factsheet: Examining The Equity Of Vocational Rehabilitation Services For Rural Americans, Catherine Ispen, Will Hoard, Rtc: Rural

Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to assist individuals with disabilities to obtain, advance, or retain employment. Employment is a valuable outcome because it can increase economic independence and community participation. To achieve employment, VR programs offer a range of services such as assessment, counseling, training, and job placement. We conducted two studies using RSA-911 case-services data to better understand
how VR agencies are serving diverse populations. RSA-911 data includes information about each consumer who enters the VR program, including sociodemographic characteristics and VR services received. In our first study, we used RSA-911 data …

The Single Dimensional Deviant: The Socialization We Receive Concerning Disabled Bodies, Coral Sky

Sociology Student Work Collection

The socialization process cultivates an environment where individuals can assimilate to the upheld societal beliefs and norms. When we look at this socialization process through the lens of disability, we will find a multifaceted set of beliefs that predict the treatment those with disabilities receive and the perpetuated perceptions concerning the disabled community. The media plays a sizeable role in shaping the beliefs, norms, and attitudes that wider society adheres to. Through critically analyzing the media consumed, it becomes intelligible that there is an inextricable link between disability and disadvantageous stereotypes. For instance, the films "Me Before You," directed by …

“You Take My Place; Let’S Switch!” What It Means To Be A Woman Powerlifter In Parasport, Aaron Carl S. Seechung, Maria Luisa M. Guinto

The Qualitative Report

Gendered disability in elite sport has emerged as a pertinent area of inquiry in sport psychology. However, qualitative research aimed at amplifying the voices of marginalized subgroups is notably sparse. Employing a phenomenological approach, we examined the lived experience of a Filipina para powerlifter, probing the intersection of gender, disability, and socioeconomic status in shaping how the participant made sense of life and identity, both within and outside the realm of sport. Three personal experiential themes were generated from the interview data's interpretative phenomenological analysis: “survival of the fittest,” “the voices in my head did not allow me to give …

Disclosing A Disability At Work: Respect, Discrimination, And The Ethics Of Informal Attitudes, Honors College, Department Of Philosophy

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Adam Cureton is an internationally recognized disability scholar and activist who specializes in ethics and the philosophy of disability. His books, which draw on his own experiences as a legally blind person, include Disability and Disadvantage, Disability in Practice, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Disability, and the forthcoming Respecting Disability. He founded and served as president of the Society for Philosophy and Disability and helped to create the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on the Status of Disabled People. He is a Rhodes Scholar and currently serves as the Lindsay Young Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee.

Online Bilingual Co-Design: Developing Resources With People With Disability And Family Members From Refugee Backgrounds, Angela Dew, Mahmoud Murad, Louisa Smith, Joanne Watson, Kim Robinson, Maree Higgins, Cathy Preston-Thomas, Mardi Stow, Ingrid Culos, Mariano Coello, Shakeh Momartin, Christian Astourian, Kelley Johnson, Caroline Lenette, Katherine Boydell

The Qualitative Report

People with disability from Syrian and Iraqi refugee backgrounds living in Australia have limited access to information and resources in Arabic language. Our study aim was to use a co-design process to create a suite of Arabic-language resources to increase information access and build capacity of people with disability and family members from refugee backgrounds to use services, and of disability and refugee services to provide relevant support. Following a rapid literature review about access to supports and services for people with disability from refugee backgrounds, workshops were held with 38 people with disability and family members from Syrian and …

Are We Accurately Counting The Disabled Population In The United States?, Nastassia Vaitsiakhovich, Scott D. Landes, Bonnielin K. Swenor

Population Health Research Brief Series

Over 1 in 4 Americans are disabled (26.8%), yet health disparities for this subpopulation remain under-addressed. Tackling health disparities for people with disabilities requires effective public health and disability policies that cannot be developed without standardized and accurate disability data. The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) annually collects data on health outcomes for the non-institutionalized U.S. population, including those with disabilities. The questions to measure disability in the NHIS have changed over time, raising concerns about how these changes affect the accuracy of the count of people with disabilities in the U.S. This brief summarizes findings from a recent study …

Waiting On The World (Of Allied Healthcare) To Change: How Undergraduate Preparedness Curriculum Dis/Includes Ability, Brianna Donnelly

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Significant concerns for healthcare practitioners and allied health professionals continue to arise regarding treatment of persons with disabilities. Whether disability exists as apparent or non-apparent, temporary, or chronic, people with disabilities tend to be in poorer health and tend to use health care at a significantly higher rate than people who do not have disabilities. Importantly, the absence of professional training on disability competency issues for health care practitioners is one of the most significant barriers that prevent people with disabilities from receiving appropriate and effective health care. This qualitative narrative analysis explores the inclusion of disability concepts and people …

Disability In Education From A Neurodiversity Standpoint: A Multi-Article Dissertation, Isabelle Kluge

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical multi-article dissertation is a broad examination of education, including trends in our school system, juvenile justice system, and cultural/media system to address the disproportionate targeted failure of students with disabilities from a neurodiversity standpoint. Research shows how our current education system is not the practice of freedom for all learners, but rather a reproductive practice that teaches forms of group-based privilege that results in the disproportionate outcome of school failure, oppression, and incarceration for students with disabilities. Creating liberatory learning spaces for neurodiverse students of all races must include challenging White supremacy, neurotypical superiority, and a standardized one-size-fits-all …

Sharing Your Success: Using Photovoice To Document And Communicate The Impact Of Independent Living Services, Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage

Independent Living and Community Participation

In this brief guide, you will learn about strategies for documenting and communicating the impact of your independent living work. Specifically, this guide will give you a tool for using “Photovoice”, along with some examples of how to share your organization’s outcomes with the communities you serve.

At The Intersection Of Ableism Entelechy, And Policy Debate, Alex Mcvey, Matthew Gerber

Speaker & Gavel

This article investigates the causes of ableism and inaccessibility in policy debate, and also envisions alternatives to the current conception of debate that could open doors to more participants at all levels of ability. We argue that the rhetorical theories of Kenneth Burke help to illuminate symbolic practices in debate which function to exclude disabled voices. We also forward the argument that the competitive nature of policy debate, along with its dominant discursive practices and speech codes, constitutes an example of what Kenneth Burke calls ‘entelechy’. We further argue that the entelechial nature of policy debate is at the root …

Improving Disability Inclusion Through Professional Development, Carli Spina

Urban Library Journal

Building a shared understanding of the importance of disability inclusion and the concrete steps everyone at the library can take towards this goal, is an important first step towards improving services for disabled patrons and the work environment for disabled employees. Offering training on these specific topics can jumpstart this activity at virtually any library. Guided by existing research in the field, this article offers concrete guidance on creating and offering this training at libraries to improve disability inclusion in the community.

Mi Casa Sin Mí Parada No Es Casa: Conceptualizations Of Functioning And Functional Impairment In Rural Chiapas, Mexico, Sarah Joy Hartman, Néstor Noyola, Viena Murillo, Fátima Rodríguez Cuevas, Esteban V. Cardemil

Psychology

In mental healthcare, functional impairment is an essential element in diagnosing and monitoring the severity of mental disorders. However, current clinical practices do not account for how context and culture might shape conceptions of functional impairment, given the demonstrated influence of cultural context on mental health, particularly in Mexico. We interviewed 16 members of a rural community in Chiapas, Mexico to understand how they understood functioning and how functioning is impacted by distress. We analyzed the data using thematic analysis with a critical lens. With regards to conceptions of functioning, participants described that to function was to work (nuestra vida …

Does What Doesn’T Kill You Make You Stronger? Examining The Effects Of Resilience And Functional Outcomes On Post-Traumatic Growth In Adults With Acquired Disability, Dominique Renee Ghirardi M.S.

Theses and Dissertations

Disabilities acquired in adulthood are often unexpected and disruptive because a loss of functioning can affect one’s ability to maintain employment, pursue their interests, and participate in social activity without assistance or accommodation. This is especially true for those who experience a life-altering injury or develop a chronic health condition between the ages of 18 and 64, as they likely have not planned for the financial and social adjustments that life with a disability involves. However, factors such as post-traumatic growth can reveal the extent to which someone experiences personal growth and improvement in the wake of a traumatic and …

Exploring The Advocacy Experiences Of The Military Families With Children Who Have Disabilities, Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This research review examines the experiences of 11 parents of children with disabilities, recruited through military and disability agencies using snowball sampling. The study reveals varying experiences within the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), highlighting military families' resilience and reliance on peer support, and the military mothers' pivotal role in advocacy, often requiring their spouse's presence at IEP meetings for effectiveness. This IVMF review also provides implications for practitioners, policy, and future research surrounding military families of children with disabilities.

Falling Into Action, Kent Hoffman

The Goose

Kent Hoffman explores human movement, his own mobility, and how it influences the way he moves on land. This personal essay, told through the lens of disability and accessibility, outlines his experience of living with Becker muscular dystrophy. Hoffman's approach to walking and mobility is heavily influenced by a fear of falling. As his mobility is changing, he's adapting and seeking out new ways to move on land. Different modes of mobility determine the way we experience personal movement, but accessibility determines who is welcome in spaces in the first place. Accessibility in the form of providing equal access is …

Air Pollution Associated With Perception Of Increased Health Risks For People Living With Disabilities In Utah, Bosede Adejugbe, Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Sydney O'Shay, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Air quality is one of the top environmental concerns for Utahns today¹. Health risks associated with air pollution can range from mild physiological impacts to death from cardiovascular and respiratory disease^2-4. Little is known about the ways that environmental risks impact people with disabilities because they are often excluded from clinical and social science research⁶. Gaining a more robust understanding of air pollution’s impacts on people living with disabilities (PLwD) is particularly important considering that PLwD comprise about 32.2%⁵ of the U.S. population and 22% of Utah’s population, the latter of which is …

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 …

Disability Awareness, Access & Inclusion Week (Library Resources), Holy Cross Libraries

Library Resources for Campus Events

A bibliography of resources available through the Holy Cross Libraries which provide additional information related to Disability Awareness, Access & Inclusion Week, an awareness event sponsored by the Office of Student Accessibility Services and supported by the Holy Cross Libraries.

This event was held at the College of the Holy Cross from October 16-20, 2023.

Addressing The Absence Of Disability Justice Through An Online Social Work Course, Rose C. B. Singh

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Preaching The Image Of God As Disability-Inclusive, Laurie E. Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to Howard (2010), the North American Mission Board (NAMB) considers the disabled community in America to be unreached by the church. Hardwick (2021) also writes, “The disability community is the most unique community, the largest minority group in the world” (p. 12). This quantitative descriptive research study explored the frequency of preaching the biblical principle imago Dei, found in Genesis 1:27, in a way that includes the disabled, and how this preaching may impact disability-inclusivity in the church. The Word of God states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” …