Disability Studies Commons^™

Backlash And The Ada: Conflicting Constructions Of Disability In U.S. Policy, Bess Connolly

Political Science Honors Projects

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has faced significant judicial and regulatory backlash, even after the passage of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). Examining the legislative histories and trends in ADA litigation, I argue that this backlash arises from conflicts between the medical and social models of disability embedded in both laws. Compromises made during both legislative processes resulted in a law that accommodates multiple conceptions of disability, allowing courts to reshape the law according to their own views. Ultimately, the ADA remains a site of contestation as its internal contradictions have gone unresolved.

The Different Rhetoric Between Upholding And Overriding Disability Rights Inside The United States Supreme Court, Shane Egan

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to explain the rhetoric the U.S. Supreme Court uses when deciding disability cases, specifically when the Court upholds or overrides disability rights. The paper attempts to show how when the Court upholds disabled rights they use passive and weak rhetoric, and utilizes active and enforcing rhetoric when overriding disability rights. This paper analyzes this rhetoric inside education, healthcare, and employment cases heard by the Supreme Court.

A Review Of Studies Assessing Modifiable Risk Factors For Dementia Among Family Caregivers In The United States Based On Behavioral Risk Factorsurveillance System (Brfss), Shruthi Ranjithkumar

2025 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) face an increased risk of developing dementia due to advanced age and modifiable risk factors. The 2024 Lancet Commission Report identified 14 such risk factors, whose mitigation could reduce dementia cases by 45%. Despite this, research on modifiable dementia risk factors among ADRD caregivers remains limited. This study investigates whether peer-reviewed studies utilizing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data assess modifiable dementia risk factors among ADRD caregivers. A PubMed search retrieved 27 relevant articles, which were analyzed for risk factors identified by the Lancet Commission, including traumatic brain injury, …

Who Cares For The Caregivers? How Dance And Movement Can Benefit Caregiving Parents Of Children With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities: A Literature Review, Haley E. Gilbert

Expressive Therapies Theses

Caregiver parents of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) are not able to care for themselves as often as they should be able to for their own mental and physical wellness due to their caregiving responsibilities that often carry into adulthood. These can lead to anxiety, depression, grief, and dysregulation for the parent. Dance and movement practices have been found to relieve the symptoms of these experiences while helping the child with IDD and the parent connect more, building stronger relationships. This thesis will include a comprehensive literature review of body-based theories such as the Polyvagal Theory (Polyvagal Institute, 2025), Bowlby’s …

Understanding Obesity Risk In Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: Key Diagnoses And Factors, Elizabeth Kolaski, Wendy Aita, Jennifer Lecomte, Andrea Iannuzzelli

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background:

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have obesity rates nearly twice those of the general population, leading to higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and reduced quality of life.¹ Genetic syndromes such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and conditions like autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Down syndrome (DS) feature distinct mechanisms driving weight gain.² The burden of obesity in IDD exacerbates health disparities and strains caregivers and healthcare systems.³ Yet, comparative obesity prevalence and its drivers across specific IDD diagnoses remain poorly characterized.⁴

Hypothesis:

Obesity prevalence and underlying risk factors differ among IDD diagnoses …

Cardiovascular Risk Factors In The Autism Spectrum Disorder Population, Christian C. Iannuzzelli, Andrea L. Iannuzzelli

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The population of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have multiple risks and barriers that may make access to proper health care more difficult. After extensive research, some of these barriers may have been identified that pose greater risks to generating proper care for those with ASD. Some of these barriers include medical complexity, more sedentary lifestyles, poor food choices, as well as health comorbities. Some of these health comorbidities include hypertension, metabolic dysfunction, sleep apnea, and inflammation. This study aims to understand what barriers and risks for CVD are present in those with ASD.

Reducing Stigma Around Neurodiversity Through The Use Of Celebratory Technology Ice Breakers In First-Year Undergraduate Classrooms, Briana Craig

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MS) Theses

Celebratory technology for Neurodiversity is a new paradigm in the field of human computer interaction; it focuses on reducing stigma surrounding neurodivergent labels and behaviors. Celebratory technology aims to highlight the strengths of neurodiversity rather than fixing socially undesired traits, shifting the responsibility for change from neurodivergent individuals to society's attitudes. Stigma reduction can be accomplished through providing high quality interactions, where anyone can meet and learn about positive traits in others as well as learn of interests' others have in common, thus reframing neurodivergence as inclusion in human diversity rather than a condition to be stigmatized or objectified. This …

Perceptions Of Mississippi Parents Of Youth And Young Adults With Autism Regarding Relationship Training And Sex Education, Cade Mccormick

Honors Theses

This study used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine if there was a

significant difference between the age of a parent with a youth or young adult with ASD

(autism spectrum disorder) and the age of their child when they plan to discuss the three

sex education and relationship training topics of sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted

diseases, and contraception. The results of the ANOVA were not significant for the sex

education and relationship topics of sexual intercourse F (2, 22) = 1.485, p = 0.248 and

contraception F (2,22) = 3.059, p = 0.0667. However, the results of the ANOVA …

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Readiness-To-Work Perceptions: A Pilot Study, Joy Darlene Cain

Theses and Dissertations

This pilot study explored the perceptions of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and struggles they experienced when returning to work or maintaining employment. It sought to understand the impact of cancer treatment on work demands and how or if that impacted the survivor’s perception of her employment status. This study found significant differences in the RTW perceptions for women with breast cancer in the areas of marital status, physical effort, work strategies, and work-related help. The most significant difference were the differences between women with partners and women without partners. Surprisingly, women without partners, while they do …

“Re-Storying” Anne Shirley And The Adhd Child: A Crip Genealogy Of Anne Of Green Gables, Darian Aleyna Wilson

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the contested nature of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), focusing on its cultural and historical constructions. While ADHD has been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders since 1980, its legitimacy remains a subject of debate across medical, disability studies, and historical scholarship. Using Eli Clare’s critique of diagnosis as a tool rather than a fact, this project examines how ADHD is both pathologized and re-storied within societal and medical discourses. It highlights the tension between medical classifications and lived experiences of those diagnosed with ADHD, particularly in the context of girlhood.

The central …

An Assessment Of The Effects Of Indirect Consultation In Improving Quality Of Life For Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Sarah Michele Russell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seventeen percent of the total population of children are living with an intellectual / developmental disability (IDD), and while resources and therapeutic interventions are accessible during early childhood years, they often cease after turning 21 years old. As a result, many adults with IDD do not acquire the skills necessary to live independently and sustain employment or meaningful relationships, impacting their independence and quality of life. The purpose of this study is to understand how self-management training (in the form of indirect consultation) for adults with IDD influence independence and socially significant behavior in relation to quality of life. The …

Examining Spirituality/Religiousness As A Protective Factor For The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Selena M. Balderas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: The school to prison pipeline (STPP) is a systemic issue that reflects the intersection of educational inequities and punitive practices disproportionately affecting society’s youth in underserved communities. The STPP funnels students out of educational environments and into the criminal justice system through the overuse of punitive practices such as suspension, expulsion, and school-based arrests. This especially affects students of color, LGBTQ youth and those with disabilities and perpetuates cycles of injustice, poverty, marginalization, and incarceration. The social control theory provides a useful framework in understanding the relationship between deviant behavior and social bonds (Stewart & Rapp, 2017). When individuals …

Evaluating The Effects Of Parental Serious Mental Illness On Life Functioning Of Adult Offspring: A Longitudinal Study, Lena E. Leyva

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Parental mental illness greatly impacts a child’s development by posing great risks to their physical and mental health, academic success, and overall functioning (Naughton et al., 2019; Adjej et al., 2023). It remains clear that exposure to parental mental illness has short-term implications. However, long-term impacts on offspring while entering and managing adulthood has not been thoroughly examined. Objective: This longitudinal study proposes to determine the effects of parental mental illness on life functioning of adult offspring at baseline and then occur every two years over the course of eight years. Method: Quantitative data will be collected from 120 …

An Investigation Of Design Processes And Their Effects On Accessibility In Narrative Themed Environments, Arielle Spencer

All Dissertations

Accessibility matters, and not merely in meeting minimum codes or limited to basic necessities. Access and inclusion matter still more in places of recreation and leisure which have too often been overlooked or considered low priority, however it is precisely these places that merit special attention. Narrative Themed Environments occupy a unique position relative to the general built environment, often acting as utopic ‘other-spaces’ for enjoyment, freedom, and escape. However, for guests with disabilities, current themed experiences can often lack true inclusivity and instead create inequality, segregation, diminished experiences, and feelings of isolation and exclusion. The peculiar idiosyncratic design process …

Breaking The Pipeline: Exploring Exclusionary Discipline, Restorative Justice, And The Attitudes And Beliefs Of Educators, Ericka J. Varnedoe

Honors College Theses

This study explores the connection between exclusionary disciplinary practices and the school-to-prison pipeline. It highlights how exclusionary discipline, including suspensions and expulsions, disproportionately affects marginalized groups such as students of color, students with disabilities, and LGBTQ youth, further contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. In contrast, restorative justice, a non-punitive approach, offers a promising alternative. Initially adopted from the criminal justice system, restorative justice has been integrated into school environments to foster positive school climates, improve experiences, and mitigate challenging behaviors. This research examines educators' attitudes toward both exclusionary and restorative practices, as well as their awareness and implementation of restorative …

Riding The Digital Wave: How Large Enterprises Are Embracing Disability Inclusion In The Digital Era, Amanda K. Sheward

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In today’s world, companies increasingly use disability inclusion within their branding and marketing strategies. This research examines whether these efforts represent authentic commitment or merely use the disability community for performative purposes. Using both a content analysis of social media campaigns and a quantitative survey of individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities, this study investigates perceptions of corporate disability narratives. Findings reveal that while some companies, such as Microsoft and Nike, are seen as making genuine connections with the disabled community, many others fall short, engaging only in surface-level inclusion without systemic change. The study highlights a persistent gap between …

Crip Queer Storytelling: An Intersectional Analysis, Audrey T. Heffers

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

Abstract

Where are queer disabled characters, and how do they avoid tokenization? This particular approach will use the following criteria as its foundation:

1) The story has a character who is both disabled and queer. (This must be explicit in some way and not ambiguously coded within the text, or solely paratextual.)

2) The character is central to the narrative. (If the character were removed, would the story change significantly?)

3) The story can be affected by disability, but (with due respect to making space for such stories) the story isn’t solely/centrally about disability/overcoming ableism.

The hope with these criteria …

Understanding The Needs Of The Intellectually And Developmentally Disabled And Autistic Population In The Criminal Justice System, Emily Sateary

Master of Arts in Human Services

This paper explores the inequitable treatment of the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled and Autistic (IDD/A) population in the criminal justice system. Although progress has been made over the past century with understanding the unique needs of this population, they still face challenges at all stages of the criminal justice system. Behavioral, social skills, and sensory challenges make it difficult for the IDD/A population to avoid criminal justice contact and to understand the criminal justice process. Insufficient training for police and attorneys harms both persons with IDD/A and criminal justice professionals. This paper examines current practices in place that are barriers …

"Nothing About Us Without Us": State-Level Disability Accommodation In The Wake Of The Ada, Megan F. Matteucci

Politics Honors Papers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and protects people with disabilities (PWDs) from discrimination and includes provisions to make society more accommodating. The issue is that the ADA is federal legislation, but most of the implementation occurs at the state-level which means that some states are more accommodating than others. This project attempts to answer the following question: What factors contribute to the discrepancies in state-level disability policy and accommodation? It includes a quantitative study of all 50 states and investigates the impact of state income per capita, state partisanship, and business and disability interest group …

Design Solutions For Common Problems In Senior Living Facilities, Mary Schmidt

Senior Honors Theses

With the aging population of the United States, the prevalence of dementia rises along with its challenges for individuals in long-term care facilities. As cognitive function deteriorates, dementia patients face growing difficulties in performing daily activities. Common issues such as wayfinding, wandering, exit attempts, agitation, and a generally low quality of life plague most dementia patients at long-term care facilities. Design features can improve quality of life, safety, and coherence for residents with dementia at assisted living facilities. This paper examines existing research to present various design strategies that can enhance daily life for dementia patients in long-term care facilities. …