Abstract
Currently, institutions of higher education require that neurodivergent individuals disclose and document their disability to the Disability Student Services Office (DSSO) in order to receive accommodations that are necessary for their learning. Claiming the identity of “student with disability” is necessary to access the resources, tools, and spaces that are readily available to their neurotypical peers, illustrating the biographic mediation of disability as a form of social oppression as disability is a social phenomenon that ultimately perpetuates oppressive, ableist practices in higher education. Thus, transformative, emancipatory pedagogies that systemically provide anti-ableist, equitable, and inclusive practices (i.e. Universal Design for Learning and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy) must be implemented for all learners in the classroom while also acknowledging the intersections of identities, including race. In the field of inclusive education, there is an increasing need and interest to examine educational inequities at the intersection of ability and race as the fields of genetics and education have historically racialized ableism. This session seeks to build a dialogue among participants concerning translation and relevance between the fields of research and practice. First, participants will be introduced to background information on neurodivergence, biographic mediation, and the intersectionality of ableism and racism in relation to the Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit). Then, important concepts related to emancipatory pedagogies will be introduced and bridged with an overview of social justice and multicultural education. The importance of considering students’ decision to disclose their disability status to the DSSO will also be considered.
Presenters
Isabelle KimStudent, Master of Social Work, Boston College, Massachusetts, United States Jordan Say
Student, MSW, Boston College School of Social Work, Massachusetts, United States Maria Teresa Valencia
Student, School of Social Work, Boston College, Massachusetts, United States Emily Hedrick
Program Director, Journey Free, Massachusetts, United States Jessica Black
Associate Professor, Social Work, Boston College, Massachusetts, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Education and Learning Worlds of Differences
KEYWORDS
Key words: Neurodivergence, Disability, Oppression, Intersectionality, Higher education, Social justice
