Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Research indicates that stereotypes influence how people behave towards different social groups, and this study investigated how allies (individuals who will confront prejudice on behalf of targets or groups) differentially confront a discriminatory comment as a function of the groups’ associated stereotypes. The Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR) model would suggest that when someone feels an increase in a sense of emergency and a sense of responsibility to address discrimination, they will be more likely to confront that discrimination. Results indicate that although the group that was being discriminated against did not influence whether or not the participant would confront, the higher sense of emergency and sense of responsibility were indicators of a stronger likelihood of confrontation. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Youth in detention centers often have intellectual disabilities. Correctional officers often they lack the knowledge and training needed to work with these youths. The purpose of this study was to determine how much knowledge and training correctional officers have about the youth that they work with, specifically, youth with intellectual disabilities. Four detention centers from the southeastern United States were chosen to participate in the study and the population of interest was comprised of correctional officers who work with youth in juvenile detention centers. Surveys were administered through a combination of pencil/paper and online administration as a result of institutional preferences. The results of this study suggested that correctional officers do not receive the level of education and training (formal, informal, on-the-job, or elsewhere) necessary to work with youth who have intellectual disabilities.

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Conventional literary representations of disability reflect and re-inscribe the fraudulent assumption that individuals with impairments are mysterious 'others,' subhuman betrayers of the divinely-sanctioned corporeal norm. When such normative 'myths' are internalized by a social body, the culturally-determined 'disabled' minority is subjected to various forms of oppression and degradation, stigmatizing efforts designed to strip the 'deviants' of agency and dignity. The object ofthis study is to isolate and, subsequently, demythologize the presuppositions ordering such conventional disability myths. This 'demythologizing' effort is patterned, in large part, on the theoretical tenets espoused by Roland Barthes in his influential text Mythologies. Barthes's text, in its emphasis on destabilizing culturally-fixed 'truths,' provides the theoretical framework necessary for gauging the socio-political load of disability myth. In an effort to illumine, moreover, the presence and workings of disability myth in nineteenth and twentieth century Western consciousness, I examine the specific portraits of disability that appear in Herman Melville'sMoby-Dick; Melville's canonized text lends itself particularly well to this type of investigation as its characters -Ahab and Pip, in particular - are representative of the spectrum of negative disability imagery. This critical exercise, in its emphasis on displacing and, thus, de-naturalizing mythic representations of 'normal' and 'abnormal' corporeality, resembles and reinforces the efforts of the Disability Movement and its attempts to restore power and dignity to the unjustly disenfranchised 'disabled' minority. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom has changed over time. Teachers in inclusive classrooms need the skills to teach all students, including students with disabilities. The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD; 2019) reported in a survey of over 1500 general education teachers, only 17% noted they were well prepared to teach students with disabilities. A gap of in content knowledge exists between general and special education teacher preparation (Fonte et al., 2017) and the outcomes of students depends on the knowledge of the teacher (Burroughs et al, 2019). Lack of preparation of general education teachers' attributes to this current gap in meeting the needs of students with disabilities as seven states have specific requirements for meeting the needs of this population and only two states require clinical experiences in this targeted area (NCLD, 2019). One potential way to address this gap is through coaching. Currently, limited empirical evidence exists to determine the effectiveness of coaching as a professional development model and its impact on teacher practice (Desimone & Pak, 2017). The researcher in this study implemented the Classroom Strategies Coaching (Reddy & Dudek, 2016) model by collecting observation data using the Classroom Strategies Assessment System of teachers in their first five years in inclusive classrooms. The researcher compared three teachers' ratings who received coaching to three other teachers in business as usual. Teachers in the coaching group completed surveys to assess the social validity of the model. The comparison of the two groups showed increased implementation of the three teachers in the coaching groups' use of evidence-based practices.

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Students with disabilities entering post-secondary education encounter unique challenges, such as deciding whether to disclose their disability in order to receive specific supports and services. Disclosing one’s disability is an individual choice weighing heavily on the student with consideration given to the possibility of experiencing judgment and stigma. Much research focuses on the experiences of undergraduate students with learning disabilities and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and potential barriers to seeking support from designated disability support services in college. The purpose of this research was to bring awareness of the recent experiences of graduate students with mental health conditions and their experiences utilizing disability support services. A collection of graduate students from a large public university registered with the school’s disability services office were interviewed and shared their perspectives on disclosing their disability in order to obtain services and support. Employing a narrative approach framed by self-determination theory (SDT), this qualitative study aimed to learn the experiences of graduate students with mental health conditions. The intention of the study is to demonstrate to others in similar situations that some of their fears and challenges are shared which may result in reduced feelings of isolation. In addition, college disability services personnel, faculty, and administrators may use this research to facilitate discussions on ways to further provide support and inclusion of graduate students with mental health conditions on college campuses. / Special Education

Despite there being enormous amounts of research on disability, and how disability is experienced, when parameters such as higher education, race and gender are considered alongside disability, the research documented becomes limited; and even more so when each of these parameters are in combination with each other. The aim of this study is to use Critical Disability Theory, Feminist Theory, and Intersectionality to better understand how I have experienced accommodation as a Black woman with a disability within an academic environment. I use Autoethnography to detail my own lived experience to investigate if the institutional response (of providing accommodations and its practices along with it) aligns with my lived experience as the student on the receiving end. The findings from this study suggest that there is misalignment between the institutional response and the student experience thus causing a struggle of identity outside of the medicalized identity recognized by Accessibility Services. It is my hope that those who read this thesis adopt a ‘nothing about us, without us’ attitude towards Accessibility Services. I hope readers will see that students with disabilities need to be included in the conversation of accommodations with Accessibility Services offices in post-secondary institutions because stories like mine (as a Black woman with a disability and a life-long service user of this school provided service) demand to be acknowledged and be felt as the “supposed” benefactors of this service. Because without us, this service would not exist. And yet, without our voices heard this service continues to exist as it does. Our voices, bodies and lived experiences should be validated as appropriate “measures” to determine accessibility, accommodation and learning needs. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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