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Limited knowledge is available about the experiences and outcomes of family members, specifically those of children who were raised by parent(s) with disability. This gap in research is highly consequential, influencing the development of policies that are based on prejudiced assumptions about disabled parenting, rather than on empirical evidence. This study examined the experience of 13 adult children who were raised by at least one parent with disability in order to obtain a first-hand account of their perspectives. A transcendental phenomenology facilitated objectivity while capturing the essence of their experience. Research questions presented were the following: (a) What has been the experience of adult children who grew up with parent(s) with disability? (b) What familial, interpersonal, and/or personal contexts (if any) have produced a strengths-based retrospection of the experience? The study utilized Walsh's family resilience framework as a theoretical guide to counter deficit-focused research that has dominated disability research. Findings suggest the highly systemic and contextual quality of the experience, with children reporting overall strengths-based retrospections. Participants described family processes that were critical to the development of individual resilience, including belief systems, organizational processes, and open communication. Findings also demonstrated the development of favorable child outcomes such as empathy among adult children who were raised by parent(s) with disability. The findings have research, policy, and clinical implications, emphasizing the need to amplify disability discourses within the field of family science. / Doctor of Philosophy / Discrimination against parents with disability is a long-standing issue in US history, impacting policies that lead to the involuntary separation of families. Assumptions about disabled parenting that focus on individual impairment may have contributed to this issue. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of adult children who grew up with a parent(s) with disability, to obtain a first-hand account of their perspectives. The research questions presented were (a) What has been the experience of adult children who grew up with parent(s) with disability? (b) What familial, interpersonal and/or personal contexts (if any) have produced a strengths-based retrospection of the experience? Based on an analysis of 13 single interviews, Walsh's family resilience framework was utilized to present the findings. Findings revealed three broad themes that characterize the experience. Overall, children report strengths-based perspectives, describing the family processes that were critical to effective navigation. The experience was also highly contextual and relational, challenging traditional perspectives that have historically prevailed. The study offers research, policy, and clinical implications, directing attention to the need to amplify disability discourses within the field of Family Science.

No / This pioneering book, in considering intellectually disabled people's lives, sets out a care ethics model of disability that outlines the emotional caring sphere, where love and care are psycho-socially questioned, the practical caring sphere, where day-to-day care is carried out, and the socio-political caring sphere, where social intolerance and aversion to difficult differences are addressed. It does so by discussing issue-based everyday life, such as family, relationships, media representations and education, in an evocative and creative manner. This book draws from an understanding of how intellectual disability is represented in all forms of media, a feminist ethics of care, and capabilities, as well as other theories, to provide a critique and alternative to the social model of disability as well as illuminate care-less spaces that inhabit all the caring spheres.

This multi-case study sought to better understand how students with intellectual disability (ID) are forging pathways to higher education via the community college. Five individuals with ID who accessed higher education via the community college and their parents/guardians were interviewed. Each case provided insight into personal pathways with results given in case descriptions and individual case themes. Cross-case analysis revealed four themes positively impacting the college-going pathway for students with ID: value-driven grit, pathway knowledge, community support, and accessibility. Based on findings from this study, families appear to be the primary systems forging pathways to the community college for individuals with ID. Local education agencies and community colleges can assist these families by engaging in interagency collaboration, evaluating their systems, and aligning practices to the goal of students with ID accessing and engaging in higher education.

Despite legal advancements recognizing the rights of individuals with disabilities, societal barriers are still arising from the medical model of disability. These obstacles have resulted in marginalizing and isolating practices, in turn leading to the underrepresentation of individuals with disabilities in the workforce and, by extension, in leadership positions. Grounded in the frameworks of critical pedagogy and critical disability studies, this autoethnographic study examines, using my personal experiences as contextual evidence, the determining factors underlying the struggle for equity and leadership, within the hegemonic society that people with disabilities must navigate. The study further explores the issue of empowerment and raised consciousness among people with disabilities, as afforded by blending the tenets of critical pedagogy with a critical social model of disability. Based on the autoethnographic analysis, the study proposes future research and makes recommendations for inclusion of individuals with disabilities, educators working with people with disabilities, and institutions committed to inclusiveness of leaders with disabilities.

Is it possible for a playwright to authentically capture the disabled experience without it becoming privy to stereotypes or utilized as a catalyst for the plot? The thesis aims to challenge the prevalent notion that making the disability intrinsic to a theatrical plot is essential for authentic representation, and instead asserts that authentic portrayal of the disabled experience can exist independently of making the disability a central plot device. To support this claim, In Chapter One, I engage with relevant work in the field of playwriting and narrative media studies, such as the workshop "Inaccessible: Writing Plays with Characters who are Differently Abled" led by Jef Peterson. In Chapter Two, I analyze a range of contemporary American and English scripts from the 21st century featuring characters with disabilities, including Simon Stephen's A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time. My research converges with creative practice in Chapter Three, with an autoethnographic analysis of my own experience writing an original, full length script entitled When it Rains, which centers on a character living with a disability. In exploring multiple scripts, engaging with academic texts, and reflecting on my own creative process, my research thereby advocates for a more diverse and inclusive portrayal of disability in theatrical narratives.

People who are disabled encounter income inequity and employment discrimination. The intersection of disability-based inequity and employment discrimination has increasingly been called the Disability and Employment Conundrum (DEC). Within the last 20 years, the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model attempts to resolve the DEC. Through a policy-based method called Supported Employment (SE), the IPS model aims to gain employment for people who are disabled and seeking employment. Much of the research that supports the IPS model neglects to look at external factors that impact the DEC. The IPS model's scope focuses on internal factors, or the individuals who are seeking employment, and is thereby narrowed. The IPS model's narrowed scope disproportionately impacts people with cognitive disabilities who are seeking employment. From a social constructionist perspective, this thesis examines how the IPS model became focused on internal factors at the expense of people who are disabled and seeking employment. / Master of Arts / People who are disabled encounter income inequity and employment discrimination. Disability-based employment problems are increasingly fall under what is called the Disability and Employment Conundrum (DEC). Within the last 20 years, several models to reintegrate disabled people back into the workforce have been used to attempt to resolve the DEC. Through a policy-based method called Supported Employment (SE), the Individual Placement Support model aims to gain employment for people who are disabled and seeking employment. Much of the research that supports the IPS model does not look at external factors that impact the DEC. Instead, the IPS model primarily focuses on the individuals who are seeking employment. This narrowed scope disproportionately impacts people with cognitive disabilities who are seeking employment. From a social constructionist perspective, this thesis examines how the IPS model became focused on internal factors at the expense of people who are disabled and seeking employment.

Parents of children with severe developmental disabilities face a variety of unique circumstances as they raise a child who requires specialized care. Accessing the support of other parents of children with developmental disabilities can be a valuable external resource for managing the stress associated with raising a child with special needs. The literature on support groups for parents of children with disabilities predominantly focuses on evaluating existing support groups rather than designing support groups based on the recommendations of the population that would utilize them. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived value of support groups and identify recommendations for support group design based on the experiences and feedback of 19 interviews with parents of children with severe or profound developmental disabilities. Despite varied experiences with support groups, most participants indicated the value of support groups is in providing a place where parents can feel understood, share information, and gather information. There was a high degree of variability among parents' recommendations for support group design, with the preferences of some parents being in direct contrast to the preferences of others; the summary recommendations for support group design address a wide range of preferences: a qualified group leader to organize groups that are highly flexible in structure, composed of parents with a high degree of similarity, and that offer a wide variety of content in various formats. / Master of Science / Parents of children with severe developmental disabilities (any type of impairment that is chronic and affects functioning) are often confronted with unique challenges because of the extra care their child may require. Having a child that requires full-time care, while in some ways rewarding, is also often difficult for parents, and may affect many different areas of their lives. As a result, parents may seek additional support, including seeking support from other parents of children with severe developmental disabilities. Support groups are groups of people with a shared interest or need—in this case, parents of children with severe developmental disabilities—who meet in a variety of possible formats. The purpose of this research study was to get a better understanding of the value parents perceive support groups to have, and the specific formats they recommend to facilitate what they would most like to get out of support groups. The results of this research study provide recommendations that can be used by parents or by professionals to design support groups to best meet the needs of parents of children with severe developmental disabilities.

The research literature has substantiated that many children diagnosed as having oral language impairments demonstrate reading problems at school-age. Few studies, however, have investigated the achievement of language-impaired children on individual reading skills, or the relationship between type of language deficit and type of reading disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance of children with receptive language impairments (Receptives), children with expressive language impairments (Expressives), and children with no identified language or learning problems (Controls) on the reading skills of word attack, word recognition, vocabulary and comprehension. The subjects, ages 10-0 to 12-11, were 29 children enrolled in self-contained classes for the severely language impaired (SLI), and 37 normal children. The SLI subjects were categorized as Receptives (n = 24) or Expressives (n = 5) based on their performance on the Test of Language Development-Intermediate (TOLD-I). Reading scores were obtained for four subtests of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised (WRMT-R) and for two subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Results of univariate analyses demonstrated Controls performed significantly (p < .05) better on all of the reading subtests than did either of the language-impaired groups. No difference was found between the Receptives and the Expressives on any subtest, possibly due to the small number of Expressive subjects. Because no differences were found between the language-impaired groups, they were combined to form a single group. Results of correlational analyses demonstrated correlations above .45 among all reading subtests for the Controls, indicating they measure similar abilities. For the SLI group, the subtests of the WRMT-R were highly correlated with each other (r < .65), but shared moderate correlations (.27 to .49) with the ITBS subtests. For the SLI group, the two ITBS subtests shared a low (.24) correlation. The Control group demonstrated reading achievement within normal limits, whereas the SLI group scored at least 2.4 years below the Controls on all subtests. For each group, profiles of subtest performance were flat, indicating that neither group demonstrates particular reading strengths or weaknesses.