Questioning Social Markers of Difference: A Multimodal Narrative of Iranian American Mothers Raising Individuals With Dis/abilities

• In Event: 63.084 - MTCC Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-9 - Does It Have to Be Complicated? Honoring Voices and Experiences of (Disabled) Parents With Students With Disabilities

Abstract

There is a shortage of women’s voices in both educational and dis/ability studies research, especially from minority groups. Through a multimodal phenomenological and arts based study using a DisCrit lens, this research asked Iranian-American mothers raising individuals with dis/abilities about their lived experiences and perspectives on education. Mothers questioned why their child’s multiple social markers of difference, including gender, race, religion, class, and language, led to the exclusion of their child in the school environment. Pushing back at the dominant understanding of dis/ability, mothers redefined their understanding of their child, of dis/ability, and offered wisdom and insight into navigating how nuances of diversity affect mothers’ understanding and approach to their child’s dis/abilities.

Author

• Kimiya Sohrab Maghzi, University of Redlands