Finding Communication Through Words and Other Ways: Neurodiversity and Inclusive Transition Programming

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Theoretical Understandings of Disability Studies in Education

Abstract

This paper explores the experiences of young adults in an inclusive transition program that founded on Neurodiversity principles. The paper particularly looks closely at issues of language and power as students and teachers explore the many ways that individuals communicate and "get things done." Data was collected through observation and collaborative video-collection with students. Analysis focused on grounded theory to provide themes in the ways that students navigate power dynamics within groups, across groups and in the broader community. Implications of this study aim to inform both program development and curriculum for inclusive transition programs and our understandings of language, disability and education as a nexus of personal self-determination and collective liberation.

Author

• Renee Starowicz, Stanford University