"Wicked Smart" and "True Learning Disability": Navigating Ableist Language While Applying Universal Design for Learning

• In Event: (Re)Thinking Discursive Practices to Center Disability

Abstract

This case study investigates the construction of ability through an examination of teacher discourse. I analyze the language educators use to talk about ability in a school where teachers are committed to inclusive education for disabled students, and work toward this goal through pedagogy aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Although educators were willing to take up practices consistent with UDL, and to use its core concepts to push against static notions of disability as a deficit, ableist language around smartness and the elevation of smartness as a desirable commodity persisted. I conclude by discussing implications for UDL as a viable practical partner for Disability Studies theory, and making recommendations for continued development of anti-ableist UDL language and research.

Author

• Beth S Fornauf, CAST