Thinking-With Care in Narratives of Becoming-Parents: A Letter Correspondence on Alex's Inclusive Journey

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Ten
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Families' Role in Supporting the Education of Students at the Intersections of Ability, Race, and Citizenship (Table 15)

Abstract

We underwrite Connor & Berman’s (2019) intention to connect with parents of disabled children and privilege their perspectives in educational research. We think-with care (Puig De La Bellacasa, 2012) and vulnerability in narratives that Alex’ parents shared in our letter correspondence and strive ‘to understand these narratives in light of theoretical concepts as a primary means of constructing knowledge’ (Clandinin & Connelly, 1998, p. 327) within a Disability Studies perspective.
Throughout our correspondence inclusion becomes complex and multilayered, entangled with stories and continuously on the move. Disability becomes a part of ongoing relational parenting where the question of flourishing is central. These narratives of parents claim the power of uncertainty and imagination, of an open unpredictable future.

Author

• Silke L. Daelman, Ghent University
  Presenting Author