When the IDEA Is Not Enough: Physically Disabled and Chronically Ill Teens Speak Up!

• In Event: Humanizing and Mattering of Adolescents

Abstract

We explored how physically disabled or chronically ill teens (PDCITs) perceived their experiences in access to education, including during the pandemic. This study was co-authored by a PDCIT and disability rights activist utilizing DisCrit (Connor et al., 2016) and the political relational model of disability (Kafer, 2013) as theoretical underpinnings. Fifteen PDCITs from across the US were interviewed. Utilizing in vivo coding, the analysis unearthed the systemic discrimination that PDCITs experience, with a disproportionately negative impact on those PDCITs also marginalized by immigration status, race, or ethnicity. Surprisingly, remote learning provided PDCITs with a sense of community belonging for the first time. This study is a personal call to action to reimagine new and fairer educational futures for PDCITs nationwide.

Authors

• Isabel Mavrides-Calderon, Barnard College

• Maria Mavrides Calderon, Hunter College - CUNY