Helping College Students With Intellectual Disability Overcome Prior Limitations and Internalization

• In Event: Reimagining Our Limits: Addressing Barriers to College Access for Students With Intellectual Disability

Abstract

Overview: Participation in inclusive postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability (ID) supports their academic, employment, social, and life skills development (Folk et al., 2012; Grigal et al., 2020; Prohn, 2014; Qian et al., 2018), but little is known about how programs specifically address the internal limitations students place on themselves as the result of prior negative experiences in education and in their communities. The term psychosocial disability is used in the fields of psychology and sociology to describe the negative impact social situations can have on the mental health of individuals (Eaton et al., 2021), while in critical studies, the psychological damage suffered by individuals who experience barriers to growth and development through externally imposed limitations is referred to as internalization.

Objectives: This study examined how administrators of inclusive postsecondary education programs understand students’ internalization and what program components they design specifically to address this problem.

Perspective: The study used a critical framework derived from Freire (1970/2013) to understand how limitations and lowered expectations can be understood as oppressions that prevent students from growing and developing, or what Freire refers to as humanization. It introduces a framework of internalization developed by Williams (2012) to develop an understanding of how internalization is instilled (i.e., bullying, dumbed down educational experiences), how internalization is displayed through thoughts and feelings (i.e., low self-esteem, negative self-talk), and external results of internalization (i.e., inability to make choices, lack of awareness of opportunities).

Methods: Methodology used was a secondary analysis of a qualitative data set that examined the experiences and beliefs of nine administrators of inclusive postsecondary education programs for students with ID.

Data sources: The original study used naturalistic qualitative inquiry (Erlandson et al., 1993) and an Seidman’s (2006) three part interview protocol with a priori, emergent, and constant comparative data analysis (Glaser, 1965; Soldaña, ). The present study shifts its focus from case study and individual narrative and focuses on understanding student internalization and mitigating practices in higher education.

Results: Findings indicate that knowledge of internalization is key to developing effective program components that mitigate the damaging impact of students’ internalization of their disability. Effective components include shifting campus attitudes towards integrating students with ID on campuses, allowing more time for transition than neurotypical students might require, and integrating program elements designed to help students understand self, and gain voice and agency. As programs for college students with ID proliferate, it is important not to replicate systemic oppressions that students with ID faced in the K-12 realm.

Significance: Implications are that understanding internalization is key to helping students overcome the negative impact of it to help all students better understand themselves, set future goals, and gain voice and agency. This study begins a conversation between inclusive practitioners on the topic of internalization and lays the foundation for future studies that include student voice and help students develop an understanding of their internalization. This type of study would also be applicable for educators working with other marginalized college student populations.

Author

• Tamara H. Shetron, Austin Community College