"I Wish I Knew What He's Saying": Exploring Parental Literacy Practices Within the Dis/ability Community

• In Event: Centering Family Perspectives: Dreams and Possibilities of Public Schools

Abstract

Parents of individuals with diagnosed dis/abilities often grapple with their child’s dis/ability, as parents mediate their own experiences surrounding dis/ability. This research specifically investigates the literacy practices implemented by parents to aid in forming their own conceptions of dis/ability. Through narrative inquiry, three interviews with parents of children with dis/abilities were analyzed using postconventional perspectives of dis/ability to highlight the destabilization and multifaceted nature of dis/ability and the dis/ability experience. Findings suggest that parents engage in literacy practices that stretch well beyond themselves and their immediate families into the larger dis/ability community. Implications show that more resources are needed to support parents within the dis/ability community, as they search for ways to connect with others for emotional and educational purposes.

Author

• Alexandra Lampp Berglund, The University of Georgia