The research objective of this qualitative study was to discern a new purpose for provision of support to autistic individuals that would thoroughly eschew harmful normalization, which was the traditional purpose of all types of support for hundreds of years. Clinical practice and special education are moving toward a neurodiversity-affirming…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how staff members describe the sex education curriculum, for students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and staff attitudes toward working with this population, in the Midwest. How staff members describe the sex education curriculum for students, with ID, and how staff describe…

This research study presents the Scale of Dis/ability Apparentness in Education Settings (SDAES) to explore the complex and dynamic nature of dis/abled apparentness among college students. The study combines qualitative and quantitative data to examine five key domains: Environment, Ableism, Identity, Taking Action, and Embodied Dis/ability,…

When young adults with disabilities (YAWD) age out of the system, they face what has colloquially been termed "the cliff," which symbolizes the sudden drop in services that occur as they transition out of high school; needs previously met at school are left unaddressed. Multiple options have been suggested to meet these needs, including…

This dissertation examines the experiences of people with disabilities in academia. It is oriented autoethnographically by my own experiences, and those of other students and faculty, to make vivid the phenomenological realities of living on crip time, navigating independence, the cognitive load of disability, and disclosure management. I argue…

The decision on where to educate students with disabilities (SWD) has been and continues to be a debated topic. While the approach to special education has changed with the Disabilities Studies which pushes for inclusive practices, the continuum of special education placement continues to be used in some schools. SWD educational placement is…

This research examined if a lecture-based intervention increased the DEI knowledge, awareness, and readiness to change in undergraduate public health students. Topics included a systematic review of DEI activities in undergraduate public health classrooms/academic programs, determining reliability of an adapted tool to measure knowledge,…

This study began by dissecting what the research says regarding students with disabilities, inclusion and its current practices, the characteristics of those leaders that promote inclusive cultures, perceptions of inclusion of teachers and principals, and school culture. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the perceptions of inclusive…

This research study was aimed at describing the experiences of visually impaired students and their teachers about their experiences within the general education setting. The purpose of this study was to collect and report interview data, corroborated with observational data in order to provide rich, descriptive data based on the participants'…

Both legislative and policy initiatives call upon schools to ensure students with disabilities access the breadth of learning and social opportunities available within the general education curriculum. Yet, relatively little is known about the most widely used approaches for fulfilling this mandate. The purpose of this study was to (a) explore how…

Identity development is a difficult process for many people with disabilities. Individuals who have disabilities often struggle to come to terms with their identities. As a person with cerebral palsy, I spent most of my life struggling with my identity. I tried to reject my disability in order to fit in with the able-bodied world. However, my…

The purpose of the study was to examine the perceived needs and correlates of Maine parents of premature infants related to the chronological distance from the NICU. The study focused on identifying the perceived service needs of parents of premature children and how these needs changed over time, revealed the relationships between perceived…

Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system (Crosse, Kaye, & Ratnofsky, 1992; Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). Although research on this topic is limited, youth with disabilities who are emancipating from foster care are at risk for particularly poor outcomes, experiencing even lower rates of employment,…