Abstract:

We explored how students engaged in disability leadership and activism changed their understandings of disability and the implications of those changes. Disability has multiple and contested definitions; understanding how students construct disabled identities individually and collectively will help higher education professionals foster disabled students’ development of affirmative, collective, and politicized identities for themselves and for disabled people generally as well as guide disabled students to engage in more effective social change efforts. Significant catalysts of students’ affirmative disability identity development include gaining disability content knowledge, experiencing disability community, rejecting internalized ableism, and experiencing disability through minoritized identities. One notable consequence of this development is these students’ shift from identifying themselves with diagnosis-specific labels to identifying as disabled and recognizing that term as encompassing all forms of disability. Additionally, they were better able to label and address ableism, and they expressed the need to engage in cross-disability collective activism. Implications call for professionals in higher education to provide exposure to multiple models of disability, support the development of disability community, and help disabled students recognize the implications of their intersecting identities.

摘要：

我们探讨了参与残疾领导和行动的学生如何改变他们对残疾的理解以及这些变化的影响。残疾有多种且有争议的定义；了解学生如何单独和集体地构建残疾人身份将有助于高等教育专业人员促进残疾学生为自己和残疾人发展积极的、集体的和政治化的身份，并引导残疾学生参与更有效的社会变革努力。学生积极的残疾身份发展的重要催化剂包括获得残疾内容知识、体验残疾社区、拒绝内在的残疾主义以及通过少数群体身份体验残疾。这一发展的一个显着后果是，这些学生从用特定于诊断的标签来识别自己，转变为将自己识别为残疾人，并认识到该术语涵盖了所有形式的残疾。此外，他们能够更好地标记和解决体能歧视，并且他们表示需要参与跨残疾集体行动主义。这意味着高等教育专业人士需要提供多种残疾模式的接触，支持残疾社区的发展，并帮助残疾学生认识到其交叉身份的影响。他们表示需要参与跨残疾人的集体行动。这意味着高等教育专业人士需要提供多种残疾模式的接触，支持残疾社区的发展，并帮助残疾学生认识到其交叉身份的影响。他们表示需要参与跨残疾人的集体行动。这意味着高等教育专业人士需要提供多种残疾模式的接触，支持残疾社区的发展，并帮助残疾学生认识到其交叉身份的影响。