Critical Disability Studies

In this issue's series of In Dialogue essays, four scholars complicate the ways that disability is conceptualized and addressed in the field of literacy and offer their own experiences in considering nonnormative ways of researching and teaching that center the needs and experiences of students with disabilities, particularly those who are multiply marginalized. First, Usree Bhattacharya, associate professor of language and literacy education at the University of Georgia, provides an account of how her daughter's diagnosis of Rett syndrome influenced her own scholarly and research endeavors. In her essay, Bhattacharya proposes examining literacy acquisition processes of students with disabilities in the context of their lives, rather than using so-called objective and decontextualized benchmarks to measure and assess students with disabilities. Next, Margaret Beneke, assistant professor of special education at the University of Washington, presents an overview of how Disability Critical Race theory (DisCrit; Annamma et al., 2013) can inform intersectional analyses of early childhood literacy practices to improve the educational experiences of students of color with disabilities. She demonstrates how this kind of knowledge-building around disability can occur in partnership with in-service teachers to reframe notions of student engagement in the early literacy classroom. Jon Henner, assistant professor in the Specialized Education Services department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, describes how normative notions of literacy as print literacy ultimately position deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and students with disabilities in general, as lacking. This deficitization forces such students and their families and teachers to face the tension between fighting for students to build their literacy repertoires in normative ways and fighting for them to be recognized as already whole. Finally, Monica Kleekamp, assistant professor of speech and language pathology at Maryville University, impactfully explains how normative ideas of literacy can invisibilize the literacy experiences of students who are positioned as having complex and significant needs. She proposes collaborations between students, families, interventionists, and other educators to more equitably address the needs of such students. These essays provide powerful analyses and future directions for countering deficit discourses and improving equity in educational institutions for students with disabilities.