Dis/ability literacy through parenting
2017 (English)In: Abstract book: NNDR 14th Research Conference, Örebro University, May 3-5. 2017, 2017Conference paper, Oral presentation with published abstract (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
This presentation introduces qualities of a social literacy in deaf and disability contexts through parenting a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Following a social justice education framework on privilege studies, social literacies and allyship (Adams & Bell, L.A. & Griffin, P., 2007; DiAngelo, 2012; Evans & Wall, 1991; Evans, Assadi, & Herriott, 2005; Kimmel & Ferber, 2014; Ong-Dean, 2009; Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2012), this collection of qualities held by parents has been compiled from examining empirical material based on the first-person perspective of 19 parents against the background of their related networks of social encounters of everyday life. This analysis departs from examples found of a development process in parenting based on lived, in-depth experiences of disability and uncertainty which enable individuals to exhibit ways of understanding and engaging as allies to individuals and groups who are deaf and hard of hearing. Through contact with other parents in sensorial differentness, awareness, actions and commitments to goals of more inclusive and equal conditions for the child and others like the child are enacted. Dis/ability literacy is characterized by being able to identify with others who have similar experiences in other types of differentness leading to insight about disability in their relationships. Developing these social literacy qualities is a way parents exhibited perspective-changing through ‘unlearning’ and can be summarized as being interested, concerned, obligated, aware of needs, and willing to accommodate. Important issues to be discussed are the social literacy potentials of uncertainty and the betterment of social relations between individuals and groups in sensorial differentness, building on a care ethic.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017.
Keywords [en]
Deaf Studies, Disability Studies, deaf children, hearing parents
National Category
Pedagogy
Research subject
Special Education
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-180786OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-180786DiVA, id: diva2:1423314
Conference
14th NNDR Research Conference, Örebro, Sweden, May 3-5, 2017
Note
Internationally, Deaf studies have for many years been concerned with questions regarding deaf children and their families. Medical technology today presents the chance of restoring hearing in ways unavailable to past generations of deaf children. These technological advances have prompted a range of questions concerning the deaf child, particularly regarding the virtues of sign language versus spoken language and different approaches to deaf education.
In the Nordic countries, researchers have also approached these questions, both empirically and theoretically. The proposed symposium aims to present resent studies within this field. The Nordic welfare states’ approach to deaf children and their families share several similarities: New medical technology is generally made available, national sign languages are recognized and the educational systems in general are trying to balance ambitions of inclusion with particular demands for the upholding of for example deaf schools.
The proposed symposium thus wants to raise questions concerning “Nordic deaf studies”, reflecting the particular contexts of Nordic welfare models. One topic of particular interest concerns the family and the parents of deaf children. Nordic disability research has a long tradition of researching families with disabled children and raising questions concerning living conditions and practices within health, social and educational systems. These latter themes are central to the presented studies of deaf children and their families.
2020-04-142020-04-142022-02-26Bibliographically approved