A New Exchange

Referring to a diverse, interdisciplinary set of approaches, Critical Disability Studies analyzes the idea of “disability” from cultural, historical, social, and political vantage points and places the disabled at its centre. Critical Disability Studies views disability as both a lived reality in which the experiences of people with disabilities are central to interpreting their place in the world, and also looks at what we mean by disability, as a social and political definition based on societal power relations. This area of study involves academics and people representing multiple disciplines and lived perspectives who wish to challenge approaches that pathologize physical, mental, neurological, and sensory difference as being in need of some kind of "correction."  Critical Disability Studies advocates for both accommodation and equality for people in all areas of life. Barriers to education, employment, transportation and a host of services, both public and private, all come under the scrutiny of Critical Disability Studies, a field that works toward universal accessibility.

PARTICIPANTS, CONVENERS, AND OBJECTIVES

Multiple actions will be required to better understand how we can build capacity for research and the exchange of knowledge that will ultimately work towards full and meaningful inclusion.

Conveners: The Research and Knowledge Exchange is convened by Dr. Laura Pacheco (Memorial University School of Social Work) and by Dr. Andreae Callanan (Memorial University Office of Public Engagement).

Participants: Through this Exchange, NLCAHR has established a forum where you can share your knowledge about Critical Disability Studies and learn about the perspectives of others:  healthcare workers and decision makers, patients/persons with lived experiences, caregivers, community organizations, university partners (students, staff, and faculty) and government partners. 

Activities and Objectives: The group will meet to discuss research and practice knowledge; to share lived experience and community knowledge; and to build capacity for collaboration and partnerships to support action towards change on various levels.

All voices will be welcome as we strive to integrate lived experience and the experience and knowledge of academic researchers, healthcare providers, community partners and policy makers in collaborative research, practice and policy directions designed to improve accessibility for all.

Meetings and Presentations

May 7, 2025 | Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada | The group will host a discussion about the ethics of MAiD in Canada for disabled communities, including a discussion about its implications in terms of disability justice and poverty ssues. 

March 28, 2025 | Ph.D. Research in Critical Disability Studies:The Ubuntu Model of Disability with Sibusiso Moyo and Ableism Within the Healthcare System and Post-Secondary Education with Jaime Blenus | Emerging scholars in the field of Critical Disability Studies engaged with the Exchange in discussions to help advance their research. The presentation and discussion centered on: The Ubuntu Model of Disability with Sibusiso Moyo, PhD student in the School of Social Work at Memorial University, exploring how the Ubuntu Model of Disability could be used to examine the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities within Zimbabwe. Included in the discussion were the key principles of the Ubuntu model of disability and how this can expand our understanding of disability that is rooted in culture, relationships, community, solidarity and support. Sibu will also share how she hopes to examine the experiences of parents with intellectual disabilities in Zimbabwe and how this will contribute to a broader conceptualization of caregiving that considers the intersections of race, culture, gender and disability. Then, Jaime Blenus, PhD student in Health at Dalhousie University and Accessibility Health Consultant with IWK, shared her proposed research on ableism within the healthcare system and post-secondary education. Her presentation will focus on the usage of autoethnography and narrative approaches to identify the experiences of ableism, internalized ableism and explore the often-ignored effects of ableism on the personal level.  

February 28, 2025 | "Some Stutter, Luh!"  Dr. Paul DeDecker on the marginalization of people who stutter  | Dr. Paul DeDecker explores the marginalization of people who stutter through the lens of something known as "dis-communication" -  a term that refers to how stuttering and other kinds of non-fluent speech are often perceived as deficits, leading to the social exclusion of people who stutter and often limiting the kinds of exchanges that help us all to better understand the many social factors that have an impact on language use.  Drawing on an analysis of the stories from his podcast, "Some Stutter, Luh!," Paul will talk about how ableism positions fluency in language and ease with speech as "the norm," resulting in the perception that those without such fluency are "other" and reinforcing stigma. Paul will also explore how people who stutter often engage in positive dis-communication, resisting ableist marginalization by fostering community and reframing stuttering as a valuable aspect of their identities. By highlighting the dynamic nature of marginalization — something both imposed by "societal norms" and actively negotiated by marginalized individuals— Paul will invite our Exchange into a broader discussion about language, identity, and resistance. By looking at the experiences of people who stutter, he will highlight new ways of understanding marginalization as an interactive and evolving process that is shaped by social perception... and by linguistic practices.   Paul was joined by Greg O'Grady from the "Some Stutter, Luh!" podcast and by members of the NL Stuttering Association. Dr. Paul DeDecker is a sociolinguist at Memorial University whose research includes SSHRC-funded, qualitative and quantitative studies of linguistic variation and language change in varieties of English spoken in Newfoundland and Labrador, including differences across region and time. His interests in sociolinguistic practices (i.e. patterns of language behaviour, attitudes, and ideologies) that emerge with non-standard and stigmatized speech styles led him to partner with the Newfoundland and Labrador Stuttering Association (NLSA) to investigate the sociolinguistics of stuttering and speech disfluency under the Communication Collaborative. Through the Collaborative he produces Some Stutter, Luh! Newfoundland and Labrador’s first podcast about stuttering and communication disorders. He is also the lead researcher and author of The DOCTalks Guide: Cross-sector Collaborative Practices for Knowledge-based Documentary Media the bilingual French/English resource for producing collaborative documentary media for the purposes of knowledge-exchange and implementation. It was generously funded from The Canada Media Fund and New Brunswick Tourism, Heritage and Culture. Paul De Decker is committed to community-scholarly engagement, working with non-academic partners, and conducting sociolinguistic research with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

 

January 17, 2025 12:30pm NT | Accesssibility Panel and roundtable discussion | Melanie Coughlin (Mel) is a Jointly Appointed Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies and Department of Philosophy at Memorial University whose research is focused on Japanese Buddhist philosophers' contemporary applications to social philosophy. Her research includes critiques of ableism and seeks to build coalition between feminist and disability interests. She has just started a new research project about Yoritaka Shinenobu's alternative to the progressivist social model of disability. He calls this alternative, "living together on a downward trajectory." As a disabled person, Mel finds this new framework promising. For this panel, Mel will discuss how focusing on accessibility as ”a problem to be resolved” often considers ableism as a problem of the past while disregarding the ongoing ableism that continues to creatively build inaccessibility at all levels of society. She will discuss moving away from this framework towards one in which ongoing inquiry into access needs is intrinsic to how we approach and design our world. Mel would also like members of the group to consider the limitations of “greater and greater accessibility” as an overarching goal in some contexts, such as Medical Assistance in Dying. Is there a way to think about access that avoids the dangers of this policy's ongoing expansion, or is a different goal than access what we need today? | Angie Follett (aka Au Addison Cochrane) is a Patient and Family Experience Advisor (PFEA) for the NL Health Services Urban Zone, and Autistic, Disability, Aging and Poverty Consultant (Community-based), and the Producer and Co-Creator - AltermindsNL Podcast  who will talk about the many challenges she has encountered with accessibility, especially as these relate to healthcare, social support, and other community contexts, sharing her experience as an Autistic person who is also blind, hearing impaired, and physically disabled. | Christine Taylor Fearing is an interdisciplinary queer writer, performer, and SSHRC doctoral fellow pursuing an Interdisciplinary PhD at Memorial University while residing in Victoria, British Columbia. Profoundly Dyslexic and Neurodivergent with a visual disability, she describes herself as a writer who can’t read and a scholar who can’t spell. Her research bridges metaphorical research and creation, disruptive arts practice, and Crip theory to challenge academic and artistic norms. Integrating ritual, accessible installations, and multimodal approaches, Christine highlights the embodied experiences of Neurodivergence and Disability. Leveraging AI and innovative tools, she creates accessible platforms for knowledge dissemination while advocating for Crip Time, trauma-informed access, and recognition of the invisible labour of Disabled and Mad scholars. Her work reframes Disability as a source of transformative and creative potential. 

After the panelists shared their insights, we hosted a broader conversation about accessibility and invited participants to share their insights and ideas.

September 27 2024 at 12:30PM | INTRODUCING THE RKE ON CRITICAL DISABILITY STUDIES |  The agenda  for the first meeting of this exchange include welcoming and introducing members and conveners, an overview of the program, a disucsson of goals and objectives and the style and frequency of future meetings for this new exchange.  It is important to note from the outset that we are not just about research, and we welcome all kinds of knowledge and welcome participants to share  experiences to help develop aspects of knowledge exchange that are not strictly research based.  

CDS Notes from September 27 2024 Meeting