Inclusion as Action

Students with intellectual disability have been long excluded from higher education, a space that has traditionally been opened primarily through extensive privilege and based on antiquated ideas about the value of academic merit. Other groups have experienced exclusion on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, socioeconomics, and countless other ways. What we claim here is that students with intellectual disability, just like all other people, do not have a singular identity. The nature of their disability does not negate other identities, but these identities overlap to inform a whole personhood. This section supports the understanding of diverse student experiences in inclusive higher education.

Inclusion is not something we create or do or hope for. Inclusion is a commitment to constant action, ingrained steadfastness, and the consistent actualization of belonging. It forces us, all of us, to question again and again the biases that we bring to our experiences. We cannot be satisfied with the progress that we have made. What lies on the horizon? What have we missed? And how can we look at our own inclusive practices from a critical lens to push ourselves, and those around us, to do better?