Creation of a Canadian Disability Studies Program: A
Convergence of Multiple Pathways
Irene Carter,
Donald R. Leslie, G. Brent Angell, Shelagh Towson, Debra Hernandez Jozefowicz,
University of Windsor
Abstract
This paper
reports on the beginnings of the Disability Studies Program, University of
Windsor (2011a), by describing the converging pathways of several events.
Influential collaborative processes that occurred between major disability
organizations and academics with the courage to promote change proceeded
program development in disability studies. Choosing a philosophical approach,
based on the social model of disability assured a critical approach to studying
disability, enabling the program to address the desire to confront existing
oppression and to produce graduates with expertise in many areas relevant to
this goal. Most importantly, supportive individuals and organizations from the
community made the Disability Studies Program, at the University of Windsor, a
reality. The authors summarize the developments that preceded and followed the
inauguration of the Disability Studies Program and make suggestions about
further improvements.
Keywords: Disability
studies, social model of disability, collaboration, community organizations
Creation of a Canadian
Disability Studies Program: A Convergence of Multiple Pathways
Introduction
The
Disability Studies Program at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada was
initiated in September 2008. It
offered professionals working in the field, students from human service college
programs, as well as university students interested in learning more about
disability, the opportunity to acquire an Honours Bachelor of Arts in
Disability Studies. The
Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, attended the
official launch, stating students could, through their studies, “shine a light
on how to apply acceptance throughout the rest of our culture" (University
of Windsor, 2009).
Since
its inception, the Lieutenant Governor David C. Onley has visited the
Disability Studies Program at the University of Windsor on three occasions,
stressing to his audiences how disability studies have important implications
for our society as a whole. With
an aging population, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario indicated more than 53
percent of the current population is affected by disability issues, whether for
themselves or an immediate family member, making the promotion of
accessibility, “Something that goes to the heart of who we are as a people and
a society” (University of Windsor, 2011b).
Essential
to the genesis of the University of Windsor Disability Studies Program was the
historical integration of three intersecting developments. These include the converging paths of
Canadian disability organizations, the adoption of the social model of
disability, and the support of a community focus on disability. This paper will discuss the
Disability Studies Program at the University of Windsor,
exploring how Canadian disability organizations were essential to its creation,
how an interdisciplinary approach based on the social model of disability was
necessary, and how a supportive disability community made it possible.
Historical Developments
The
creation of an interdisciplinary Honours Bachelors of Arts degree in Disability
Studies at the University of Windsor emerged from convergent developments at
the national, provincial, local and university levels. In this section of the paper, a brief
synopsis of these converging streams that led to the creation of the Disability
Studies Program at the University of Windsor is presented (Leslie, 2011). The unique, contemporary development
of the field of disability studies involved a movement by persons with
disabilities and advocates, historically and internationally. Nationally, it was
supported by Section 15. (1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(1982) with the insertion that states:
15. (1)
Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the
equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in
particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin,
colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
Provincially,
it is strongly linked to legislation embodied in the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) (2001) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) (2005). These acts initiated a response from
the Council of Ontario Universities (2011), and quickly worked their way into
Ontarian university structures. Simultaneously, Canadian disability
organizations were working to increase academic responses and activities
related to disability advocacy and research.
At the University of Windsor, action towards the establishment of a
disability studies program was also stimulated by internal leadership,
innovation and commitment to disability issues, as well as community
stakeholders’ interest in the promise higher education could bring knowledge
and skill development in the area of disabilities. In response to the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA)
(2001), the Council of Ontario Universities (2011), who had been working
closely with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, created a task force in
anticipation of the need to comply with the ODA. As a part of the ODA, universities
were required to develop an annual accessibility plan that identified any
barriers to full accessibility to universities by people with disabilities.
The
University of Windsor, represented by the Vice President of Administration and
Finance, headed up a portion of the taskforce that became responsible for
creating a check list of standards that should be met in each of the areas
outlined in the Act, such as policies, architecture, mobility and attitudinal
barriers that impacted the ability of persons with disabilities to access
institutions of higher education. Out
of that came the need for a planning process for implementation at the
University of Windsor. So, in
2002 Dr. Donald Leslie, faculty of the School of Social Work, and Dr. Karen
Roland, Employment Equity Manager, were assigned as co-chairs for the
Accessibility Planning Committee at the University of Windsor. They were given the charge of heading
up the University’s efforts at pulling together a comprehensive accessibility
plan for each year. This role
included developing the plan that would filter down through the rest of the
University and directing deans, school directors and department heads across
campus in the process of getting everyone to work in concert towards the goal
of a fully accessible campus.
By 2003-2004 the School of Social Work, at the University of Windsor had established an
Accessibility Planning Committee. In
early 2004 the Accessibility Planning Committee, University of Windsor, began
to consider the creation of a Disability Studies Program as a part of its
accessibility plan. It was
decided that one way the academy could serve the university and the disability
community was through research and investigation, since little was known about
what accessibility meant on this scale.
The establishment of a disability studies program was also identified as
a way for the University of Windsor to give back to the community, given that
it was clear that the goal of accessibility stemming from the ODA (2001) was to
reach out broadly into the community to have Ontario become a fully accessible
province that allowed for full participation of all its citizens by 2025. This was further reinforced when the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act (2005) was passed.
While the ODA had clear requirements around accessibility planning, the
AODA articulated clearer expectations around actually doing the work towards
full accessibility, explicitly articulating action steps towards accessibility
implementation and accountability.
Around the same time that the
Accessibility Planning Committee began conceiving of a disability studies
program at the University of Windsor, Dr. Donald Leslie was on sabbatical and
used that time to explore the role social work could play in the area of
disabilities, including the possible development of a disability studies
program. He conducted extensive
research on disability studies programs across Canada and the United States,
and began to articulate a vision for the construction of a Bachelor of
Disability Studies Program at the University of Windsor.
In addition to developments
provincially and at the University of Windsor, Canadian disability organizations
and groups were simultaneously working towards increased activity in the area
of disabilities. The Canadian
Centre on Disability Studies (CCDS, 2011) was one such organization that
stimulated attention to disabilities in the academy through multiple meetings
and discussions. In 2003,
academics shared their work on disabilities in Halifax at the Congress of the
Humanities and Social Sciences, and established a steering committee for
disability studies. At the 2004
meeting of the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, CCDS sponsored a conference with some support from the federal
Department of Disability Issues. In
2005 the steering committee expanded, allowing for the creation of the
constitution and board of directors to form the Canadian Disability Studies
Association (CDSA, 2011). Dr. Donald Leslie presided as the first president of
the board. With support from the
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Windsor, and a
small donation of money towards the organization, CDSA was originally housed
at, and operated through, the University of Windsor.
In addition to the work of the
CCDS and CDSA, the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work (CASSW),
since renamed the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE),
maintained a caucus on persons with disabilities; this caucus had a meeting in
Toronto, Ontario and research from the caucus was presented at the 2004
Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A best practices workshop was
presented prior to the 2004 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Following this meeting, approximately
10-12 core faculty remained interested and involved
the group. In 2005-2006 the
group developed a best practices workshop video/DVD and manual (Canadian
Association of Schools of Social Work (CASSW), 2007). In 2006, the CDSA sponsored a
conference at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, York
University, Toronto, Ontario.
The
rise in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder experienced internationally
(Chakrabarti & Fombonne, 2005) prompted
requests for increased funding and intervention. The primary mode of intervention was
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) (Lovaas, 1987; Rapin, 1997). However, at that time, funding for
the recommended primary mode of intervention, ABA, available from the Ontario
government, ended at age 6. Community
organizations approached the Department of Psychology, University of Windsor,
about the possibility of creating an Honours Bachelor of Arts in autism.
A
committee was organized consisting of representation from faculties and
departments that included psychology, social work, English, education, law, and
music, and included representation from the community by a parent with a child
with autism. Thus, the beginning of a disability studies program committee at
the University of Windsor emerged in 2005.
Later, an interdisciplinary disability studies executive committee was
established with members who had participated in the original committee since
its inception in 2005. They
included Dr. Donald Leslie, School of Social Work, Dr. Shelagh Towson, Head,
Department of Psychology, Dr. Irene Carter, School of Social Work, who focused
on support for persons with developmental disabilities and their families,
particularly, in the area of autism, and Dr. Brent Angell, Director, School of
Social Work, who continually provided the Disability Studies Program with
needed resources. Throughout the
period of 2004 and 2005, Dr. Shelagh Towson, Head of the Department of
Psychology, and Dr. Brent Angell, Director of the School of Social
Work called meetings of key university stakeholders in the area of
disabilities. During these
meetings, the convened group decided that an honours degree should not be
limited to autism. In
particular, the School of Social Work committee
members suggested that the scope of the committee be broadened to be more
inclusive and this perspective was championed.
In summary, the major barrier to
the development and sustainability of the Honours Degree in Disability Studies
has been and remains economic and resource related. Regardless, passage of the
ODA (2001) and the AODA (2005) created an environment at the Ontario Ministry
of Training, Colleges and Universities (2011) that was open to the creation of
a disability studies program. CCDS
provided support and a vision for disability studies by assisting in the
development of an academic forum for exploration, and giving credibility to the
notion that disability studies is a viable area for academic study. In addition, academics, many who
themselves had disabilities, worked formally and informally with others to
stimulate the creation of the Canadian Disability Studies Association (2011).
An Interdisciplinary Approach
In a short period of time the field of disability studies
has come to be viewed as an academic discipline in itself that requires an
interdisciplinary approach. In
part, this interdisciplinary approach is needed due to the complexity of life
experience faced by persons with
disabilities. Individuals with disabilities find
themselves adapting to many aspects of life spanning physical, technological,
emotional, intellectual, economic and social areas, to mention just a few. No one discipline, either academic or
professional, can legitimately claim to know and adequately understand the
range of areas of information and knowledge needed to understand disabilities. Interdisciplinary approaches to
disability are able to transcend the limits of single disciplines to increase
our capacity, intuitively and analytically, for understanding and addressing
problems that are too complex for one discipline (Klein, 1998).
Goodley
(2011) discusses how it is a common misunderstanding that disability studies
originated from a single orthodoxy rather than a multiplicity of approaches
that complement as well as deepen each other.
Goodley regards disability studies as a global trans-disciplinary
synthesis of critical disability theories and perspectives. He views the field of disability
studies as analyzing the politics of human variation from a variety of
standpoints, social goals, and disciplinary emphases.
An
interdisciplinary disability perspective challenges us to overcome “deeply
ensconced professional and cultural responses to significant disability”
(Kliewer, Biklen, & Kasa-Hendrickson, 2006, p. 169). Describing disability studies as a
scholarly convergence of the humanities and social sciences, Kliewer, Biklen
and Kasa-Hendrickson suggests it displaces “traditional, reductionistic,
psychological and medical orientations with their emphases on defect,
impairment, and abnormality” (p. 188). An
interdisciplinary program of disability studies that employs the arts and
humanities helps students develop understanding, acceptance and meaning. To ensure that the Disability Studies
Program at the University of Windsor offered an interdisciplinary perspective,
the program drew upon a wide range of disciplines including social work,
psychology, languages, drama, music, women’s studies, English, political
science, education, nursing, and labor studies.
Based on the Social Model of
Disability
The
University of Windsor interdisciplinary Disability Studies Program adopted a
critical approach to the study of disability based on the social model of
disability. This model counters
the outdated vision of disability that fostered a medical model perception of
deficiency and dependency that must somehow be ‘fixed.’
At many
universities, the standard paradigm is to study disability from a medical model
approach in programs such as medicine, nursing, and rehabilitative fields. Although disability is presently
already studied in many different university departments, the social model, as
taught in the Disability Studies Program, actually re-situates and challenges
the ways disability has traditionally been studied. The notion of disability as
characteristic of a sick, minority group, associated with the medical model,
has been replaced by the position that social, cultural, political, and
environmental barriers are more disabling than physical or cognitive
disabilities (Hiranandani, 2005). Since
most adaptation to permanent disabilities happens outside of medical
intervention, it is no longer adequate or desirable to focus on medical
rehabilitation processes to help people with disabilities adapt to life in a
society. The social construct model emphasizes, “It is the environment that
creates and perpetuates the disabling condition, not the individual” (Rothman,
2003, p. 12) and explores what could be done about the negative impact of
environmental barriers and social attitudes on people with disabilities
(Oliver, 1990).
As
with the issues of gender and race, a paradigm shift enabled disability to be
viewed as a natural occurrence which should not in any
way diminish a human being’s right to a normal life (Silverstein, 2001). Describing
people with disabilities as an oppressed, marginalized, non-ethnic minority,
promoted a major shift in the intellectual, experiential and academic
understanding of persons with disabilities.
A disability studies perspective, built on the social model, is
consistent with the commitment to diversity and the elimination of oppression
(Gilson & DePoy, 2002). The
social model of disability revealed that progressive social policy could reduce
and address oppression (Goodley, 2000) caused by disabling social,
environmental, and attitudinal barriers (Morris, 2001). The social model of
disability has resulted in legislation and laws which have
outlawed discrimination based on a person’s characteristics, and has
required public agencies to manage programs in the most integrated fashion
possible so as to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. The social model of disability
continues to evolve as it strives to address the challenges faced by persons
with cognitive disabilities and chronic illnesses, areas less focused upon
while identifying structural barriers to persons with physical disabilities. To date, the accomplishments made
possible by the social model of disability include policies to relieve
oppression (Prince, 2004), promotion of accessibility for persons with
disabilities through necessary support (Roeher Institute, 2003), and the
philosophical foundation for a disability studies program.
The social model of disability,
as adopted by the Disability Studies Program, University
of Windsor, ensured a collective commitment to social justice and accessibility,
and reflected the right of individuals with disabilities to be free of
oppression, and included as full participants in society. The concept of promoting social justice for the disability community fits
well with the overall goals and objectives defined in the Faculty of Arts and
Social Sciences Five Year Plan: FASS
2012: The Windsor Advantage (University of Windsor Senate, 2011), which are consistent with the
University of Windsor’s social justice principles, particularly in reference to
Principle 2: Social Justice is an
ideal that infuses our creative, research, and learning endeavours and links
our Faculty’s mission to the university’s founding purpose to teach goodness,
discipline, and knowledge in pursuit of a better life for humanity.
With regard to specific goals
and objectives included in the FASS Five Year Plan, the Honours BA in
Disability Studies fits the Graduate Outcomes identified in The Windsor Advantage by requiring
students to:
• engage in research about issues
related to the history, construction and meaning of disability;
• undertake relevant field placements
outside the university;
• master foundational research skills
and discipline-specific research tools and employ these foundational skills for
research on disability issues;
• discuss disability issues from several
critical perspectives, articulate the assumptions of these perspectives and
evaluate their comparative merits;
• work closely and productively with
peers in support of a culture of enquiry
leading to a greater understanding of the complexity of disability;
• exercise the responsibilities of active
citizenship through advocacy for and with individuals and groups labeled as
disabled;
• develop a strong identity with
disability studies as an emerging discipline;
• exercise critical thinking and apply it
to diverse issues and problems
associated with disability.
Overall,
the social justice principles of the University of Windsor were very compatible
with the respectful approach required in adopting a social model of disability
and advancing equity and accessibility (Leslie, Leslie, & Murphy, 2003). The University of Windsor faculty,
who developed the Disability Studies Program, addressed the desire to confront
existing oppression by making students aware of disability from the social
model of disability perspective and by presenting them with learning tools to
commit to social justice and accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Consistent
with the a social model approach, the Disability Studies Program offers core
courses in the social model of disability, the history of disability, community
approaches to disability involving advocacy and empowerment, service delivery
systems and independent living, and community field exerience. As well as eight
core disability courses, students in the Disability Studies Program take
several additional required and disability-emphasis courses in other
disciplines. Further,
educational options, such as combined degrees and a certificate in disability
studies is providing additional, useful, and attractive options for students and practitioners, resulting in
graduates who are better equipped to help challenge ableism.
Blending Disability Studies with
Other Disciplines
Disability
studies strengthens and adds value to academic disciplines in the social
sciences in its capacity to meet the increasing societal demand for the
inclusion of those with disabilities into the larger culture. Gilson and DePoy (2002) recommend
integrating a broad perspective of disability - one which is constructed by
social, cultural, political, and economic factors - into other curriculum. They see the increasing emphasis on
constructionist approaches as essential in integrating disability into the
dialogue on diversity and oppression.
Greater
interdisciplinary activity within disability studies allows students from
various disciplines to become fully aware of injustices and continuing barriers
for persons with disabilities. For
example, an interdisciplinary approach that combines disability studies with
social work encourages social work to include disability in its critical
analysis of gender, race and class, moving beyond its relationship with
rehabilitative dominated paradigms (Meekosha & Dowse, 2007). It projects particular disciplines to
the forefront of the philosophical discussion that is developing regarding the
intersectionality of gender, race, and disability. It generates a transformative process
that is cutting edge, aligning the social sciences with the rising development
in disability studies. Goodley
(2011) embraces the global interdisciplinary framework of disability studies
and how it intersects with feminist, class, queer and postcolonial analyses in
exploring the realities of oppression and how we address it. He makes a case for versions of
disability studies, including hybrid combinations that are critical and
transformative, stressing the possibility for new forms of disability activism
and new possibilities for research.
Other
disciplines add perspectives to the field of disability studies to create a
greater understanding of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities
(Ware, 2001). When exposed to faculty who have expertise as anti-oppressive
practitioners, historians, and writers from disciplines such as, social work, psychology, dramatic arts,
music, English, and history, it helps to ensure that disability studies
accurately records and portrays the narratives and experiences of persons with
disabilities. The promotion and
evolution of disability studies will depend on access to, and alliance with,
courses, faculty and research in other disciplines, and consultation with
persons with disabilities and community disability organizations.
Support from Persons with
Disabilities and Community Organizations
One
of the most important factors contributing to the development of the disability studies area has been the
vision and courage of persons with disabilities. The development of disability studies
has been encouraged by families, particularly mothers, “who identified the
impact of discriminatory practices on the exclusion of their child” (Panitch,
2003, p. 273). They made a
significant contribution to the development of the field by identifying
deficiencies in environments rather than individuals. Family members, as well as persons
with disabilities have been, and continue to be, situated as caregivers to
engage in both structural analysis and social and political change. Learning the value of community and
leadership, they are not only able to be helpful to parents unaware of their
children’s rights, but can continue to collaborate with faculty from disability
studies to create strategies and research to bring about greater reform.
In
the context of the University of Windsor Disability Studies Program, the
importance of including representatives with direct experience of disability
was recognized by the decision to designate one position on the Disability
Studies Program Advisory Board to a representative from the University of
Windsor Disability Services staff and one position to a member of the larger
Windsor, Ontario community. The community position was filled by a mother
experienced in advocating for her own disabled child and for others who face
similar challenges.
The
impetus for the development of the Disability Studies Program was a meeting in
2005 between the Director of the Thames Valley Children Centre (2011), and the
University of Windsor Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Director
of the School of Social Work, and Head of the Psychology Department. This meeting resulted in the
University of Windsor’s commitment to develop a Disability Studies Program
consistent with the university’s accessibility plan that would meet the needs
of a diverse student body, ranging from students straight out of high school to
social services professionals looking to complete a university degree in order
to qualify for graduate training.
In 2006, consultation with the
Executive Director and President of the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies
resulted in their expression of support and encouragement for the University of
Windsor to develop a Bachelor of Arts in Disability Studies. Also in 2006, the
Manager of Workforce Diversity for a major Canadian bank indicated that she
believed the Bachelor of Arts in Disability Studies, with the curriculum being
proposed at the University of Windsor, would be an excellent beginning degree
for students wishing to pursue a career in the employment equity field.
In 2007, the Director of the
Disability Studies Graduate Program at the University of Manitoba (2011) and
President of the Canadian Disability Studies Association also indicated strong
support for the development of a Bachelor of Arts in Disability Studies at the
University of Windsor. She
indicated that graduates from such a program would be welcome to pursue
graduate studies with their program at the University of Manitoba. The
employment potential of graduates of the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Disability
Studies was also addressed in letters of support from the executive directors
of three community agencies working with children and families.
The potential student base was
assessed as positive through an information evening held at St. Clair College
of Applied Arts and Technology, Windsor, Ontario 2006. It was attended by
approximately 100 University of Windsor School of Social Work and Department of
Psychology faculty, college faculty, and representatives and staff from
community organizations. In
addition, surveys conducted in 2007 of students enrolled in relevant college
and University of Windsor programs indicated a high degree of interest in the
proposed Disability Studies Program.
A
central component of the Disability Studies Program is student participation,
in their last semester of study, in a community experience placement (CEP)
course that gives students the opportunity to use the skills they have learned
within the context of a social model of disability. In order to identify appropriate
placements, the coordinator of the CEP approached more than 20 organizations in
the community, whose mandate included or focused exclusively on children and
adults with disabilities, to discuss the possible role that Disability Studies
students could play in facilitating organizational goals and objectives. The response was very positive. Staff in community organizations
recognized that Disability Studies students possessed expertise relevant to
address existing oppression of and discrimination against persons with
disabilities by effective removal of barriers to full participation.
Over
the first two years of the Disability Studies Program’s existence, Disability
Studies students in their final year of study have had the opportunity to work
in a large number of community organizations with persons with disabilities and
on a diverse range of projects. Students
have completed their community experience placements in elementary schools,
centres for children with disabilities, a local hospital, a therapeutic riding
association, a group assisting immigrants with disabilities, a local chapter of
the Canadian Mental Health Association (2011), a local chapter of the Community
Living Association, Community Living Essex County (2011), an organization
working with adults with physical disabilities, and other community
organizations. In some cases,
students worked on the preparation of outreach materials for clients, funders
and the larger community, designed to clarify the organization’s mission and
increase its profile in the community. Some
of the placements involved the examination and revision of existing
organizational policies to comply with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act (2005), and some students helped organizations in their
efforts to move service delivery from a segregated to a more integrated and
participatory model.
A
primary goal of the Disability Studies Program was to model the principles of
diversity and inclusion in its own admission policies, and so far, it has
succeeded in meeting this goal. Students
in the first group to complete the community experience placement were from
diverse academic, professional and cultural backgrounds, and this diversity
proved to be an asset to the community organizations with which they were
placed. Some of the students had
prior personal and/or professional experience with the disabilities of the
clients served by the community organizations to which they were assigned, for
example, autism and learning disabilities, and this experience, coupled with
the knowledge gained in the Disability Studies Program, increased the value of
their contributions. Two placements
involved work with new Canadians with disabilities; the Disabilities Studies
students in these placements were also new Canadians and, in one case, shared a
common ethnocultural, religious and language background with the organization’s
clients.
Feedback
from the community organizations, that accepted Disability Studies students for
placement in the first year of the program, was very positive, and all the
organizations were enthusiastic about providing placement opportunities in
subsequent years. In the second
year of the program, the coordinator approached additional community
organizations. Once more, the
response was very positive. In
2003, the University of Windsor president said: “There are huge opportunities
…for the University of Windsor to play a significant role with its community
partners in finding solutions to daunting problems of health education and
care,” (Paul, 2003), and the Disability Studies Program has embodied that
vision. The relationship between
community organizations and the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Disability Studies
Program is proving to be mutually beneficial, filling a community need and, as
one of the first programs of its kind in Canada, heightening the University of
Windsor’s profile in the community.
Conclusion
Rates
of Canadians with disabilities have risen from 12.4% (Statistics Canada, 2001)
to 14.3% (Statistics Canada, 2008) increasing the necessity for educational
institutions to address the needs of persons with disabilities. Activists, community organizations,
and academics who raised awareness for three decades
led to important legislation such as the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982); American
Disabilities Act (2000); Ontario
Disabilities Act (2001); and Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005). The faculty, at the University of
Windsor, took action in developing the Disability Studies Program to help
address the needs of persons with disabilities. Their experiences, as expressed in
this paper, help to inform other faculty in Canadian post-secondary schools how
to initiate a similar program in disability studies.
The
Disability Studies Program at the University of Windsor was built on a rich and
vibrant history with the Canadian Disability Studies Association and the
Canadian Centre for Disability Studies from its inception, fostered by the
first course on the social model of disability (Leslie, 2008) and community
support. These influences
continue as the interdisciplinary program draws support from other disciplines
such as social work, psychology, English, labour studies, etc., while sharing
the critical perspective of disability studies with other disciplines. Significantly, disability studies is forging ahead supported by persons with
disabilities and the disability community, evident by the support of grassroots
organizations (Lord & Hutchison, 2011; Park, Monteiro, & Kappel, 2003). The Disability Studies Program at the
University of Windsor will be enhanced by the further development of a
community advisory board. The future of disability studies will continue to
evolve as it receives support and feedback in the process of sharing,
exchanging, and integrating information and resources between community
organizations and academic institutions, and will lead the way to collaborative
community initiatives through practice, education and research.
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