Navigating ‘normal’: the writing lives of students on the spectrum

“Navigating ‘Normal’” is a qualitative study of five autistic writers in higher education. Focusing on disability disclosure, classroom accommodations, and learning and writing processes, this project examines classroom inclusivity from the perspectives of neurodiverse students. I argue that my five participants demonstrate kairotic skill regarding appropriate times and places to disclose their autism diagnosis, and sophisticated rhetorical techniques for managing stigma and meeting their needs as learners in classrooms devoid of helpful accommodations. In pursuit of inclusivity, I call for writing classroom practices that decenter normalcy as the goal of pedagogical intervention, instead foregrounding student self-advocacy.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Saunders, Pamela A

Contributors dc:contributor

• Prendergast, Catherine
• Finnegan, Cara
• Russell, Lindsay
• Yergeau, Melanie

• Disability
• Autism
• Neurodiversity
• Composition
• Accessibility
• Accommodations
• Writing
• Qualitative

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Pamela A. Saunders

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98170

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/98170