2023 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium: Evidence from Disability Identity and Research

Organizer: Jill Shelton, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA
December 2020 marked the first United Nation’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Although there were sufficient conversations surrounding disability, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA), there is a continued need to cultivate a culture of inclusivity in the academic and scientific workforce. Despite the prevalence of people living with a disability, colleagues in our fields have limited knowledge of how disability affects our personal identities and professional lives. Notably, considerable diversity exists within the disability community, making it important to consider multiple perspectives of individuals with lived experience. We have assembled a group of inter-disciplinary scholars who possess both personal and professional expertise about the disability experience. We will discuss theoretical and empirical work that extends our understanding of disability identity, perceptions of the disability community, neurodiversity, and initiatives for support and empowerment. Importantly, we will integrate our own lived experience to provide real-world context. Our goal is to encourage our Psychonomic Society colleagues to become more knowledgeable and active in promoting DEIA initiatives.
Discovering More About Yourself Through Research and Professional Development-Karen Arcos, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Are We WEIRDA? Ableist Sampling in Psychology Research- Rain G. Bosworth, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
Strategic Advocacy: Individuals and Institutions-Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Gallaudet University, USA
Autistic Identity Across Development: A Critique of “Regression” Into and “Outgrowing” Autism-Steven Kapp, University of Portsmouth, UK
Discussion of Diversity in Disability: Evidence from Disability Identity and Research-Morton Ann Gernsbacher, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA