Musings From the Streets of India: Voice for the Disabled Who Are Nonverbal

Abstract

What is the appropriate method of “interviewing” individuals with more involved disabilities who are nonverbal? As part of a larger case study looking at inclusion in India for disabled¹ girls, this work raises questions about what happens when we inadvertently or systematically privilege certain ways of communicating over others without providing accommodations or adaptions. This practice perpetuates ableism by only including some disabled voices, but not all. This article interrogates questions of voice and agency and provides examples of methodological approaches to center the voice of one disabled student who also carries the label of being nonverbal.

Keywords

new methods and methodologies methodologies interviewing disability studies

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