2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

Ableism is the systemic oppression that affords privilege to people who are able-bodied and/or neurotypical while marginalizing individuals with disabilities. Much existing research on ableism focuses on individuals with “visible” disabilities; those whose disabilities are more apparent to outsiders. This study used phenomenology based qualitative interviews (Padgett, 2012) in order to examine how people with “invisible” (less apparent) physical disabilities experience ableism. Fifteen individuals ages 18 and older were interviewed (approximately 45 minutes each) regarding the participant’s disability(ies), their feelings around having disabilities that are perceived as “invisible” by others in society, and their experiences of ableism, both explicitly and through microaggressions. Questions were part of an open ended, loosely structured interview scheduling, allowing for personalization of each interview depending on the participants’ experiences. Themes that emerged via open coding and using the table-top method to reach inter-rater consensus on theming (Saldana, 2013) included policing of selves, tension in roles, desire for justice, and interestingly, internalized ableism. Many participants recounted their experiences of having their bodies and actions policed by others, including others with disabilities, challenging their actions on a regular basis. In examining their roles as someone providing education about their disabilities and having to educate on policies, needs and accommodations, several participants shared struggling with what their roles were in any given situation. The theme of desire for justice speaks to the frustration participants expressed of having to educate others, how much energy it took to provide this education, and desire for social change to provide societal education regarding ableism. The theme of internalized ableism reflects both explicit experiences of individuals sharing their self-judgment about abilities, as well as unintentional ableist statements made throughout the interviews. Given these themes, potential implications for community education, policy change and offering justice/equity will be discussed.

Policies to prevent school violence in Sweden and in the United States are different, yet alike. In the US, school violence seems to be a growing problem but in Sweden it is decreasing. Not only have the US had substantially more school shootings; they have also implemented more preventive measures to combat school violence. This paper examines how school violence is handled in Sweden and the United States. The study is based on qualitative content analysis of educational steering documents and interviews with middle and high school principals. Both in Sweden and the US, a crime perspective (that students increasingly are subjected to zero tolerance policies that are used primarily to punish, repress and exclude them), dominates how violence are treated and handled in schools. In the US students are increasingly subjected to a “crime complex” where harsh disciplinary practices by security staff increasingly replace normative functions teachers once provided both in and outside of the classroom. One obvious difference between the two countries is the emergence of a great number of federal and state laws in the US, such as the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994. Schools in the US are also increasingly turning towards alternative methods like restorative justice as a mean for creating safer schools and social equity. One main point of the paper is also that the key to violence prevention might be found in a comparison of how normalized masculinity is operating in everyday dynamics, rather than differences in policies.

Assessment is an essential area of competence for licensure as a psychologist, but presents a barrier for students with visual impairments or blindness (VI). Accommodations for testing when the examiner is the one with the VI have not been documented. We present the accommodations for several common tests and best practices.