Disabilities Disabilities: A "Two-Way Mirror"

Authors

Kathy A. Thomas, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Abstract

There is nothing more intriguing than well-reported documented stories of real life experiences and genuine autoethnographic dialogue. When writers communicate and relate stories about the self and their experiences and include others who share a personal story, there is an amazing connection, unique intensive and extensive understanding and interpretation, and a cultural and social exchange in an authoethnographic representation of self and the respective culture of study. A dialogue generated among the authors as educators as they shared stories inside and outside the disabilities culture was the performance and autoethnographic delivery in Phil Smith’s book, Both Sides of the Table: Autoethnographics of Educators Learning and Teaching Within/in [Dis]ability. For Smith’s purpose, both sides of the table represent both parties negotiating an academic Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for individuals with disabilities. The transitions from self to group and the ability to move freely inside and outside the culture as a member of the culture, presents a “wider lens” as one often hears in the autoethnographic and ethnographic language needed to gain a more complete picture of what it is you want to know and learn, and what is permissible to reveal. An autographic lens is widely accepted for this dialogue (Chang, Ngunijiri, & Hernandez, 2013; Creswell, 2013; Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011). Pragmatically, autoethnography was a method realistically supported by the voice of these educators with a unique understanding of their own disabilities world and a story to tell.

Keywords

Autoethnography, Disabilities Education, Dialogic/Performance Analysis

Publication Date

12-8-2014

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1294

Recommended APA Citation

Thomas, K. A. (2014). Disabilities Disabilities: A "Two-Way Mirror". The Qualitative Report, 19(49), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1294