Chapter 7: “I Want to Go Places on My Own”: A Case-study of Virginia Commonwealth University ACE-IT in College

The tendency to view disability through a medical lens leads to deficiency narratives which have pervasive consequences throughout life. This chapter focuses on impacts of these narratives on postsecondary education opportunities for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD). Specifically, we examine how disability as deficiency narratives translate into beliefs and relationships for students in Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Academic and Career Exploration-Individualized Techniques (ACE-IT) program in College.

ACE-IT in College is an inclusive postsecondary education program for students with I/DD. We reviewed the clashing narratives students with disabilities face from faculty, staff, other students without disabilities, and family members. In order to analyze postsecondary experiences of participants, a content analysis of the ACE-IT Spring 2015 semester was conducted using archival data of education coach notes, employment case notes, mentor case notes, VCU faculty evaluations, work supervisor evaluations, and parent and student survey responses. Ten case studies, each of an enrolled ACE-IT student, were developed and analyzed.

Three themes surrounding this program emerged: Inclusion (the inclusive nature of the ACE-IT program encourages independence), exposure (the exposure of faculty to students with disabilities, the exposure of these students to a range of social relationships and community participation), and exclusion (the continuing power of deficit narratives).

Because narrative analysis of consolidated themes suggests specific program recommendations, this study highlights the research potential of stories to identify program characteristics and needs for program improvement.