I’m Not Just a Number: My Story Matters

Abstract

<p>Until opportunities are created for students and teachers with disabilities to tell their stories, inclusive education will remain elusive. Lived experiences are best told by the people who experience them. When such stories are told by other people, the voices of people with disabilities are ignored, excluded and silenced. Society and most importantly educators need to hear and read these stories so that they can develop and propose appropriate strategies to support people with disabilities in schools in an effort to achieve full inclusion in mainstream schools. People with disabilities should have the opportunity to tell their stories in their own way and in the language of their choice. These include multimodal affordances such as images, oral, videos and written stories. Their stories increase educators' understanding of trauma, neglect and gender issues as well as the historical and social events that have changed and continue to change their lives. Traumatic events such as COVID-19 and the accompanying health measures such as vaccine mandates in Australia caused disruption in the lives of students and teachers. The panel will explore the stories questions about loss and grief, learning and teaching online and the anxiety created by the pandemic. Collecting and responding to these stories is key to the recognition that their stories too matter. Schools could create safe spaces where students and teachers with disabilities can tell their stories such as through blogs.</p>