Inclusive Practices Blog 1: Disability

Discuss specific examples from the resources that illustrate the intersection of disability with other identity aspects; Evaluate how these intersections impact the lived experiences of the interviewees.

In 2020 (around a highpoint in activism of the Black Lives Matter movement), Ade Adepitan spoke as a black disabled Paralympian, about how the intersecting struggles of both Black people against racism and disabled people against prejudice point to an issue of systemic racism (and ablism), but the struggles from both these communities can learn from each other. I would have been curious to hear more about how he experiences being among other disabled people, as a Black man, and also when he is among other Black people, as a disabled person. However, I can also appreciate how burdensome it might be to have to speak to these things all the time.

Adepitan did confide that he could not honestly say, if he had a child, that their lives would *not* be affected by the colour of their skin, or whether they had a disability. His lived experience has shown that despite no longer often hearing explicit verbal racist or ablist abuse, that the systemic forms of oppression he experiences are still in effect. On the other hand, his experience has shown him examples of when barriers for someone are genuinely removed, and support is given, how much they can achieve.

Chay Brown (2023) talked about being a white trans gay man with an invisible disability. He shares the relative priveleges, as he sees it, compared, perhaps to other members of the trans community, or other people who are disabled. However I think there are both challenges and privileges to having an invisible disability. On the one hand you can ‘pass’ as able bodied, and therefore receive privileges of a non-disabled person, on the other hand, as your disability is invisible, people might assume you are not affected by certain situations, or not realise you may be less able to do, or need more time to do, certain things than other people.

Brown shared an example where he recognised the impact of an event by a trade union organised well, with access in mind, because of the lived experiences of the organisers. That this experience is something that helped in his own activism and organising, to think about how to make events more inclusive for different access needs within the LGBTQ+ community.

Consider any recurring themes or differing perspectives highlighted in the interviews.

Visibility: All three speakers (Ade Adepitan, Christine Sun Kim and Chay Brown) talked about the importance of “visibility” in different ways. Adepitan noted that if you don’t see other people with disabilities around then that can foster discrimination at a social level – contributing to the social model of disability, that it is society as it is that disables people. Christine Sun Kim talked about the importance of making big artworks for her, to make the experiences of deaf people more visible. She also talked about the need, ultimately, to become visible within the hearing community, outside of her supportive network in the deaf community, to do so. Chay Brown talked about both how greater visibility of disability within the LGBTQ community had helped him to come accept his own mental health difficulties and neuro-atypical experiences. But he also talked about visibility in terms of the priviledges of ‘passing’ as a cis-gendered person and that his disabilities are invisible. (Adepitan, 2020); (Sun Kim, 2024); (Chay Brown, 2023).

Systemic oppression: Ade Adepitan talked about talked about systemic oppression and discriminiation that affects both black people and disabled people in different ways, and the deep history of oppression for black people, and disabled people. But he also talked about how disabled movement and anti-racist movements can learn from each other. This reflects Kimberle Crenshaw’s approach, where she introduced the term Intersectionality (1990).

Adepitan cited examples from the Paralympic movement that show that removing barriers to achievement “allows people to shine”. The main challenge, as he has seen it through various schemes attempted to both tackle inequality in terms of race, and of disability is that they have not addressed the systemic problems that inhibit black or disabled people getting jobs, for example. That the accommodations for disabled people appear to be too expensive or people, or alternatively that people may still not be recruited because of unspoken prejudices based on skin colour.

List the disability considerations in your own teaching context, drawing on UAL data and your own experience.

1. I have been thinking about the Social Model of Disability both in this course, and for a while now. A big project I did last year was to initiate, and to produce and deliver an Access Route and Video with Audio Description and transcription for our service, to help people to feel prepared for what to expect when visiting the archive. I discussed this an example for my teaching observation last term. With a social model of disability in mind, I wanted to create something that could increase transparency around access to our service – both the challenges and the opportunities. The hope is, that by enacting changes to improve access, that it would benefit everyone. (Oliver, 2004); (Grigley, 2018)
2. Regarding UAL as a whole, I think there is a lot of awareness around disability, but some aspects of the organisation still make access and inclusion really challenging. The ambitions around more recruitment (UAL, 2022), which will likely mean larger class sizes, not only mean that the tutors are not as able to give as much 1-2-1 support. Larger class sizes also make access within classroom spaces really challenging. Classrooms can be very crowded which both makes it difficult to physically enter and exit, but also it can be quite an overwhelming experience for both students and teachers. On the other hand, the offer of more online courses may help to facilitate participation from students who would otherwise find attending in person challenging, or where online access can facilitate asynchronous learning. But there is a challenge that facilitating real care for students would appear to come up against costs – as Chay Brown (2023) noted, it needs to be budgeted for.
3. In terms of my own experience, living with a chronic disability and its effects, which significantly impacted my time as both an undergraduate and graduate student, I am aware of the challenges of those with unseen disabilities, or ill health and it’s impact on the student experience and learning. Having to take time out from studies due to ill health not only has the potential to affect attainment but also relationships with peers and the wider sense of feeling included in the student body. One has to spend a lot of time in self-advocacy, not only within college but in ones spare time, with the health service, which is very energy and time consuming (increasingly so, it feels, in the last 20 years or so). (Hughes et al, 2015). To take an intersectional approach however, I would also recognise my priviledge compared to others with invisible disabilities, in terms of coming from a middle class white background, I am less disadvantaged than others when it comes to interfacing with institutions in the UK, be it the health service or universities. (Crenshaw, 1990).

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‘Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism’, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU, Accessed 25/05/2025

‘Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers”’ – Season 11 | Art21, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI, Accessed 25/07/2025

Crenshaw, K. (1990) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp.1241-1299.

Grigley, J. (2018). ‘Thank You: On What it Means to Care’ , Talk at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG_cZjUP088 (Accessed 7 March 2025)

Hughes, K., Corcoran, T. and Slee, R. (2015) ‘Health-inclusive higher education: listening to students with disabilities or chronic illnesses’, Higher Education Research & Development, 35(3), pp. 488–501. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2015.1107885.

‘Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023’, (Interview with Chay Brown) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc, Accessed

Oliver, M. (2004). ‘The Social Model in Action: if I had a hammer’ in Barnes, C. and Mercer, G. (ed.) Implementing the Social Model of Disability: Theory and Research Leeds: The Disability Press, pp. 18-31.

Stanford Graduate School of Education (2025). What is synchronous and asynchronous learning? Available at https://teachingresources.stanford.edu/resources/what-is-synchronous-and-asynchronous-learning/ (Accessed online, 7 March 2025)

UAL Strategy 2022-2032, Guiding Policy 2, ‘To bring a high-quality creative education to more students than ever before.’ https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/strategy-and-governance/strategy/guiding-policy-2