Poetizing disability : arts-informed reflections

Abstract

Through arts-informed educational research, I engaged in poetic exploration of the lived experience of disability. Theorizing and creating through poetry helped me to reflect and deepen my understanding of my own disability, cerebral palsy, as well as my adolescent participant's struggles and joys with dyslexia. I discovered that a person with dyslexia, an invisible disability, can have similar emotional experiences to those I had as an adolescent female with cerebral palsy, including some difficulty relating to peers. My participant revealed that while she accepts the diagnosis of dyslexia, she does not consider dyslexia a disability. Thus far, both my own and my participant's diverse schooling experiences have helped us to do well. Our success is due largely to the emotional and academic supports we enjoy at home and at school.