Disabled Capital: A Narrative of Attention Deficit Disorder in the Classroom Through the Lens of Bourdieu’s Capital

Abstract

<p><span>Within each socio-economic class there exist able classes, characterized by the ability to successfully access and enact their preferred capital. There also exist disabled classes of individuals who possess preferred capital, but remain unable to perform in the same manner as able bodies. In the attempt to perform accumulated knowledge and normality, the disabled individual confronts the relationship between his capital and body, his intention and ability. By examining my own classroom experience as a student with attention deficit disorder, together with research from the fields of education and disability studies, this research-based narrative reveals that preferred capital does not merely comprise cultural knowledge and social relationships, but also the ability to perform one's knowledge and desires through behavior that is valued in the classroom. In a field dominated by able-bodied individuals, the disabled body possesses "disabled capital", as preferred capital becomes compromised when housed within a disabled body.</span></p>

Ableism as a regulator of social practice and disabled peoples’ self-determination to participate in sport and physical activity

“…In segregated S&PA settings this is a self-reinforcing process, as by separating DP from NDP they perform their disability (or their deviation from the dominant norm) in a separate, but visible space. This, in turn, reinforces the consequences of deviation from the dominant group norm and highlights the importance and benefits of the dominant group membership (Berezin, 2014). This leads to a perceived increase in the symbolic capital connected with being part of the group that most closely aligns with the normative values of the dominant group.…”

Cultivating Images of Cultural Capital: Cultural Activities in Storybooks Featuring Young Characters with Disabilities

“…Fourth, individuals can possess cultural capital but be unable to use it successfully due to disabilities (e.g., individuals whose bodies do not allow them to experience cultural capital in the same manner as able-bodied people; Berezin, 2014). Fifth and last, Turner and Edmunds (2002) noted a neglect of the importance of generations as an explanatory variable in Bourdieu's account of fashion and cultural change in favour of an emphasis on class.…”

Intersecting Identities: A Trioethnographic Exploration of How Disability Studies Informs Our Work as Artists, Educators, and Researchers

“…When the search came back, I was astonished to find so many results populate on my screen. One of the first results was an article in Disability Studies Quarterly by Jared David Berezin (2014) that recalled his experiences having ADHD in his adolescence, in which he was forced to sit at a desk that was separated from the rest of his peers' class. I remember reading this and saying to myself, "that was my experience too!"…”

“…Crucially, my initial reading of these personal narrative accounts (Berezin, 2014;Brown & Price, 2008;Samuels, 2003) offered another discovery insofar as many of these experiences were theorized within a DS context. This dichotomous way of navigating professional and personal situations felt untrue to my beliefs that all people should be allowed to live outside the bounds of binary labels.…”