The Promise and Possibilities of Community Conversations: Expanding Opportunities for People With Disabilities

Abstract

Across the United States, young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are making substantial contributions within their communities. Like their peers without disabilities, youth and young adults with IDD possess a breadth of strengths, talents, passions, and qualities that make them indispensable. Whether working in local businesses, attending a college class, volunteering to meet community needs, serving within a faith community, or engaging in advocacy, their considerable contributions contrast with prevailing views of disability that so often accentuate deficits and challenges (Carter et al., 2015). Likewise, communities around the country are demonstrating their capacity to provide the opportunities and supports that enable the full participation and flourishing of young people with IDD. Schools, agencies, organizations, families, and businesses are successfully ensuring opportunities for meaningful community engagement are widespread and well-supported (Carter, Trainor, Ditchman, Swedeen, & Owens, 2009). Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. These exemplars remain the exception rather than the rule-more anecdotal than ubiquitous. In the area of employment, less than 10% of young adults (ages 18-30) with IDD are accessing integrated employment in their communities (Butterworth & Migliore, 2015). The transition to adulthood is instead marked by unemployment, underemployment, or segregated experiences for so many young people (Carter, Austin, & Trainor, 2012; Grigal, Hart, & Migliore, 2011). Such outcomes reflect clear misalignment with the aspirations of youth with IDD and the expectations of their families. For example, Shogren and Plotner (2012) reported that 78% of transition-age students with intellectual disability (ages 14-16) had postschool employment goals for supported or competitive employment. Likewise, Blustein, Carter, and McMillan (2016) found that 83% of parents considered it important for their child with IDD to obtain a job in the community after high school. These outcomes also represent missed opportunities for businesses in need of a talented, dedicated, and diverse workforce. Of particular concern is that these employment outcomes have hardly moved amid more than 25 years of concerted efforts (Butterworth & Migliore, 2015; Newman, Wagner, Cameto, Knokey, & Shaver, 2010). Calls to expand employment and community access for individuals with IDD have certainly become more prominent and pronounced in recent years. For example, most states have adopted Employment First initiatives, enforcement of the Olmstead decision now extends to employment, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act of 2014 promotes better access to workforce development systems, and federally funded employment systems change efforts have been launched in 14 states (Martinez, 2013; Nord et al., 2015). These movements are supported by strong statements 739408D PSXXX10.

A Framework for Research in Transition: Identifying Important Areas and Intersections for Future Study

“…Moreover, noticeable changes in student outcomes are unlikely to materialize in the absence of strong partnerships with local, state, and federal programs aimed at all citizens (e.g., American Job Centers, Jobs for America's Graduates, youth development programs, community workforce initiatives). The development and evaluation of interventions that also involve partners and programs from beyond the disability system should be pursued (Carter & Bumble, 2018).…”

Community Conversations on Inclusive Higher Education for Students With Intellectual Disability

“…Event structure. All events used the community conversation approach (see Carter & Bumble, 2018), which employs an adaptation of the World Café model (Brown & Isaacs, 2005). Events were 2 hr in length and followed a similar structure.…”

“…Inviting a diversity of perspectives is an essential element of the community conversation approach (Carter & Bumble, 2018). All three planning teams were successful at recruiting people to their event, but the combination of stakeholders who attended varied.…”

Community Conversation as a Method of Gathering and Analyzing Qualitative Data

“…Raynor et al (2018) conducted an analysis of community conversation table notes as artifacts, closely connecting or grounding the analysis in the data itself, determining meaning without a presupposed idea or hypothesis as to what solutions would act as a catalyst to local action. The researchers were inducing meaning here in much the same way as Bumble et al (2018) generated thematic meanings anchored to responses to open-ended questions exploring motivational factors that led to communities’ inclusive employment development efforts. The researchers were looking for motivations, and they focused on repetition of motivation as a way of indexing the significance of meaning.…”