“The University Is Made for Those Who Can Climb the Stairs”: Dialoguing With Counterstories in Higher Education

Abstract

Entering higher education presents significant challenges for students whose learning styles differ from the norm of the “(neuro)typical student.” In Flanders, the prevailing notions persist in asserting that people with disabilities do not belong in a higher education system due to perceived shortcomings in meeting the traditional standards. In this article, we focus on a podcast “I write so I am: The power of the dyslexic brain” created by a former student. By drawing on a critical dialogical methodology we engage with the stories presented in the podcast, contemplating ways to progress toward an affirmative and relational approach to disability. We make this more concrete by plugging-in concepts such as “recognition,” “relational accessibility,” and “caring communities” as they guide us in challenging ableist structures. The practice of dialoguing calls for engaging communities where listening with care opens negotiations to bypass the current rigid system of “reasonable accommodations.”