Elementary Students’ Conceptualizations of Disability in Written and Illustrated Forms

Children often develop (mis)understandings of disability at young ages. Forming stereotypes about disability can contribute to ableist attitudes and social exclusion of peers with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate children’s conceptualizations of disability in written and illustrated forms. Students in grades three to seven from 10 classes ( n = 192) at a midsize inclusive school in Ontario, Canada, were prompted to define the term disability and to draw a character with a disability. As with findings from previous studies, most of the participants’ definitions were rooted in deficit thinking, and students’ drawings tended to be of characters with physical disabilities. Findings less commonly reported with these methods also were identified (e.g., drawings depicting mental health concerns).