Hitting the Reset Button on Education

Students with intellectual disabilities are taking the lead conducting participatory action research (PAR) to chronicle their college experience as part of a national college access initiative. This research currently involves college students with intellectual disabilities documenting their experiences using multimedia tools. These data are then shared via a digital storytelling website, VoiceThread. This article presents an overview of PAR, digital storytelling, and the methodology used to implement PAR with students with intellectual disabilities. Themes from the students’ work highlight their impressions of college, their adjustment to new expectations and responsibilities, and their recommendations to improve this experience. The researcher’s findings and conclusions about facilitating research with young adults with intellectual disabilities are described.