Facilitating Engagement and Belonging for Students with Disabilities: Using Expressive Arts - JCAPS Vol. 4 Issue 1

Four volunteer participants who used the services of the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) on our campus attended three sessions where they were interviewed about inclusivity and (a) taught an art technique; (b) taught to do the technique with a partner; and (c) used the technique with a guest whom they identified as having impacted their inclusivity on campus. The qualitative method of phenomenology was used to analyze transcripts from the interviews and the art sessions. The information the participants provided revealed the essential themes of (a) The desire for support beyond academic accommodations; (b) The benefits of an expressive arts program; and (c) The meaning of inclusivity and the desire for engagement and belonging. We detail the thematic findings of the study and make recommendations for how OASs can expand the services they provide. We advocate for creating expressive arts programing to facilitate engage- ment and belonging for students with disabilities.