Book Review: Disability as Diversity in Higher Education: Policies and Practices to Enhance Student Success

Abstract

Within their work, Disability as Diversity in Higher Education: Policies and Practices to Enhance Student Success, Kim and Aquino (2017) highlight the unfortunate cultural and structural phenomenon of excluding disability representation from larger discourse regarding diversity initiatives within education. The authors strongly advocate against over-use of the medical model of disability, which frames disability as inherently deviant from the typical human experience that must be modified, treated, and/or cured. Instead, they advise exploring disability as a unique social experience facing similar stigmatization and oppression to the other widely explored facets of diversity literature: i.e., race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. Posited in response to current intersectional diversity discourse within higher education, this book serves as a valuable resource for Communication Center administrators to gain insight into accommodating current students with disabilities and proactively begin including disability in communication instruction and resource construction.